Town of East Hartford Receives HEARTSafe Designation

East Hartford, CT—Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc accepted a HEART Safe Community award on behalf of the Town of East Hartford during a special ceremony, dedicated to the National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week this morning. The ceremony took place at the East Hartford Public Safety Complex.

“I am proud that East Hartford once again received a HEART Safe Community designation,” said Mayor Leclerc. “This award is a well-deserved recognition of the hard work and dedication of our public safety and emergency personnel who ensure the wellbeing of the community on a daily basis.”

The designation is a public health initiative, helping Connecticut municipalities improve the chances of survival from a sudden cardiac arrest. To receive this designation, the community must meet a strict criteria, including a widespread CPR instruction and public access to AED. The Town of East Hartford has been recognized a HEART Safe Community since 2012 and is one of 110 Connecticut municipalities to receive this designation. 

This morning, the ceremony also recognized and awarded Dispatcher Tammy Castagna and Good Samaritan Leah Higginbotham, for saving a life of a resident in a cardiac arrest on February 13, 2019. That day, the East Hartford Public Safety Communications 911 Center received 4 separate 911 calls within seconds of each other reporting a medical emergency at an unknown address.

Dispatcher Castagna answered one of those emergency calls. The caller was Leah Higginbotham, who was working for Sodexo, a food services company, at that time. Higginbotham was driving her vehicle down a town street and had stopped to assist a resident, suffering a medical emergency. She quickly determined the resident was in a cardiac arrest and promptly relayed this information to Dispatcher Castagna. Through her extensive training, Castagna provided lifesaving instructions and coached Leah on how to deliver CPR, ultimately saving the resident’s life. Shortly after, emergency crews located the patient, who was rapidly assessed, treated and transported to Hartford Hospital.

“I am very proud of the actions that Tammy (and Leah) took that day,” said Police Chief Scott Sansom. “It worked out well. We thank our telecommunicators for looking out for us and having our back.”

“This event is just one example of how our telecommunicators improve the quality of life for East Hartford residents and all who visit,” said Fire Chief John Oates. “We are proud of the work each and every one of them does every day. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to the telecommunicator profession.”

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was formally recognized in 1994 and is celebrated each year to emphasize the hard work that dispatches perform on a daily basis for the benefit of the community.

For information on CPR training, please visit the American Heart Association website.