Support for Soldiers and Veterans You Gotta Have Heart The Joy of ...

SYOSSET — Jeanine Norton,
RN, had just finished her daily
early-morning workout when
she saved the life of a 44-yearold
man.
The Post-Anesthesia Care
Unit nurse at Syosset Hospital
was preparing to leave the gym
at 6 a.m. when staff asked if
she could help a man having
“seizures.” With 13 years of
critical care experience, Ms.
Norton ran to help. She
recognized the man who had
recently started exercising
regularly at the gym and saw
he had no pulse and wasn’t
breathing.
Ms. Norton made sure
that 911 had been called
and then performed chest
compressions on the man
for almost half an hour,
while two physicians at the
gym helped “get breath into
him.” She continued applying
chest compressions after the
ambulance arrived so the
emergency medical technicians
(EMTs) could intubate the
man. After attempting an
intravenous line and resorting
to an interoscular device in the
leg, the EMTs administered
epinephrine and atropine for
cardiac arrest.
The ambulance rushed
him to nearby Syosset
Hospital, where he was
stabilized and later transferred
to North Shore University
Hospital. In their cardiac cath
lab, North Shore University
Hospital staff discovered the
main vessel in his heart was
blocked. “It’s also known as the
‘widow maker,’” Ms. Norton
said, “because most people
don’t survive that.”
Recovery
Nurse
Saves
Life at
Gym
By Kathleen Waton
The man lived and after
2.5 weeks in the hospital, was
discharged with a pacemaker
defibrillator.
After responding
immediately to the emergency,
Ms. Norton continues to be
affected by the event. “I wasn’t
sure if he was going to be brain
dead and would be on life
support for the rest of his life
because he had been without
oxygen for so long. His doctor
says he doesn’t know how he
survived, without a heartbeat
for 30 minutes. When I see
him at the gym now, tears
come to my eyes, the rescue
was so amazing.”
Ms. Norton encourages
others to overcome their fears
and act in an emergency.
“Reach out and try to help,” she
said. “Even if you can’t do CPR,
get help, do something. Don’t
just walk by. Give someone a
second chance at life.”
Above: Jeanine Norton, RN
Zuckerberg Awards
Nurses from throughout the North Shore-LIJ System recently received
the 2012 Zuckerberg Family Awards for Nursing Service Excellence. The
honorees were recognized for meeting or exceeding expectations in all criteria
on performance evaluations, and exceeding expectations in quality of work,
attitude, interpersonal relationships and attendance. Winners each received
a certificate and $1,000. The awards program is supported by Roy Zuckerberg,
former chairman of the health system’s Board of Trustees.
Award recipients were:
Mavis Barriteau, RN, BSN
Franklin Hospital
Pat Loccisano, RN
Forest Hills Hospital
Megan Burt, RN
Glen Cove Hospital
Camille Hertzel, RN
Huntington Hospital
Jennifer Thys-Rose, RN
Lenox Hill Hospital
Marybeth Grieser, RN
Long Island Jewish Hospital
Lisa Flick, RN
Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat
Hospital
Cindy Gomez, RN
North Shore University Hospital
Carol Carlson, RN
Plainview Hospital
Frances McCarthy, RN
Staten Island University
Hospital North
Frederick Cappetta, RN
Staten Island University
Hospital South
Charla Doherty, RN
Steven and Alexandra Cohen
Children’s Medical Center of
New York
Charlotte Maloney, RN
Southside Hospital
Stella Bacus, RN
Syosset Hospital
Elise Bailey, RN
The Zucker Hillside Hospital
The New Standard 27