LIVINGSTON MANOR —

The inaugural Livingston Manor Half Marathon and 5K, held last Saturday, almost began its history with a tragedy. However, tragedy was prevented because of the quick response from Ralph Bressler and Scott Hollenbeck of the Livingston Manor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (LMVAC) who were on standby at the race by Mongaup Road and DeBruce Road.

Around 11:15 a.m. they were flagged down by runners who stated a man was lying on the road.

Bressler and Hollenbeck rushed to the man and he was found not to have a pulse.

Quickly, Bressler directed another runner to begin Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) while he placed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the patient.

Bressler delivered one shock from the AED to the man and then began to put a breathing tube into the man's mouth, but all of a sudden, the man coughed, and Bressler felt a pulse.

The crew then loaded him in an ambulance and began to transport the man to Catskill Regional Medical Center (CRMC) and while en route the team met up with an off-duty paramedic and member of the LMVAC, William Roser, who rode along to assist if necessary.

During the ride to the hospital, the LMVAC crew met up with Mobilemedic EMS who jumped in and helped with providing paramedic help.

When the crew arrived at CRMC, the patient continued to be conscious and alert and was able to answer questions to hospital staff, according to Bressler.

The patient was later transferred to Orange Regional Medical Center in Middle town for further evaluation.

“This is the first time in 34 years as an EMT that I have had a ‘save' with only the Basic Life Support (BLS) intervention,” said Bressler.

“I was in almost disbelief and was elated…I was beyond happy that this at least gives him a chance,” expressed Bressler.

Captain Joel Sherwood of the LMVAC said, “This save was a total team effort. The officers and members of the LMVAC are extremely proud of the professionalism displayed by all involved in this incident.”

According to Mobilemedic EMS President and CEO Albee Bockman, when a person becomes a victim of cardiac arrest, it is critical that immediate CPR be given.

CPR will raise the threshold of the heart's rhythm to allow defibrillation to take place, Bockman explained.

He then added, there is a “Chain of Survival” which calls for first CPR to be administered to the person and then basic life support provided by an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) followed by Paramedic help which provided advanced life support.

The paramedics advanced life support includes an electrocardiograms (EKG) monitor, medicine, intravenous fluid, and intubation.

The chain are the following in order, “CPR, early access to basic life support and early access to advanced life support,” said Bockman. “Less than 10 percent of people survive by CPR alone but adding defibrillation increases a person's chance of survival to 30 percent and the additional advanced life support increases survival rate by 60 percent,” added Bockman.

Additionally, Bockman said “All three components [of “Chain of Survival”] came together as it did in this case... yeah we are all happy.”

Bressler later stressed that if an organization holds events like a 5k or a community function, they should call their local volunteer EMT and “They should be happy to help,” said Bressler.

“This call also shows the importance of local volunteer ambulance corps,” added Bressler. “All of these corps desperately need more volunteers so they can continue to serve their community.”

Bressler also stated that anyone in the Livingston Manor area who would like to take a CPR class could e-mail Ralph Bressler at rbressler723@gmail.com.

Likewise, if an organization wants to hold a class of six or more people, they are encouraged to call the offices of Mobilemedic EMS (845) 436-8313 and they will also provide information in organizing a class.