When a person is suffering a cardiac arrest, the early resuscitation effort provided by the first responders has a direct impact on the survival of the victim. Thanks to the generosity of the community, all three firehouses in the Hamlin Morton Walker Fire District are now outfitted with cutting-edge CPR equipment to help save lives.
A chest compression system is a portable tool designed to overcome problems that can occur with manual chest compression when providing CPR to a person during a medical emergency. The system assists first responders by delivering effective, consistent, and continuous chest compressions, which help increase the chances of survival and improve neurological outcomes.
Lora Partyka, a resident and business owner in the community, initiated a community-wide fundraising effort to bring this life-saving equipment to Hamlin.
Lora’s father had suffered from a heart attack, and she has a personal connection to the value and importance of first responders in saving lives. “Our community is older; we are short on volunteers, and often, the ambulance response time to Hamlin and Kendall can be delayed,” said Partyka. These reasons are why she was passionate about getting these continuous CPR systems into the Hamlin community. After Lora saw what happened to Damar Hamlin during a Buffalo Bills game last year, and just how critical the CPR efforts were to save his life, she was further motivated to make this idea a reality.
Lora presented her idea to Marv Hankinson Jr., who was the president of the Hamlin Lions Club at the time. Marv is a Hamlin resident and a former volunteer at the Hamlin FD and Ambulance. Having read the article on the Spencerport Fire District obtaining this life-saving equipment for their residents, he liked the idea and presented it to the Hamlin Lions Club.
The Hamlin Lions Club agreed to be part of the fundraising efforts to help purchase this CPR equipment. The club had several fundraisers throughout 2023, including their golf tournament, monthly lottery, and proceeds from the St. Pauly clothing collection, which they donated to help buy the equipment. Marv also took the initiative to apply for a grant from the NYS & Bermuda Lions Club Foundation. This foundation generously gave $5,000 to help with this cause.
Lora also sent letters to the businesses, churches, and farms in the community asking for their financial support, and she had fundraising collection jars in the community.
Thanks to the generosity of the Lions Club and the community, $20,000 was raised in just five months. “This was a big win for the community!” said Marv.
The fire district is comprised of three firehouses: the Hamlin Fire Department, the Walker Fire Department, and the Morton Fire Company. These three firehouses serve as the first responders to both Hamlin and Kendall. Kendall no longer has its own ambulance, and Hamlin has one paid ambulance, which also provides services as a Mercy Flight team. There is no local backup if the crew is on a call.
“The wait time for Monroe Ambulance to arrive can be more than 20 minutes, and we do not have the hospitals we used to,” said Lora. These factors make every minute incredibly important when it comes to life-saving interventions.
The Hamlin Fire/Ambulance district averages about one thousand 911 calls annually. The community’s generosity allowed for the purchase of three CPR units so that each firehouse has its own. “There was a lot of hard work by Lora,” said Marv.
Lora was overwhelmed by the generosity that helped get this life-saving equipment into the community. “The Lions Club, churches, farms, both political parties, and residents of the community generously supported this with their donations,” she said. “I really want to thank the community of Hamlin and everyone else who donated to this from the bottom of my heart. We have a great community and the Lions Club is just fantastic for everything they did.”
The Lions Club is a community service organization whose purpose is to identify community needs and help fill them. They help residents in need of medical equipment, residents who suffer the loss of their homes by fire or disaster, those experiencing medical crises, and more. The Hamlin Lions Club invests, on average, $20,000 a year to help fill the needs of the community, and they played a large part in bringing the CPR equipment to Hamlin. “They took care of it all,” said Lora.
The equipment was purchased, received, and then presented to the individual firehouses on Tuesday, January 9. The first responders will undergo training and hope to have the equipment deployed sometime in February.
For more information on the Hamlin Lions Club, visit http://bit.ly/hamlinnylions.
