Rescue Inc. In The News

Rescue Inc. Named 2010 Vermont Service Of The Year
(04/02/2010)

By JAIME CONE, Brattleboro Reformer

Friday April 2, 2010

BRATTLEBORO -- If you live in Brattleboro and sustain a serious injury, chances are you will find yourself in an ambulance driven by an employee of Rescue Inc.

And you would be in good hands, according to the Vermont Department of Health Office of Emergency Medical Services, which recently honored the area’s main emergency response service with the title of Ambulance Service of the Year.

Rescue Inc. was first nominated by Eva Greene, of Dummerston, whose husband was seriously injured in an accident last year.

Bradford Greene, 71, was riding his bike on Route 5 in Dummerston on April 19, 2009, and was hit from behind by a driver who, during a crucial moment, took her eyes off the road.

He sustained life-threatening injuries, but the fact that he’s alive today and teaching classes at Keene State College and the University of Vermont is largely due to the skill of those Rescue Inc. employees who responded, according to Eva Greene and the doctors who treated her husband.

When Bradford was struck by the vehicle, Putney Fire Chief Thomas Goddard was at home, less than 100 yards away, playing Frisbee with his kids. Goddard came running, called for a Rescue ambulance with two paramedics and radioed for a Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Rescue Team helicopter.

An EMT-Intermediate who happened to be driving by, Billy Straus of Putney, stopped and held the victim’s head immobile until the Rescue team arrived. Tom Goddard and Straus continued working alongside the team, which included Spencer Sahim, Robert Holden, Drew Hazelton and Eric Pouliot.

On impact, all of Greene’s right ribs were shattered, two left ribs were broken, his right hipbone and socket were severely fractured and his helmet broken in two.

He was airlifted to the closest Level 1 Trauma Center, Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., where in the first 24 hours he received 13 units of blood. The average adult body contains 10 units.

Ten days later, as he lay unconscious in Baystate’s ICU ward, Lisa Patterson, Baystate’s director of Trauma Service, sent a letter to Dr. Christopher Schmidt, Rescue’s medical director.

Dr. Patterson wrote: "It was due to the excellent pre-hospital care he received that this man survived to get to Baystate Medical Center, which is remarkable given his long list of injuries. I would like to commend your organization for the outstanding job in pre-hospital care in the Brattleboro area."

Rescue Inc. has 60 employees; most of them alternate between the Rescue Inc. station on Canal Street in Brattleboro and the second station located at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend.

About 38 of those are paid employees, and the rest volunteer their time.

Mark Considine, chief of operations at Rescue Inc., said his team couldn’t be successful without cooperation between Rescue Inc. and other emergency providers within the community.

Considine said the department of health cited Bradford Greene’s story as an example of tremendous teamwork at the ceremony March 27.

"There were a lot of players in that particular (rescue)," he said, "including hospitals and D-HART. It’s a good example of how the system works correctly."

"Rescue, being a community-based model, works so well because in the 15 areas we cover we work very closely with local fire departments and first response agencies," Considine added.

He said Rescue Inc. works with more than 500 emergency providers across Windham County.

"We work with 20 to 30 providers in each community that we cover," he said.

In addition to maintaining a record of clinical excellence, the criteria for Service Of The Year requires that the nominee be active in local public education and injury prevention, both areas that Rescue Inc. is involved in through its Community Training Center and Vermont SafeKids program.

Considine said Rescue Inc. won the award years ago. "I think about 10 years ago," he said.

He said a lot has changed between then and now.

"The one thing about medicine is that it’s constantly changing," he said. "Our goal is to stay on top of that to provide high-quality service but also adapt to change."

As for the rescue team that saved her husband’s life, Eva Greene said, "They seem like normal people, until you see what they can do."

Letters of support for the nomination were sent by Chief Mike Bucossi of Brattleboro Fire Department, Dr. Howard Backus and Dr. Timothy Shafer of Grace Cottage Hospital, Dr. George Idelkope and Barry Beeman of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Dr. Lisa Patterson of Baystate Medical Center, Cindy Jerome of Holton Home, and James F. Baker, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Board Chairman, among others.

Jaime Cone can be reached at jcone@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 277.