4 Smithtown Emergency Responders Honored

Local first responders were recently honored by St. Catherine's of Siena Medical Center with the “Protector of the Penumbra” award at St. Catherine’s quarterly Emergency Response Appreciation and Education Dinner.

EMS Volunteer Krista Pilger,  and Smithtown Fire Department EMS Volunteers Joe Polazzo, Jon Turk and James Solomon were presented with the award last Wednesday at a dinner held at at the Watermill in Smithtown.

The “Protector of the Penumbra” award was developed from an initiative St. Catherine’s participates in through the American Heart Association. The goal is to improve administration times for the “clot-busting” drug used in the treatment of patients who are brought to the emergency department with symptoms of acute ischemic stroke. 

When a patient receives the drug within 40 minutes of arrival emergency personnel are awarded for their diligence. Because of their timely care, they successfully aided in minimizing the long-term deficits from the ischemic stroke.