A Life In The Balance - Accident Victim Saved By Quick Air Transfer Tragedy struck a Lakewood family one summer evening, when Rabbi Yechiel Nakdimen, fundraiser for Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey, was driving in Upstate New York when an oncoming driver approached too fast, the two cars collided. The other driver was pronounced dead on the scene. Rabbi Nakdimen was trapped in his vehicle with life-threatening injuries. An ambulance brought him to a local hospital in Poughkeepsie. But his family was determined to get him the best care available. The Refuah Helpline in Monroe, New York, referred them to VitalOne. Hearing that the accident involved a fatality, VitalOne’s director Rabbi Isaac Leider immediately drove straight to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital Rabbi Leider noticed the grave situation the patient was in. He had multiple trauma injuries; an open femur fracture had suffered severe lacerations to the head, blindness in one eye, fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder and severe blood loss. Rabbi Leider immediately contacted the New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau to request a priority medivac transport to The University Hospital of Newark (UMDNJ), which features one of the most expert and technologically advanced trauma centers in the region. At UMDNJ, Rabbi Nakdimen underwent reconstructive surgery on his crushed legs and feet, and he received life-saving blood infusions. After three weeks in UMDNJ’s Surgical Intensive Care Unit and almost four weeks in rehabilitation, Rabbi Nakdimen was finally on the road to recovery. VitalOne’s swift response had secured Rabbi Nakdimen the best health care possible at UMDNJ and saved his life. Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved. www.VitalOne.org Air Medical Transport Patient & Family Support Crisis Assistance Search & Rescue Disaster & Recovery Site Designed & Developed by SmartWeb