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White Plains, NY – March 24, 2009 – Siegrid Buhlheller, a 49-year-old White Plains wife and mother of two children—who recently suffered a life-threatening cardiac arrest— today thanked the individuals responsible for saving her life: the White Plains police, EMTs and the medical staff of White Plains Hospital Center’s (WPHC) state-of-the-art Emergency Department (ED).
Caption:
Mr. and Mrs. Siegrid and Berthold Buhlheller (center at podium) are reunited with some of the fast responders and medical staff at White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC).. Mrs. Buhlheller survived a life-threatening cardiac arrest on February 25 as a result of the quick response and on-the-scene care of the local police and EMTs and the medical staff at WPHC where, as part of her acute care, she underwent a therapeutic hypothermia treatment used to cool the body temperature of cardiac arrest patients.
As part of the acute care she received, Mrs. Buhlheller became the first patient at the Hospital to undergo a therapeutic hypothermia treatment used to cool the body temperature of cardiac arrest patients to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 hours. The Hospital had acquired the hypothermia blanket less than a week before Mrs. Buhlheller had been admitted. WPHC is the first hospital in
“The complete recovery of Mrs. Buhleller’s is nothing short of a medical miracle,” said Timothy Haydock, WPHC Director of Emergency Medicine said. “She was not only successfully resuscitated and brought back from a ‘primary sudden death’ but she did not suffer any neurological impairment which is unusual for patients who suffer from cardiac arrest.”
Because Mrs. Buhlheller has no memory of the events surrounding her serious medical emergency, her husband Berthold—together with representatives of the fast responders and medical team—recounted at a press conference today the events of February 25 when she suffered a sudden loss of heart function at home. White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino and other city officials and Hospital representatives joined in celebrating the sequence of events and actions by the fast responders and medics that led to Mrs. Buhlheller’s survival.
Upon receiving the 911 call at 7:27 a.m., the
Minutes later, a Police Emergency Services Unit truck arrived on the scene with Police Officers Robert Demodna (Medic) and Edward Calvano (EMT), followed by a Transcare ambulance with paramedics Alyssa Berkowitz (medic) and Sharina O’Neal (EMT) to provide advanced life support services. By 7:58 a.m. the ambulance was in route to
Upon arrival at the Emergency Department, Mrs. Buhleller underwent intense care over the next three and a half hours including the therapeutic hypothermia treatment. At noon, she was transferred to the ICU. She was discharged a few days later without showing any neurological effects and is gradually resuming her normal daily routine under medical supervision.
White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino rejoiced at the good fortune of Mrs. Buhlheller to have fallen ill in a city so prepared to come to her aid. “Our Department of Public Safety is trained and equipped to be one of the best in the nation. The fact that the Police arrived on the scene within three minutes after getting the call is hard proof of that,” he said. “
Steven M. Meixler, M.D., Director of WPHC’s Department of Medicine, said the emergency care nurses “played a pivotal role in the minute-by-minute care of this patient and the remarkable outcome.” Dr. Meixler was instrumental in spearheading the campaign for the Hospital’s acquisition of the hypothermia blanket and for setting up the protocol for its use. “Thanks to gifts from generous
Jon B. Schandler, WPHC President and
White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC) is a 292-bed voluntary, not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of offering high quality, acute health care and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit
