A happy ending for a close call before the Holidays. It is anyone in emergency services worst nightmare; hearing an ambulance dispatched to your own address for the most serious of calls, a cardiac arrest. Bob Davis is a member of our own family, and that was his experience while participating in a charity football game between local fire departments. A few weeks before Christmas, Bob’s wife, Linda, was home with their children when she went into cardiac arrest. Due to the quick action of their children who called 911 immediately, and CPR performed by a neighbor and fellow Fuller Road Fire Department member, Linda’s life was saved and she was home for Christmas.
We go out of our way to ensure that the best possible care is delivered as fast as possible to your family, and in this case our family. It is a system wide response that involves many departments and a great deal of training and most importantly, teamwork. In cases like this, resources involved include fire department first response units, the closest police officer with an AED, at least 2 ALS staffed units and an EMS Shift Commander. None of these units would get there without the work of dispatchers. Dispatchers like Bob, keep callers calm and get vital information to the responding units and most importantly give pre-arrival instructions such as CPR to people on scene. All of which contribute to the high success rates of prehospital sudden cardiac death reversals here in Colonie.
On a daily basis, agencies here in Colonie work together to save lives. Most recently, police officers are all trained to administer and carry Narcan, which reverses the deadly effects of opioid overdoses such as heroin. Around the same time as Linda’s cardiac arrest reversal, officer Greg Jensen was first on scene to a respiratory arrest and administered Narcan moments before EMS crews got there. In doing so, the patient began breathing again and survived. Police officers such as Greg are vital in the care provided here in Colonie. We are truly unique in the working relationship with have with our police and fire departments, and value it greatly.