NEWS 96-00: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , June 21, 2000 PORT AUTHORITY EXPANDS AWARD-WINNING PORTABLE HEART DEFIBRILLATOR PROGRAM -- Agency to Train Tunnel and Bridge Agents to Save Cardiac-Arrest Victims; 30 Defibrillators Added at JFK After pioneering the use of portable heart defibrillators in New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority is doing even more to save lives across the region. Nearly 200 Port Authority tunnel and bridge agents will begin to receive defibrillator training this year, the bistate agency announced today. The agents will join more than 400 Port Authority Police officers - a third of the agency's police force - who have been trained to use portable heart defibrillators to revive victims of cardiac arrest at Kennedy International, Newark International and LaGuardia airports and other Port Authority facilities. Tunnel and bridge agents are stationed at the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the Staten Island Bridges. The agents monitor traffic on video cameras, staff booths in tunnels, assist stranded motorists, tow vehicles of all sizes and patrol the crossings. They also respond to medical emergencies, and are trained to fight fires, extricate accident victims from damaged vehicles and clean hazardous spills. "Of all the services that the Port Authority provides for the hundreds of millions of passengers who rely on our facilities each year, none is more important than saving lives," said Port Authority Executive Director Robert E. Boyle. "The Port Authority's award-winning defibrillator program is already a model for others to emulate. By expanding our program, the Port Authority is setting a new standard for excellence in lifesaving techniques." Fred V. Morrone, the Port Authority's Director of Public Safety and Superintendent of Police, stated, "Port Authority Police officers have used defibrillators to save 12 lives since the program's inception in 1997." "Portable heart defibrillators significantly increase the odds of saving the lives of cardiac-arrest victims," said Ken Philmus, the Port Authority's Director of Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals. "We are pleased that our tunnel and bridge agents will soon be able to perform this vital service for the millions of travelers who use our crossings each year." As part of the program's expansion, the Port Authority also will install 30 portable defibrillators in passenger terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and plans to add defibrillators in terminals at Newark International Airport. Port Authority Police already carry defibrillators at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia airports, as well as other Port Authority facilities. Dimitry Gorbenko of Livingston, N.J. - who was revived with a defibrillator operated by two Port Authority Police officers after going into cardiac arrest at JFK on July 7, 1997 - knows first-hand the value of the agency's defibrillator program. "It's one of the most necessary things to have at an airport, at a bus terminal, at a police station. All buildings should have defibrillators," said Mr. Gorbenko, who attended a defibrillator demonstration today at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Cardiac-arrest survivor Charles Mitchell of Hilton Head Island, S.C., who was revived by Port Authority Police officers at LaGuardia Airport on November 18, 1998, said: "The Port Authority Police are miracle workers. Without their instant response, fast work and care, I would not be here today." Port Authority Police emergency medical technicians and certified first responders are assigned throughout the agency's facilities. Highly trained Port Authority Police are responsible for firefighting, rescues and crash emergencies at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia airports. All recruits at the Port Authority Police Training Academy learn how to use defibrillators. President Clinton recently announced plans to expand the use of defibrillators in federal buildings and airplanes. "If this entire nation comes together to place (defibrillators) in airplanes, federal buildings and other key locations, we can save more than 20,000 lives every single year," the President said in his May 20 weekly radio address. "I expect there are very few people listening today who don't know someone who has been struck down by sudden cardiac arrest. ... With this new technology, we have the ability to turn around the odds." Medical experts have recognized the Port Authority for pioneering the use of portable defibrillators in the region. The Port Authority Police Department received the Emergency Medical Services Agency of the Year Award from the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City, Inc., in 1999. The council also named Port Authority Police Capt. Kathy Mazza the Basic Life Support Provider of the Year. Capt. Mazza, a registered professional nurse, teaches emergency medical service programs at the Port Authority Police Training Academy. Other agencies have followed the Port Authority's lead and have begun to train their staff to use defibrillators.