Kaiser Permanente Honors Calif. Responders

Oct. 01--Solano County's first responders save lives every day.

Kaiser Permanente in the Napa Solano area celebrated them last week, in a special event at the Vacaville Medical Center.

It was the second annual tribute, at which elected officials, business leaders, hospital staff and patients turned out to show their appreciation to the men and women on the front lines.

"Napa Solano Kaiser Permanente hosted the first First Responder Appreciation Day event in 2015," public affairs director Shiyama Clunie said. "The response ... was positive and they were so grateful, we wanted to make this an annual event. Thanking first responders and acknowledging them for the service they provide every day is important."

A resolution by U.S. Senate marked Sept. 25 as National First Responder Appreciation Day. Over the past few weeks, the community was invited to nominate someone in emergency medical services who saved a life, works closely with other health care providers to ensure safety or is dedicated to community efforts that are focused on injury prevention, organizers said.

"Kaiser Permanente is passionate about reaching out to the community and supporting our first responders," Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center Chief of Trauma and Emergency Surgery Chris Bandy said. "They are the backbone of what we do here at our level II trauma center and they are so valuable."

The nominees and selected finalists represented emergency agencies in Vallejo, Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Napa and Vacaville, as well as Solano County agencies, organizers said.

"First responders partner closely with our emergency room, trauma staff and physicians to care for sick and injured people," Napa Solano area Kaiser Permanente interim senior vice president and area manager Joe Mark said. "Many of those patients might not have survived without the quick action, bravery and skill of many first responders."

The four First Responders of the Year are:

• Benicia Police Department Officer Alex Maravilla, who helped save a man whose trailer was engulfed in flames and who himself was on fire. He helped remove the burning clothing and extinguish the flames. Thanks to those quick actions, the man's burns were relatively minor, and the fire was contained before it could spread to the adjacent large, dry field.
• Medic Ambulance Paramedic Eric Holt was recognized for his rapid and excellent care of a patient with a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Holt quickly recognized the patient's symptoms and acted in time to save the patient's life. For his superior skills in the field, Holt was honored by Medic Ambulance and the California Ambulance Association at the State Capital in April, as a 2016 Star of Life.
• Vacaville Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedics Darius Zarrabi and Randy Webster, who responded to a terrible vehicle collision, realized that against all odds the vehicle's occupant had survived, but was very badly injured. She survived, and it fact Rhonda Johnson was at Wednesday's event to personally thank the men for helping save her life, in what many said was the highlight of the night.

Every nominee received a commemorative glass plaque and a certificate of recognition from the offices of California Assemblymembers Bill Dodd (D-4th District) Jim Frazier (D-11th District) and Susan Bonilla (D-14th District). Kaiser Permanente also made a $20,000 contribution toward the 10-33 Foundation, which provides care to first responders, working to reduce the ongoing effects of unresolved stress by providing pre-incident training, post-incident crisis intervention services and follow up.

Contact Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824.

Copyright 2016 - Times-Herald, Vallejo, Calif.