2009 Genesis Awards Reception Held During National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month to Raise Awareness about the Nation’s Leading Cause of Death
High school hero, Mike Piccione, was honored at the 2009
Genesis Awards Reception hosted by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, on
October 15 at Hyde Park in Pittsburgh. Mike, a physical education
teacher and coach at Rhinebeck (NY) High School, was recognized for his role in
saving the life of Kaitlin Forbes when she suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)
at the age of 15 in 2005. He gave her CPR and used the school’s automated
external defibrillator (AED), which restored a normal heart rhythm.
Kaitlin and her friends later started the HeartSafe Club of Rhinebck, in honor of Maggie O'Malley, a friend who died from sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 17.
Now a college student, Kaitlin participated in the event via Skype. Her message to the audience: "Heroes aren't born...they are trained." Kaitlin's story is
featured in the Foundation’s publication, You Can Save a Life at School™.
Mary Newman, Foundation president, presented Piccione with an award inscribed with words from the Talmud: “To save one life is as if to save the world.” She also recognized others contributing to the save: Superintendent Joseph Phelan; then Principal Anthony Celenza; School Nurse Bonnie Murphy, R.N.; teachers Bob Krausz, Ron Keefe, and Melanie Babineau; and students Thomas McCormack, Matthew DeIulio and Dylan Alben.
Other stories of survival were celebrated during the reception. David Belkin, Esq., now a member of the Foundation Board of Directors, described his brush with death. His life was saved three years ago at an elementary school in eastern Pennsylvania, thanks to the availability of an AED and willing rescuers.
The program also paid tribute to the majority of SCA victims who do not survive. Sally Wiggin, WTAE TV Action News anchor and event emcee, shared her connection to the cause. “I had just returned from a homecoming dance. That’s when I found out my father had just dropped dead from sudden cardiac arrest. I was only 14.”
Bobby Khan, MD, PhD, chairman of the Foundation Board of Directors, and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Emory University in Atlanta, described the terrible toll that SCA has taken on our nation, noting it is the single largest cause of death in the U.S. He, too, has a personal connection—his mother died from SCA on Christmas Day several years ago.
There was not a dry eye in the room when Elaine Liberati, a Pittsburgh Public School teacher, shared the grief that she has experienced since the sudden death of her daughter, Annie, then 22, in 2007. Ever since, she said, quoting from Viktor Frankl, she and her family have been searching for meaning in the midst of their sorrow.
Jamie Dixon, men’s basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, told his story of loss--describing good times with his sister Maggie, until her sudden death at the age of 28, when she was coach of the women’s basketball team at the U.S. Military Academy. Dixon, who has lost other relatives to SCA, has become a strong advocate for the cause.
Rep. Mike Turzai, PA House of Representatives, 28th Legislative District, also spoke at the reception, expressing his support for PA HB 1803, which promotes CPR/AED education and AED placement in schools. He also announced he will be introducing legislation to designate an SCA Awareness Month in Pennsylvania.
In light of the Foundation awards reception, Chief Executive Dan Onorato proclaimed October 15 SCA Awareness Day in Allegheny County.
Cardiac Science, ZOLL Medical, Heartsine, St. Francis Foundation, The Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute at Allegheny General Hospital, and LifeCare Hospitals of Pittsburgh sponsored the event.
Entertainment was provided by the North Allegheny High School Strolling Strings.
Judy Kristan, Ali Newman, Jennifer Bassett, Jeff Kristan, Janet Emery, and Carissa Caramanis O'Brien served on the event planning committee.
It seems nearly everyone at the event had some connection to SCA. "I lost my father, four uncles and a cousin to sudden cardiac arrest," said Mrs. Kristan, event chairperson.
Additional photos: http://www.blacktie-pittsburgh.com/premiere_events/details.cfm?id=791