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Local First Responders Awarded at St. Catherine's Emergency Response Appreciation and Education Dinner

John Mitty Monday, April 29, 2013

Local first responders were presented with the “Protector of the Penumbra” award at St. Catherine’s quarterly Emergency Response Appreciation and Education Dinner held on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at the Watermill in Smithtown. Emergency response personnel in attendance received certificates in “The Stroke Patient”, presented by Paul Taglienti, MD and “The Septic Patient”, presented by St. Catherine’s Emergency Department physician Greg Petrizzo, DO.

The “Protector of the Penumbra” award was developed from an initiative St. Catherine’s participates in through the American Heart Association. The goal is 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. When a patient receives the drug within 40 minutes of arrival emergency personnel are awarded for their diligence. Because of their timely care, they successfully aided in minimizing the long-term deficits from the ischemic stroke.

Photo: St. Catherine’s Nursing Performance Improvement Coordinator Catherine Videtto, Protector of the Penumbra Award Recipients St. James Fire Department EMS Volunteer Krista Pilger, Smithtown Fire Department EMS Volunteers Joe Polazzo, Jon Turk and James Solomon and St. Catherine’s Emergency Department physician Greg Petrizzo, DO.

For more information about St. Catherine’s quarterly Emergency Response Appreciation and Education Dinners, please call (631) 870-3444 or visit stcatherines.chsli.org.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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