December 2008        ISSUE # 6

In Skilled Hands, AED Saves A Life

By Paul Courter

When a Sun City Center man collapsed with a heart attack November 2, he could not have picked a better time or place.

            It was during the intermission of a Sunday afternoon show at Community Hall when he went down with a thud in the men’s room. Standing nearby was Bob Mulcahy, an instructor in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with the SCC Emergency Squad.

            “I heard him hit the floor,” Mulcahy said. He immediately went to work. “I had to fight to get an airway. I had to pry his jaw open,” he said.

            Fellow Squad member Chuck Russ was close by, quickly assessed the situation, and directed a bystander to bring the AED (Automated Electronic Defibrillator) from the other side of the lobby.

            At about that time, LPN Judy Lamb responded to a call over the PA system for a doctor, and joined the rescue effort. Russ went to work with the AED, which administers an electrical shock to revive the heartbeat. Lamb performed chest compressions to maintain blood circulation, and Mulcahy checked the pulse.

“I Felt a Pulse”

            It all worked. “After we gave him the shock, I felt a pulse,” Mulcahy said. The patient, with heartbeat and breathing restored, regained consciousness, and even tried to sit up. “It seemed like it lasted twenty minutes, but the whole thing took a couple of minutes at most,” Mulcahy said.

            Ambulances from the Emergency Squad and Hillsborough County Fire/Rescue arrived shortly thereafter, and the patient was transported to South Bay Hospital. After a four-bypass heart surgery, he is recovering nicely at home.

            His rescuers say the episode was an extremely gratifying experience. All three say the patient was clinically dead before being revived. Lamb said, “It was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” Mulcahy said he has participated in about a dozen CPR attempts, and this is the only successful one.

What a Team

            For people who just happened to be on hand at the time of the heart attack, the three are extraordinarily qualified to deal with such a crisis. Chuck Russ is a first responder, assistant director of education for the Emergency Squad and in charge of CPR training. Bob Mulcahy is a retired Special Forces Command Sergeant Major, an EMT, and a CPR instructor. Judy Lamb is an experienced Licensed Practical Nurse who has kept up with CPR and other training required to maintain her license.

            Emergency Squad Chief Christine Patrick said, “If they didn’t react the way they did, that man would not be living today. They knew exactly what to do, and did it. I’m very proud of my two guys.”

            Security Patrol Chief Martha Finley, also an Emergency Squad member, was nearby and helped with crowd control. “I think the situation was handled extremely well,” she said. “Everything was under control when the ambulances got there.”

            The patient is doing so well, Chief Finley said, that his wife called a few days later to explain that her husband might have to miss a few Security Patrol shifts, but will be back in six months.

            The AED is one of 29 in various locations throughout Sun City Center. Thom Brown, Emergency Squad Assistant Chief, said those on the ER Squad trained to use AED’s are the Chief and all Assistant Chiefs, Captains and Assistant Captains. In addition, all responding personnel, i.e. EMTs, First Responder/Drivers and First Responders are trained in using the equipment.

            All Community Association staff members are required to undergo training in their use every other year, according to CA President Paul Wheat. Wheat was at the Community Hall incident and made one of several calls to 911.

Chuck Russ points out features of an Automated Electronic Defibrillator (AED) to Judy Lamb and Bob Mulcahy. They worked together to revive a heart attack victim Nov. 2 at Community Hall. Russ is in charge of CPR training for the SCC Emergency Squad; Lamb is a Licensed Practical Nurse; and Mulcahy is a CPR instructor. (Photo by Paul Courter)