Special Delivery: Paramedic’s Quick Action Leads to Parking Lot Birth

Published on September 06, 2025

"Please help me! Please catch my baby!"

These are the words that Ashley Hoffmann, the City’s Mobile Integrated Health Program Manager, heard when she approached Danyel Placious’ car in the parking lot of Winchester Medical Center’s Emergency Department right before she helped deliver a healthy baby boy.

While Ashley had been waiting with a dementia client inside the Emergency Department, James Placious came into the waiting room asking for help because his wife was outside in the car, already in active labor. Ashley followed him outside while a nurse went to get help, and that’s when she heard Danyel’s cry for help.

“There was no time for gloves or equipment,” said Ashley, a trained paramedic, “When I went to cradle the baby’s head, he was delivered into my hands. He cried immediately, and I placed him on his mother’s chest just as the hospital team arrived.”

While hospital staff quickly took the mother and baby inside to get checked out, Ashley stuck around with James to help clean up the car. Once things outside were settled, Ashley had the opportunity to visit with the new family of three, which now included baby Rowan Parker Placious.

Ashley serves as a Community Resource Paramedic within the City’s Mobile Integrated Health Program, where she manages complex patient cases by addressing a broad range of non-emergent needs. Her role includes providing in-home assessments, identifying social determinants of health, and coordinating resources to improve overall well-being. Whether it’s providing assistance to seniors, helping individuals navigate the healthcare system, or connecting patients to services for housing, transportation, or behavioral health, Ashley works to bridge gaps in care and support long-term health outcomes.