It started out as just another day for Commercial Enforcement Officer Casey Dale. Dale was working near Collins on July 25 when he received a call from Troop J dispatcher Wayne White.

White informed Dale that the UMMC Children’s Transport Team ambulance was disabled in Collins and was needing to transport a child in Laurel.

When Dale arrived at the scene, he immediately recognized UMMC Nurse Karen Simon from a previous encounter when Dale’s son needed medical care last year.

This medical emergency was a matter of life and death, requiring immediate attention for the child. Dale jumped into action and swiftly transported the UMMC Children’s Transport Team in his patrol vehicle from Collins to the child in Laurel.

The quick response from dispatcher White and the decisive actions of Dale and the UMMC Children’s Transport Team were instrumental in providing life-saving care to the child.

Dale is the son of Wondra Dale and the late James Dale of Prentiss. He is a 2006 graduate of Prentiss Christian School and is married to Kristen Guilbert Dale. They have three children, Lainey, Lenix and James.

James was born in 2023 with a congenital heart defect. The Dales were unaware of his condition until his birth. He was born just before midnight in Hattiesburg and within six hours this transport team picked him up and rushed him to Children’s of Mississippi at UMMC in Jackson where he spent 20 days to repair transposition of the great arteries.

“We cannot say enough about this team and all the wonderful people at UMMC,” said Casey Dale. “We never thought we would need a service like this, and it is comforting to know it is available and the care is superior.”

“It was an honor to assist them in helping someone else’s child just like they did our James.”