Kings Park First Responders Awarded at St. Catherine's EMS Dinner

John Mitty Friday, December 7, 2012

After traveling a significant distance during the height of the disastrous storm, Hurricane Sandy, amidst treacherous winds and rain, falling trees and downed traffic lights, Kings Park Fire Department first responders, James Loduca, Andree Fagan (pictured above) and Tom Zambito, were successful in reducing the incidence of a stroke for a patient in distress. St. Catherine ofSienaMedicalCenterwas proud to honor these individuals at their quarterly Emergency Response Appreciation Dinner (also referred to as the EMS Dinner) for local emergency response personnel.

The most recent dinner was held at The Watermill inSmithtownon December 5, 2012. Emergency response personnel in attendance received certificates in “Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies”, presented by St. Catherine’s Director of Emergency Medicine Mustafah Khwaja, DO and “Common Orthopedic Sports Injuries”, presented by Greg Petrizzo, DO.

The Kings Park first responders in attendance were presented with the “Protector of the Penumbra” award. The medical center participates in an American Heart Association initiative to improve administration times for the “clot-busting” drug used in the treatment of patients who are brought to the emergency department with symptoms of acute ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke is caused by a blockage in a blood vessel that stops the flow of blood and deprives the surrounding brain tissue of oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, the brain cells in the immediate area begin to die and release a cascade of toxic chemicals that threaten brain tissue in the surrounding area — the ischemic penumbra.  The patient received the drug within 40 minutes of arrival. They successfully minimized the long-term deficits from the ischemic stroke, because adequate blood flow was restored in this brief period of time.

St. Catherine’s Nursing PI Coordinator Catherine Videtto expressed her deep appreciation at the dinner by sharing, “We are extremely proud of these volunteers that gave up time with their families, and risked their own safety and welfare during the frightening storm to respond to emergency calls for help throughout our community.  These volunteers sacrificed their time to help others, as do their many colleagues each and every day of the year, but most especially during the disaster of Hurricane Sandy.”  

The Emergency Response Appreciation Dinner will be offered in 2013. For more information about St. Catherine’s Emergency Response Appreciation Dinners, please call (631) 862-3780 or visit stcatherines.chsli.org.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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