Blenheim-Gilboa Response Team Saves Contract Employee’s Life Using Emergency Medical Equipment

Contact
Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov

October 9, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GILBOA—The preparedness and quick response of a New York Power Authority (NYPA) emergency response team at the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Project, involving the use of a portable device to administer electrical shock to the heart, meant the difference between life and death last week for a contract employee who went into cardiac arrest.

After reporting to work on Oct. 3, Jeff Moore, 51, an out-of-state electrician employed by Day and Zimmer NPS Inc. of Lancaster, PA., experienced chest pain, shortness of breath and other symptoms that led his supervisor to seek immediate assistance.

“Within only minutes, members of our first response team were by Jeff’s side in the powerhouse building to evaluate and monitor his condition, and provide whatever assistance we could,” said Dennis Richards, Blenheim-Gilboa safety, health and fire protection administrator.  “We gave him oxygen to help with his breathing and moved him, via stretcher, to an easily accessible place in the building for when an ambulance dispatched by Schoharie County 911 arrived.”

However, Moore went into cardiac arrest, and the Blenheim-Gilboa response team was unable to find a pulse.  At that point, the team members, who regularly simulate such emergencies during drills, used a device called an automated external defibrillator (AED).

About the size of a laptop computer, the AED analyzes the heart’s rhythm for abnormalities and, if necessary, directs its operator to deliver an electrical shock to a person in cardiac arrest through pads attached to the chest.  The shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm of its own.

“After administering the first shock, the machine re-analyzed and indicated ‘a no shock advised’ message followed by a ‘check pulse’ indication,” said Karen Hinkley, an administrative secretary and one of the response team members at the scene who is certified as an emergency-medical technician.  “After determining Jeff had a pulse and was breathing, supplemental oxygen was continued and he slowly regained consciousness.”

Meanwhile, the Power Authority response team remained in phone contact with the Middleburgh Emergency Volunteer Ambulance Corp. (MEVAC).  Upon arriving, the MEVAC transported Moore to Bassett Healthcare in Cobleskill.  He was later transferred to the cardiac care unit at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany for further evaluation and treatment.

A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Moore was released from the hospital this week.

He had only started working at Blenheim-Gilboa last week in connection with modifications being undertaken by Day and Zimmer NPS to the project’s public address system.

“We’re all extremely proud of the how B-G’s response team members reacted to this medical emergency,” said NYPA President and CEO Eugene W. Zeltmann.  “If it weren’t for their timely response and know-how in operating the defibrillator, the outcome might have been a different one.”

“They simply knew what to do, and exhibited the professionalism and composure that you need in an emergency situation,” said James McCarthy, NYPA regional manager, Central New York.

Over the past few years, the Power Authority has purchased about 50 AEDs for Blenheim-Gilboa and other NYPA facilities and offices around the state, with each unit costing approximately $2,500.  The acquisition of the devices and training to operate them are part of the Power Authority’s overall preparedness for medical emergencies.  Staff members are also trained in CPR and first aid.