Annual EMS Banquet Honors First Responders And Cardiac Arrest Survivors

Members of the Madison Fire Department and the patients they helped save from sudden cardiac arrest were honored at the 2018 EMS Survivor Banquet sponsored by the Dane County EMS Association, UW Health, and Dane County EMS.

Several survivors, including Chad McKee of Oregon, were able to reunite with the first responders and 911 dispatchers who were instrumental in their saving their life.

There were 31 cardiac saves in Dane County in 2017. Patients who suffered cardiac arrest last year ranged from 25 to 86 years old, and several victims were women. These statistics serve as a stark reminder that "sudden cardiac arrest isn’t just an old man’s disease," said Dane County Medical Director Dr. Michael Lohmeier.

During the banquet, one survivor shared her powerful story about her unexpected cardiac arrest last summer and how much it means to her to be alive today.

Of the 31 survivors honored this year, 14 were aided by bystanders who performed CPR until police, fire, or EMS arrived to take over. In four cases, bystanders applied an AED to the patient and delivered a shock before rescuers arrived.

Each year, we’re reminded of the critical role bystanders play in the chain of survival. If you don’t already have the PulsePoint app on your phone, download it now and be sure to activate the CPR notifications.

MFD Personnel Honored For Cardiac Saves in 2017:

January 5, 2017: Robert O’Hagan, David Shechter, Justin Jenkins, Nicolas Zimpel, Patrick Kearney, Jan Hesslink

February 18, 2017: Patrick Tomko, Tyler Goff, David Bartkowiak, Justin Tews, Chad Workman, Brian Lofy, Vince Soto, Pete Friedericks, Laura Prom, Amanda Baumann

March 19, 2017: Warren Harms, Paul Schecklman

March 28, 2017: Justin Salsano, Adam Phillipson, Michael Stockbridge, Brian Tremain, Arthur Dinkins IV, Michael O’Connell, Eric Frederickson, Ryan Stebnitz

April 12, 2017: Chris Hammes, Michael Howell

May 22, 2017: Michael Guerten, Craig Jones

October 16, 2017: Dustin Whitehorse, Chad Powell, Ryan Majcen

October 20, 2017: Jon Durst, Jeret Jenkins

November 11, 2017: Eric Schrader, Kain Rizzo, Paul Bowers, Adam Lesser, Daniel Storley, Nathan Franke

November 23, 2017: John Roland, Ryan Kinkade, Paul Schecklman, Jeffrey Frank

December 2, 2017: William Adams, Ryan Kinkade, Craig Brinkmann, Brandon Douglas

December 7, 2017: Adam Phillipson, Justin Salsano, Joshua Sterry, Jason Suttle, Robert Baggot, Matthew Mialik

December 17, 2017: Nicholas Mittelstedt, Dustin Whitehorse

December 26, 2017: Eric Isberner, Lindsay Manning

In addition to cardiac saves, 38 MFD members were recognized for their years of service in Dane County.

30 Years of Service

Mike Popovich
Dan McCosky
Steven Randall
Melinda Huitt
Cleveland Stevenson
Marc Behrend

25 Years Of Service

Clay Christenson
Ronald Hettinger
Wendy Krugman
John Fleming
Angela Sheskey
Peter Kienitz
Frank Jonczyk
Joe Ellingson
Douglas Freese
Michael Mueller
Christopher Ernst
Mari Leslie
Jennifer Román

20 Years Of Service

Arthur Dinkins IV
John Byrd
James Stelter
Christopher Homman
Ryan Stebnitz
Jonathon Mast
Jeffrey Ezzel
Jennifer Gullickson
Jason Olson
Shawn Murray Thomas Le
Todd Crawley
John Feierstein
Gina Nitecki
Robert Koltes
Matthew Herrmann
Alan Greenlee
Daniel Storley
Kevin Sherry

Pictured above (L-R): Alan Greenlee, Dan Williams, Chad Workman, Eric Schroeder, Patrick Tomko, Lindsay Manning, Paul Bowers, Jon Byrd, Todd Sailor, David Shechter, Jeffrey Frank, Daniel Storley, David Bartkowiak