Kings Park First Responders Awarded for Save During Sandy

A trio of Kings Park Fire Department First Responders were celebrated last week for their inspiring performance after Hurricane Sandy touched down on Long Island.

St. Catherine's of Siena awarded James Loduca, Andree Fagan and Tom Zambito with their "Protector of the Penumbra" award, given after they saved a patient in distress from suffering from further stroke complications. The award was given at the hospital's quarterly emergency response appreciation dinner.

St. Catherine's stated the following about the stroke incident: 

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.  The patient received the drug within 40 minutes of arrival. They successfully minimized the long-term deficits from the ischemic stroke, because adequate blood flow was restored in this brief period of time.

"These volunteers sacrificed their time to help others, as do their many colleagues each and every day of the year, but most especially during the disaster of Hurricane Sandy," said St. Catherine’s Nursing PI Coordinator Catherine Videtto.