By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County lawmakers gave five county employees who are heroes a standing ovation Wednesday.
The five were at work at the Pines Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Olean on March 14 when a visitor suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a dining room.
They combined to provide high-quality CPR to the visitor, Richard Hughson until an ambulance arrived with advanced life support to take him to the hospital. He has since recovered and was released from the hospital.
County Legislature Chairman Andrew Burr presented each of the women with a recognition certificate and thanked them. Other legislators stood and applauded.
The employees included Stacy Allen, the assistant director of nursing who witnessed the man collapse and immediately began CPR chest compressions. She was quickly joined by Autumn Benson, a licensed practical nurse; Atiya Milliner, head nurse; Brandi Ferris, licensed practical nurse supervisor and April Crisafulli, in-service coordinator.
Together, they provided the heart attack victim with uninterrupted blood flow to the brain, which few people get.
“I’m pretty proud of them,” said acting Nursing Homes director Kelly Reed. “They were in the right place at the right time.” Hughson is out of the hospital, she said. One of his first stops was the nursing home where he thanked all the ladies who administered CPR after his heart attack.
Cattaraugus County Emergency Services Medical Director Dr. Brian Walters, who attended the meeting where the nursing home staff were recognized, said the survival rate for similar heart attacks is less than 10%. Many who survive don’t have full neurologic functions.
“They were there and witnessed the heart attack and began to administer CPR right away,” Walters said. Nursing home staff also used an automatic external defibrillator to shock his heart.
“Thankfully, they (staff) were right there. He was awake and talking when the ambulance arrived,” Walters added. The Emergency Services Department provides CPR training to staff at both Pines nursing homes, as well as other departments.
The recognition of the Pines Healthcare Heroes was sponsored by Legislature Chairman Andrew Burr, R-Gowanda.
“We are extremely proud of the entire staff of The Pines for workjing together in a time of emergency, altering staff, calling 911, gathering necessary equipment to assist ajnd comforting the family,” Burr said.
He commended the five staff members “for their expertise and proficiency under pressure to go above and beyond to provide exceptional care to an individual in need.”
Burr also recognized three others, including an Olean legislator, for receiving community service awards at the Olean YMCA’s 39th Annual Salute to Olean.
Legislator Richard Smith was cited for being an active volunteer in youth sports, an Olean alderman, a member of the Urban Renewal Agency and Advisory Board for the Olean Youth and Recreation Department and the Olean High Sports Boosters Club. Burr said Smith, in his second term as legislator, is “striving to follow in the footsteps of his father, former Mayor William O. Smith.”
Also recognized were Jared and Ally McCarthy, who the YMCA cited for “selfless dedication to the community.”
The McCarthys founded a non-profit, TLC at Oishei to support patients and families, delivering toys to the hospital each Christmas, support Foster Cattaraugus, volunteer expertise and services to the South Side Union Chapel, spread joy through community Christmas tree lighting projects and are foster parents.
During Wednesday’s meeting, legislators adopted a modified Agriculture District including adding acreage in nine towns and the village of Cattaraugus. The towns are: Allegany, 8 acres; New Albion, 50 acres; Great Valley, 18.7 acres; Otto, 20.7 acres; Farmersville, 124.4 acres; Lyndon, 16.5 acres; Mansfield, 14.8 acres, and Yorkshire, 23.8 acres.
The agriculture district helps to maintain a viable agriculture industry in the county by offering certain tax and development protections.
District 2 legislators sponsored another resolution for immediate consideration authorizing Burr to seek grants from Empire State Development for a County Infrastructure Program.
The grants would be designed to help the Village of Ellicottville address what has become a critical shortage of affordable housing for its local workforce.
Legislators Joseph Boberg, Michael Brisky, Richard Helmich and Ginger Schroder are sponsors. The resolution states: “the village’s primary goal is to extend and enhance the infrastructure needed to create affordable housing by ensuring that those that work in Ellicottville can afford to live there.”
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All Rights Reserved. Star News LLC. Eric M. Firkel.
