Valley Hospital Donates Defibrillator to Paramus Senior Center

Valley Hospital Donates Defibrillator to Paramus Senior Mayor James Tedesco, Council President Denis Niland, Councilwoman Cathy Betz and Maureen O'Brien were on hand as The Valley Hospital presented Joseph Cipolla Senior Center Director Eileen McDowell with a defibrillator. On hand from Valley were: Martha Ferrara, N.P., a nurse practitioner in The Valley Hospital Electrophysiology Department, Julia Nidetz Karcher and Erica Koszyk. McDowell called up members from the clubs that meet there to help in the acceptance.

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) selected The Valley Hospital as the site of its Garden State Chapter. The SCAA is a national public advocacy organization that seeks to prevent unnecessary death from sudden cardiac arrest through better public awareness, better emergency response, and better access to preventative medical care for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.

The Garden State Chapter of the SCAA meets at The Valley Hospital as a part of the hospital’s Live Wires support group for individuals with implantable defibrillators. The Chapter is led by Martha Ferrara, N.P., a nurse practitioner in The Valley Hospital Electrophysiology Department.

At the first Chapter meeting, The SCAA’s Executive Director, Chris Chiames, presented Suneet Mittal, M.D., cardiac electrophysiologist at The Valley Hospital, with an automated external defibrillator and asked the group to donate it to the local facility or organization of their choice. The AED was donated to the SCAA by Cardiac Science. The Valley Hospital decided to donate the AED to The Joseph Cipolla Senior Citizen Center in Paramus.

Tedesco said that this would be a valuable addition to the Senior Center.