General Manager Todd Kaatz Patient Debby Custodio Packaging Room Manager Carma Capizzo Country Smoke House Co-Owner Suzanne Francis Country Smoke House Co-Owner Stephen Francis Northern Operations Manager Jeremy Compau Vice President of Clinical and Education Services Kevin Wilkinson
General Manager Todd Kaatz, Patient Debby Custodio, Packaging Room Manager Carma Capizzo, Country Smoke House Co-Owner Suzanne Francis, Country Smoke House Co-Owner Stephen Francis, Northern Operations Manager Jeremy Compau, and Vice President of Clinical and Education Services Kevin Wilkinson  
Paramedic Angelina Bonino, Patient Debby Custodio, and EMT Gabriel Dunsmore
Paramedic Angelina Bonino, Patient Debby Custodio, and EMT Gabriel Dunsmore

Medstar, Michigan’s most integrated EMS and mobile healthcare provider, commends the staff at the Country Smoke House in Almont for their preparedness and action when their colleague suffered a cardiac arrest. 

When the patient became unconscious and stopped breathing, Country Smoke House co-owner Suzanne Francis began CPR while her husband, Stephen, got the AED. Shortly after, the AED was in place and defibrillated the patient. General Manager Todd Kaatz and Packaging Room Manager Carma Capizzo assisted with CPR until Medstar arrived on scene. 

Medstar Paramedic Angelina Bonino and EMT Gabriel Dunsmore continued CPR and administered heart resuscitation drugs. Within a few minutes, they achieved the return of spontaneous circulation, also known as ROSC. Medstar then transported the patient to the hospital. 

“This outcome demonstrates the incredible value of having AEDs and people trained in CPR readily available in our communities,” said Kolby Miller, Medstar CEO. “The patient made a full recovery and was discharged with no neurologic deficits, which is the best possible outcome in these types of cases.”

Medstar will honor the Country Smoke House on Tuesday, June 1, at 2 p.m. as part of its CPR and AED Awareness Week campaign. The Country Smoke House is located at 3294 Van Dyke Rd, Almont, MI 48003.  

According to the American Heart Association, survival rates from cardiac arrest double when a bystander uses an AED before first responders arrive. Medstar offers grants that provide AEDs and CPR training to schools, churches, and other nonprofit and civic organizations in its service area. To learn more about Medstar’s AED and CPR grant program or to apply, go to www.medstarambulance.org/aed-and-cpr-grants. 

About Medstar

Medstar is Michigan’s most integrated 911 EMS and mobile healthcare provider, serving more than 190,000 patients annually throughout lower Michigan. Created in 1993 by two local hospitals committed to quality EMS, the nonprofit agency now serves communities in nine counties. Healthcare stakeholders include Ascension-Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, and the McLaren Healthcare Corporation. For more information, visit www.medstarambulance.org. 

Contact

Anne Hein | ahein@medstarambulance.org | 586-980-1043

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