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Nurse says devices would save more lives
By ERIC STIRGUS © St. Petersburg Times, published November 4, 2000 LARGO -- Amil Sustar always seemed to have luck on his side. He once sunk a hole-in-one on the golf course. Last month, he won $200 on a gambling cruise. "He's been lucky his whole life," said his son, Scott, adding that his father always seems to be "in the right place at the right time." Last Saturday, it appeared that Lady Luck was stepping out with someone else when Sustar, 67, went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on the golf course at the East Bay Golf Club. But a Morton Plant Hospital nurse who happened to be nearby performed CPR on Sustar, probably saving his life. Jim Gregg, the nurse, said he's glad he was there. But heart attack victims who aren't as lucky as Sustar, Gregg said, should have better odds of surviving heart attacks on the golf course. So Gregg has become an activist for the cause of ensuring that portable shocking devices -- called automated external defibrillators, or AEDs -- are installed at golf courses and other public areas throughout the county. "I want to see AEDs are anywhere people gather, especially golf courses," said Gregg, 58, who became a paramedic in 1972 and has been working at Morton Plant for 15 years. His first foray into this campaign will be to speak with golf course officials to make sure they have the devices. Apparently, Gregg has a difficult job on his hands. Chuck Kearns, who is in charge of the county's emergency medical service, said he knows of only two golf courses in Pinellas County with the devices: the Dunedin Country Club and the Largo Municipal Golf Course. There are 35 golf courses in the county. Research shows AEDs greatly enhance the survival chances of someone suffering cardiac arrest. They cost $2,000 to $4,000 apiece. A two-year study of people who suffered cardiac arrest on a major U.S. airline showed a 40 percent survival rate for those treated almost immediately with an AED device. The study was released in last month's New England Journal of Medicine. The 40 percent survival rates is dramatically better than overall rates, which are between 2 and 5 percent. About 225,000 Americans a year suffer cardiac arrest. Amil Sustar appeared fine when he got to the East Bay Golf Club last Saturday, where he works in the pro shop. At about 11 a.m., Sustar's wife, Peggy, brought food from McDonald's. After his meal, he left the pro shop to clear out a golf cart that had been returned. Suddenly, he fell to the ground, said the pro shop manager, Bruce Orr. Gregg had just finished a round of golf when one of Sustar's co-workers flagged him down for help. Sustar appeared in bad shape. The back of his head was bleeding from the fall to the ground. His skin was purple and he had no pulse. Gregg performed CPR. A few minutes later, paramedics arrived. Again, he had no pulse. They worked on Sustar for about 30 minutes before taking him to Largo Medical Center. Gregg had little hope for Sustar. But when Gregg called the hospital on Monday, he learned Sustar had survived. Sustar's family calls Gregg a hero. Gregg disagrees. "I was just doing what I was trained to do," he said. There are at least 70 AEDs in Pinellas County, according to Kearns, who also is a volunteer for the American Heart Association. The devices are in county parks, courthouses, some schools, numerous fire trucks, and at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. St. Petersburg Fire Rescue recently got a state grant to purchase 30 more AEDs, which will be put on non-rescue fire trucks, Kearns said. Orr, the East Bay Golf Club pro shop manager, said he will suggest to the club's owners at their next meeting that they get a defibrillator. "That little box could definitely help," he said. Kearns said they are needed in many more places where large groups of people gather, singling out supermarkets and tourist attractions such as Sunken Gardens and The Pier in St. Petersburg. "We can do better and I think we will," he said. Gregg agrees. "They're everywhere, but they're not everywhere they need to be," Gregg said. - Information from Times files was used in this report.
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