OCEAN CITY — “Without her I wouldn’t be here; she was really the link that started it all,” Bayland Drive resident Lois Marcasciano said of the stranger who helped save her life.
Cara Clemens was honored along with Ocean City Fire Department and Police Department personnel Oct. 9 inside the garage of Station #2 at 29th Street and West Avenue.
The first civilian recipient of the OCFD’s Unit Citation, Clemens spotted Marcasiano on the ground Aug. 25 suffering from cardiac arrest and launched into action.
“I grabbed my phone and ran over. She didn’t respond so I called 911,” Clemens said. “I talked to the very helpful dispatcher who said, ‘We are going to get you help but you are going to have to start CPR.’”
Clemens was a pool lifeguard in her teens, so knew how to perform CPR but had not done so in many years
“It comes back to you quick, I think,” Clemens said, noting she worked until the emergency crew arrived and took over.
Dr. William Schumacher, the medical director for Ocean City Fire Rescue and attending physician in the emergency room at Shore Medical Center, said it is quite rare for a cardiac arrest victim to survive following bystander CPR.
“About 90 percent of cardiac arrests happen in the community, not in a hospital. About 75 percent happen in people’s homes and only about 15 percent are out and about. Only about 40 percent of people get the care they need from bystander CPR and the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is somewhere between 3 percent and 9 percent. That triples with bystander CPR. You take a 3 to 9 percent chance and make it a 9 to 27 percent chance, and here you go,” he said, pointing to Marcasiano. It’s a tiny number that could be a lot bigger.”
Ocean City Fire Department Chief Bernie Walker commended Clemens for her efforts.
“Cara’s actions initiated our chain of survival, which was an amazing first step. Cara did not hesitate to dial 911. The emergency medical dispatcher quickly sent EMS personnel to the scene while simultaneously directing Cara on how to perform effective CPR, and she did a great job of it,” Walker said.
Walker said first responders do not always get a chance to meet those with whom they come in contact after they have been transported.
“The men and women of the fire department are very happy to be able to help the community, and they don’t always hear positive results. They don’t always hear what happens to patients once they are taken to the hospital,” he said. “In this case, it’s amazing that you came back to thank us.”
“I’ve been doing this 17 years, and this is only the second time I’ve had a chance to reunite with someone I helped,” paramedic Cristi Cottrell said.
Dispatcher Mark Newman and firefighter Winston Roberts were presented with unit citations, while others involved in the life-saving effort were out on a call.
Shore held its own recognition ceremony the previous week.
“When you think about the number of people it takes to save one life, it’s incredible — but to have nearly all those people together in one room to celebrate a successful patient outcome is rare,” spokeswoman Beth Ann Spiegel said. “On Sept. 30, we had a chance to do just that at a special reunion of cardiac arrest survivor Lois Marcasciano with many of the more than 30 individuals who gave her a second chance at life.”
Marcasiano presented her life-saving team with Shore’s Spirit of Shore award for their role in her care.
“The biggest thing I want to say is thank you, because I got a second chance at life to be with my family and my grandchildren. And I can’t thank you enough, for all you do,” she said.
Those involved are Ocean City Police Department dispatcher Mark Newman; paramedics Ashley Hess and Cristi Cottrell; OCPD officers Brandon Smith and Joshua Clark; Ocean City Fire Rescue members William Wasekanes, Matthew Rinck, Eric Masters and Winston Roberts; Shore Medical Center nurses Kevin Houser, Holly Giacinti, Kim Hellyer, Khai Tran, Aylin Torenli, Carmen Bradley, Danielle Ashley, Bianca Cisternino, Celia Manliclic, Erika Picozzi and Ricardy Ricot;
Dr. William Schumacher; pharmacists Earl Hugo, Marshall Young, Rob Scott and Matt Mattioli; intensive care unit Dr. Farhan Qadeer and Dr. Kamleish Persad; respiratory therapists Matthew Powell, Jean Dorce, Rosemarie Black, Jencen Bautista, Ty Altieri, Leigh Batastini, Paul Patel and Michael Chern.
– STORY and PHOTOS by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff