COM Outlook - Winter 2016

6 Nova Southeastern University Student, Faculty Member Respond to Mid-Flight Emergency By Scott Colton, B.A., APR COM/HPD Director of Medical Communications and Public Relations ON MAY 26 , second-year student Joshua Gildin and his wife, Chani, were enjoying what appeared to be a seemingly routine flight on JetBlue Airways when, about 40 minutes prior to landing, the flight crew scurried down the aisle to address the passengers on the PA system located at the front of the plane. Due to his NSU-COM education, combined with the basic emergency medical technician (EMT) certification training he earned in New Jersey, Gildin intuitively realized that a possible medical emergency loomed. “I looked at Chani, who is also an emergency medical technician, and she suggested I go to the front of the plane and offer my services if they were required,” he explained. “As I got up from my seat, the flight crew asked for any medical personnel to present themselves at the front of the plane for a medical emergency.” Gildin and his wife were quickly directed to a front seat con- taining a middle-aged woman in clear distress. As he began assessing the patient, who was experiencing severe abdom- inal pain and felt faint, he discovered that she was lethargic, cool, sweating profusely, and had a thready pulse. “I immedi- ately asked for the flight crew to retrieve the onboard oxygen tank, as well as the first-aid bag,” said Gildin, who was about to receive some welcomed assistance from another passenger, who turned out to be NSU-COM clinical professor of preven- tive medicine, Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H. “Approximately two minutes into my patient assessment, my wife told me there was a doctor who was offering to help,” he said. “I responded jokingly by saying, ‘If it is a marine biologist, we don’t need the help.’ But I quickly followed that by asking her to find out what kind of doctor he was.” Fortunately, it turned out to be Hennekens (a renowned in- ternist, researcher, and the first Eugene Braunwald Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School), who was the first to discover that aspirin prevents a first heart attack; reduces mortality when given during a heart attack; and benefits a wide range of survivors of occlusive vascular disease events in the heart, brain, and peripheral arteries. Under Hennekens’ supervision, Gildin continued to moni- tor the woman’s vital signs. “We then spoke with each other about the patient’s differential diagnosis,” said Gildin, who admitted to being “immediately smitten with Hennekens’ bedside, or should I say, plane-side manner.” Because of Gildin’s vast experience as a practicing EMT, he reacted with both skill and alacrity under Hennekens’ watch- ful gaze. “I placed the patient in a modified shock position by reclining her seat as far back as possible and applied an oxygen mask,” Gildin explained. “After obtaining a medical, family, and social history, I performed an abdominal, cardi- ac, and lung assessment. The woman had severe abdominal pain, which abated somewhat following my history and physical. After a few well-timed jokes, I could see the color returning to her face.” For the remaining 30 minutes of the flight, the patient remained reclined in the aisle seat, with Gildin in the middle seat and Hennekens occupying the window seat. “Between COMPASSIONATE CARE