Contact:
Cynthia Bacon
(718) 670-2515

Debra Pagano Cohen
(718) 670-1586

Flushing, NY — November 28, 2011 — The Flushing Rotary Club donated $10,000 to New York Hospital Queens Save-A-Life campaign. The money will be used to purchase cardiac equipment for hospital ambulances. The hospital's Women’s Auxiliary partnered with the hospital’s Community Advisory Council to bring the fund raising campaign into the community. The campaign also included a raffle with a 40-inch flat screen T.V. and a Tiffany & Co. silver chain and pendant as prizes. Diane Sixsmith, M.D., Chair, Emergency Medicine, NYHQ, picked the winning tickets belonging to Vincent Gianelli and Cyrille Kousiaris.

Caption:  Flushing Rotary, Diane Sixsmith, M.D., Chair, Emergency Medicine, NYHQ, Cyrille Kousiaris, member, Flushing Rotary, Veronica Tsang, Pres., Flushing Rotary, and Al Harris, member, Flushing Rotary

The equipment that will be purchased will be top-of-the-line cardiac monitors/defibrillators at a cost of approximately $30,000 each. The new cardiac machines are designed to bring the Emergency Room physician—virtually— to the patient. Vital signs, heart rhythms (ECG) and other important information are wirelessly sent to the receiving hospital. A physician can view the information from a computer monitor at the hospital and give direct guidance to the paramedics and EMTs before the patient arrives. Hospital staff can also prepare a plan of care before the patient arrives. The machines use hands-free leads that are applied to the chest to “shock” a patient’s heart back to a normal rhythm. In addition, a patient’s risk of death or brain damage can be reduced because the patient’s inner core temperature is carefully monitored.

To make a donation to the Save-A-Life Campaign please call the hospital’s development office at 718-670-1009.