A man collapsed while talking with Emily Ellis at the American Job Center on Middlebrook Pike on April 9, and within moments she and a center employee were checking for a pulse, finding none, and starting CPR. Firefighters arrived and determined the man had overdosed, administering naloxone before he was taken to a hospital, where he was recovering, according to Knox County officials.
Ellis is one of the newest members of the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Community Service Program, according to wate.com. She was at the job center helping someone navigate the process of restoring a driver's license when the man collapsed during their conversation, according to wvlt.tv.
No Pulse, Then Immediate Action
Ellis and the American Job Center employee checked the man for a pulse, didn't find one, and immediately began CPR, per the station's report. The man began to turn blue as the pair worked to keep him alive, the same account notes.
Emergency services were called after the man collapsed, and firefighters arrived to find him in need of urgent care. They determined he had experienced an overdose and administered naloxone, also known as Narcan, before he was transported for medical care, per wbir.com. The outlet reports he was taken to the hospital and was recovering.
Lifeguard Training Kicked In
Ellis's composure in the moment traced back to an earlier job: she worked as a lifeguard at Dollywood's Splash Country, where she learned the lifesaving emergency procedures she relied on at the job center. That previous training, the article notes, informed how she responded when the man stopped breathing.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs recognized Ellis for her courage and quick response. “Her ability to remain calm under pressure and take immediate action made a critical difference in this situation,” Jacobs said, crediting her preparedness and compassion alongside her courage. The Knox County Criminal Court Clerk's Office assessed that Ellis's quick thinking and decisive response likely saved a life.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Knox County
Knox County's Drug Related Death Task Force has said it analyzes suspected overdose data in real time to pinpoint trends, hotspots and supply sources tied to the opioid epidemic, according to the Knox County District Attorney's Office. Separately, the number of suspected drug overdose deaths in Knox County appeared to continue a declining trend during the first six months of 2026, per wate.com reporting.
WATE and WVLT published detailed accounts of Ellis’s lifesaving response on April 22, 2026, months before Knox TN Today published its Above & Beyond feature on October 6, 2026. For Ellis, a routine visit to help someone with a driver's license became the moment her lifeguard training translated into an entirely different kind of rescue.
