POLICE OFFICER AND FIREFIGHTERS RECEIVE HEROES RECOGNITION FOR SAVING LIFE (Palm Bay)—Officer Amy Revis was at the right place at the right time with the right equipment to save a life last Memorial Day weekend. So were retired nurse Jana Watts, 6-year-old Romeo Rodriguez and a four-member crew at Palm Bay Fire-Rescue. Together their efforts helped save the life of now 9-year-old Cathy Vogel who was pulled from a backyard swimming pool unconscious and not breathing. The story got the attention of the Honeywell Corporation which presented the heroes with its 2014 Life Safety Award during its annual conference in Orlando Friday. The awards presentation featured a short video narrated by Larry King telling the story of what happened at a Memorial Day Weekend party at a friend’s home on Lakeland Ave. SW. Romeo Rodriguez noticed his friend Cathy was unresponsive underwater. He reacted quickly by yelling for help and attempting to pull her from the pool. Roger Fox pulled Cathy out of the water. Jana Watts is a retired registered nurse who was also at the party. Watts immediately began CPR until rescuers arrived. Officer Amy Revis was the first responder on scene. Officer Revis had a portable defibrillator in her patrol car and applied two “shocks” to Cathy’s chest. Officer Revis was able to regain a pulse as the paramedics arrived on scene. Lt. Brian Gent and his crew then began to establish an airway and stabilized Cathy who began breathing and regained consciousness. Cathy was flown by First-Flight medical helicopter to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando where she spent four days before being released just in time to return to school for the last day of the year. Since the incident, Cathy’s mother, Dawn Bittar has partnered with the city to establish a special fund within the Palm Bay Municipal Foundation where donations can be accepted and designated for the purchase of Automatic External Defibrillator’s (AED’s) in all patrol vehicles. Currently only about half a dozen police patrol vehicles are equipped with the portable defibrillator. “Cathy’s Cause” is an effort to raise more than $160,000 to purchase approximately 100 AED’s. “It’s so important for our first responders to have this life saving device,” Bittar said. “I’m so thankful Officer Revis had one with her because it saved Cathy’s life. We need them in all of our police vehicles.” Established in August 2013, the Palm Bay Municipal Foundation, Inc. (PBMF) is a Florida 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation and all donations made to it are tax deductible. To donate, make checks payable to “Palm Bay Municipal Foundation” and designate the purpose of the check is for “Police AED’s” in the memo section of the check. Mail donations to: Palm Bay Municipal Foundation c/o City Attorney’s Office 120 Malabar Rd. S.E. (Third Floor) Palm Bay, FL 32907. You may also contact 321-409-7185 to request additional information regarding the Foundation. ##
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 21:35:08 +0000
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