By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
It started off as a bad day. And it just kept getting worse.
It was the day after Christmas, and they were working, but that wasn’t uncommon. It was the two calls that were different: One involved a five-month-old child, the other an adult.
Sadly, both were deceased when the emergency crew arrived. There was nothing they could do about it, but it was like the weight of the world was on their shoulders.
But the three-man ambulance crew of the Covington Fire Department — Jonathan Krull, Brian Boyers, and Daniel Zembrodt — were ready when they got another call in the afternoon. They realized their patient was suffering from a stroke, and their fast work, which included notifying the hospital and delivering him quickly, saved his life.
By the time they got the patient to the hospital, the staff was ready with a CT scan and a life-saving dose of tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the mostly widely-used drug to treat ischemic or thrombotic stroke.
It took them 30 minutes, or exactly half the national average time to administer the medication, known as the “Door to Needle” period, according to the American Heart Association.
And for that, the crew was given the month’s Door to Needle Award, complete with pins and certificates, for their roles, an honor sponsored by the American Heart Association and St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
At the regularly scheduled legislative commission meeting Tuesday night, the team was honored again, this time by the city, with a resolution, “recognizing firefighter/paramedic Brian Boyers, firefighter/paramedic Jonathan Krull and firefighter/EMT Daniel Zembrodt for their outstanding dedication to their profession and congratulating them on their Door to Needle Award received from the American Heart Association.”
Zembrodt and Boyers were present to receive the award; Krull is fulfilling a military obligation.
City officials thanked the pair, who received applause from the meeting crowd.
“We can show our appreciation for what you do,” said Commissioner Denny Bowman. “I know you do excellent jobs every day.”
“I think we’ve got the greatest fire department in the whole state,” Commissioner Michelle Williams said.
“We’re proud of your accomplishments, and you represent our city very well,” Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said.
Wietholter also honored
Also on Tuesday, Commissioners passed a resolution “congratulating Lieutenant Justin Wietholter on being named Kenton Foundation’s Outstanding Kenton Graduate for 2019.”
TIF Ordinance Revision Proposed
Commissioners heard the first reading to revise the Tax Increment Financing ordinance to clarify that the funds can also be used for public infrastructure improvements in the TIF district.
Mayor Meyer noted that this ordinance will also have a public hearing for anyone wanting to ask questions or comment. The hearing will be after next week’s caucus meeting, Tuesday at City Hall.
IRS Team in town
Mayor Meyer noted that the IRS team will be in town to listen to possible ideas as to what to do with the site when it becomes unoccupied. Representatives will listen to public input:
6-8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Center for Great Neighborhoods, and
Noon-1:30 p.m., Thursday, Trinity Episcopal Church
Neighborhood Grant Program
An information meeting will be held 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 22 at City Hall to review the guidelines and answer questions ahead of the May 13 deadline for the first round of funding for the Neighborhood Grant Program.
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., April 2, at the Covington City Hall at 20 West Pike St.
Contact the Northern Kentucky tribune at news@nkytrib.com
