During the 2023 American Red Cross Heroes Awards Ceremony last week, three Bangs Ambulance EMS personnel were presented with the Medical Award for their role in life saving actions towards an individual.
The recognition comes after a call that Paramedic Andrew Dean, Paramedic Hayden Frank, and EMT Patrick Kuehl responded to on the evening of May 15th. The call was for an unknown medical problem at a residence in the Town of Ithaca. The call came in as a third party call, with the caller stating they were on the phone with a friend when the line suddenly went silent.
As the crew arrived at the scene they found a multi-unit apartment building with no information to which apartment the patient was in. All three did not just conclude the situation was considered a “no patient” situation.
Gaining information from a neighbor and finding indicators like shoes at the front door, and noticing a window leading to a porch roof that would offer a view into the suspected apartment they believed the patient was in. Paramedic Frank climbed out of the window and then positioned himself on the porch roof, where he then shines a flashlight into the apartment. While shining the light, he found someone unconscious in the living room of the apartment.
Knowing time was of the utmost importance, the crew kicked in the door to the apartment to get to the unconscious patient. Typically, EMS personnel do not do forcible entry and leave it to law enforcement or the fire department.
The patient they found was reportedly near death and the crew was able to provide ventilatory support, medications, and other interventions. The result proved to be a successful one as the person was able to make a full recovery. The patient, after being discharged from the hospital, called Bangs Ambulance to thank the crew that saved their life.
With their actions on May 15th, all three showed persistence, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and commitment for their emergency services work. This led them to be selected as recipients of the 2023 Red Cross Heroes Award in the Medical category.
