Lawrence Club Staffer Saves Life of Golfer (Updated)

This story is by Tom Cohen and Deputy Chief Anthony Rivelli, of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department

An employee of the Lawrence Yacht and Country Club helped save the life of a 76-year-old Oceanside man on Saturday morning.

At about 11 a.m., the man had collapsed on the golf course. As frantic bystanders dialed 911, others began CPR. Alerted by the other golfers in his group, Vinny Biondo, a 37-year employee of the club, responded to the 11th hole to find the heart attack victim comatose.

Having received CPR and defibrillator training, Biondo determined that the golfer had a very rapid pulse. He applied the defibrillator and pushed the shock button to deliver the life-saving jolt of electricity. Following the display screen's message, Biondo then started CPR.  

An ambulance from the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department arrived within three minutes of the call with Paramedic Gary Benedict and EMT Morti Eliyahu. The man was loaded into the ambulance in cardiac arrest. Additional LCFD rescuers arrived, including Deputy Chief Anthony Rivelli, EMTs Patrick Koehler and Frank Abrams and Commissioner Manny Paradiso.

As Benedict adminstered advanced life saving techniques, the firefighters rotated performing CPR. While en route to St. John's Hospital, the rescuers established a pulse and the victim began to breathe of his own. The man is reported to be improving.

LCFD rescuers have responded to similar events on the greens of the Lawrence course in recent years.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind that early CPR and use of an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) in conjunction with rapid ALS saved this man," Rivelli said. "The staff at Lawrence is great, and they are prepared for incidents as this one."

LCFD members responded to three more calls for EMS service in the course of the day.

Nassau County Police also responded to the scene.