Bayfront Health Awards First Responders for Quick Life Saving Action

Bayfront Health – (April 3, 2023) Bayfront Health St. Petersburg presents its first ever Phoenix Award to a team of local first responders who went beyond the call of duty to help save a man’s life.

In January 2023, a seasonal St. Petersburg resident suffered from chest pains and collapsed in front of his wife. Calling 911, she immediately began CPR. A Gulfport police officer was the first person to respond to the couple’s home and continued life-saving measures. Gulfport

firefighters then arrived and extended treatment of the victim. When Sunstar paramedics responded, they were able to reestablish his heart rhythm and transport him to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg.

First responders were able to identify that the victim had suffered a massive heart attack which allowed the medical team at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg to immediately send the patient to the hospital’s catheterization lab for treatment. Six days later he was released from the hospital and has since returned to Tennessee where he lives six months out of the year. The first responders’ immediate actions and recognition of the seriousness of his cardiac condition saved this patient’s life. Bayfront Health St. Petersburg recognized these everyday heroes by awarding them the hospital’s Phoenix Award, named after the mythological bird and its ability to rise from the ashes and come to life again.

The following first responders were honored:

• Gulfport Fire Rescue: Lt. Erick Fuchs, Firefighter/Paramedic Michael Barber, Firefighter/Paramedic Sean Oldenburg
• Gulfport Police Department: Detective Christopher Priest
• South Pasadena Fire Department: Firefighter/Paramedic Nick Moerch, Firefighter/Paramedic Matt Wilson
• Sunstar Paramedics: Paramedic Brad Rednour, Emergency Medical Technician Cassandra Augustin

“Because of swift action and recognition of the seriousness of this situation by police, fire and paramedics, this patient is now recovering at home with his wife,” said Elizabeth Lavelle, administrator, patient care at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg. “This patient was so grateful about his outcome he sent a greeting card to the hospital’s chief nursing officer and a picture of deer in his backyard saying this was a sight I never thought I’d see again.” 

Photos of the event can be found here.

About Bayfront Health

The 480-bed Bayfront Health St. Petersburg was founded in 1910. It was acquired October 1, 2020 by Orlando Health, a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $8.1 billion of assets under management. The hospital’s areas of clinical excellence include heart and vascular, surgical services, rehabilitation services, neurosciences, maternity care and – as home to the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in the St. Petersburg region – emergency services and trauma care.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is integral to the 3,238-bed Orlando Health system that includes 23 hospitals and emergency departments – 18 of which are currently operational with five coming soon. The system also includes nine specialty institutes, more than 100 adult and pediatric primary care practices, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 60 outpatient facilities that include imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care.

More than 4,000 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 25,000 team members and more than 1,200 physicians.

Orlando Health’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows including more than 40 who are enrolled at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg’s OB/GYN, Family Medicine, Sports Medicine and Pharmacy programs.

In FY22, Orlando Health served nearly 142,000 inpatients and 3.9 million outpatients. The healthcare system provided more than $782 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more in FY 21, the most recent period for which this information is available. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.