SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP – A rural Ashtabula County community held a celebration of lives honoring the paramedics who contributed to three major saves in two weeks, including a STEMI, a stroke and a birth.
University Hospitals leaders were on hand to thank their pre-hospital counterparts at the Saybrook Township Board of Directors meeting in February.
“We can’t do our jobs without these guys,” said Dan Ellenberger, Director of System EMS Operations for University Hospitals. “They’re the tip of the spear when it comes to pre-hospital medicine and health care. They make a difference. This is a celebration of life.”
The 9-1-1 calls Saybrook Fire Department responded to included:
• A man in his late 60s suffering from crushing chest pain was found to be having a STEMI, the most severe type of heart attack. Paramedics were transporting him to UH Geauga Medical Center, the nearest Level 2 interventional cardiac cath lab, when he went into cardiac arrest. The ambulance diverted to UH Geneva Medical Center to stabilize the patient, then took him to UH Geauga. His right coronary artery was 100 percent blocked. He received a stent and recovered well.
• A woman in her 30s called for help when she was in labor. The volunteer fire department in her village could not respond and Saybrook took the call. The baby was born before the ambulance arrived. Saybrook Fire transported the mother and baby to UH TriPoint Medical Center for comprehensive obstetric and post-partum care.
• A man in his late 70s was at a local business when he started showing signs of a stroke. Saybrook paramedics found he had unequal grip strength, one-sided arm drift and memory trouble. They assessed him as having a moderate stroke according to the NIH Stroke Scale. He was taken to UH Geneva’s ED, where the stroke was confirmed on a CT scan and he was given the clot-busting drug called TNK. He was transported to UH Cleveland Medical Center, where he was treated and recovered, returning to thank the medics at the meeting.
Ashtabula County is the largest of Ohio’s 88 counties in land area. UH Geneva Medical Center is a 25-bed rural Critical Access Hospital, a designation established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to stabilize healthcare in rural areas due to hospital closures.
Longtime Saybrook Township Trustee Bob Brobst marveled at the medical advances that have taken place since he worked as a fireman.
“Being a former firefighter, I can say there is a total difference between yesterday and today,” Brobst said.
UH EMS Training & Disaster Preparedness Institute has medical control over 310 fire departments in 23 counties, covering an estimated 7,500 paramedics.
Saybrook Fire Chief David Whittaker said UH’s medical oversight allows his paramedics to be the most capable advanced care providers in pre-hospital emergency response. Training provided at the fire station, under the guidance of Dan Ellenberger, enables the department to operate more cost-effectively also.
“The partnership between our staff and University Hospitals has been a tremendous asset in both service provider education and the tools needed to accomplish the tasks,” said Chief Whitaker. “Our ability to recognize, treat and transport to the most appropriate facility would never be possible without this link.”
