Eden (NY) Volunteer Goes Into Cardiac Arrest and Is Saved by Fellow First Responders

Eden EMS logo

Lifelong volunteer David Cole of Eden went into cardiac arrest on March 16 and is recovering at home today thanks to the quick work of local first responders he has volunteered alongside for nearly 50 years, new medical technology purchased using the CARES Act, and local hospital, Catholic Health Mercy Hospital of Buffalo.

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The lifesaving team members will be recognized in Eden on Thursday, April 22, with Cole himself reunited for the first time with his fellow first responders to hand out the recognition awards.

· On the morning of Tuesday, March 16, 2021, David Cole, 2018 Eden Citizen of the Year, was working at American Legion Post 880 in Eden, New York when he went into cardiac arrest. Cole has been a member of both the Eden Emergency & Rescue Squad (Eden EMS) and Eden Fire Department for nearly 50 years.

· Cole was fortunate that lifelong friend and Eden EMS charter member, Ken Franz, was with Cole when he collapsed. Franz alerted 911 and began life-saving CPR.

· Eden Police arrived moments later and delivered the first shock from an automated external defibrillator kept in the police car. Workers at the Eden Highway Department next door also ran to assist with CPR.

· There was a swift paramedic-level response with both fly car and ambulance by the Eden Emergency & Rescue Squad. EMTs applied the new Stryker LUCAS Device after arrival, an automated chest compression CPR device recently purchased with funds from the CARES Act.

· Cole was revived on scene and transported by fellow Eden EMS members to Catholic Health Mercy Hospital of Buffalo, where his recovery continued until being released just 10 days later.

First responders will be recognized by Eden Emergency & Rescue Squad Medical Director (Dr. Johanna Innes), a representative of the Stryker LUCAS Device team, Catholic Health leadership, and WREMAC (Western Regional Medical Advisory Committee) Chair, Dr. Michael O’Brien at a recognition ceremony in Eden on Thursday, April 22nd. David Cole will be there to personally hand out recognition awards to the first responders who saved his life that day.

The Eden Emergency and Rescue Squad is a volunteer, non-profit organization composed of over 80 members, serving a community of 8,000 people in Western New York. Formed over fifty years ago in 1968, Eden EMS provides paramedic-level emergency medicine, rescue & extrication, and rope rescue services to the Eden community.

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