Quick Response Saves Life of Downers Grove Man at Good Sam

Mike Imbrogno was wrapping up his regular workout at the Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center in Downers Grove on Jan. 24 when he suddenly felt dizzy—like he was going to faint. He collapsed at the bottom of the center’s main staircase.

Fortunately, several Wellness Center associates rushed to his aid, activating the center’s emergency response protocol. Paramedics transported Imbrogno to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital, located on the same campus, where he was treated in the cardiac catheterization laboratory for sudden cardiac arrest. A coronary stent was inserted to open his blocked artery, restoring blood flow to his heart.

Imbrogno, who is director of information systems at Advocate At Home, is now recovering at his home, according to hospital officials. He thanked the Wellness Center team for their quick response.

“If this had happened 30 minutes later, or at any other place or time, I would not be alive today,” said Imbrogno, a Downers Grove resident. “The Wellness Center staff literally gave me my life back. I cannot find words to express my gratitude.”

During the incident, Imbrogno’s heart stopped and Wellness Center responders lost his pulse while giving first aid. The defibrillator converted his heart rhythm, causing him to regain consciousness.

It took a few days for the seriousness of the situation to sink in for Imbrogno, who is a nurse by training and had worked in home health care for 30 years.

Imbrogno will soon undergo cardiac rehabilitation. He looks forward to returning to his regular workout routine at the Wellness Center, where had been working out on a regular basis since October to lose weight, lower his blood pressure and manage his diabetes—all risk factors for heart disease.

“Had it not been for that effort, I probably would not have been able to bounce back as quickly,” Imbrogno said.

The response team included:

• Evelyn Spencer, a sales associate stationed at the center’s front desk, who called 911.
• Lana Kapela, a fitness instructor, who grabbed an automated external defibrillator (AED).
• Fitness specialist Jen Heggaton, who attached the AED’s pads to Imbrogno’s chest.
• Danielle Greene, an Advocate Christ Medical Center nurse (and former Good Samaritan Hospital nurse) working out at the center, who began chest compressions.
• Steve Belano, personal training coordinator, who took over for Greene when the defibrillator instructed that deeper compressions were needed.
• Personal trainer Jeff Roe, who began CPR.
• Operations supervisor Dave Roe, who served as a sort of team quarterback, overseeing the response and communicating with others via two-way radios.

Wellness Center associates are trained annually on CPR, AED operations and emergency response protocol, hospital officials said.

In October, a group of Wellness Center associates used an AED and CPR to treat another man who suffered from cardiac arrest during his workout. That man underwent quadruple bypass surgery and defibrillator implantation at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and is now in cardiac rehabilitation.

“Because we are a medically-based health and wellness center, our staff is trained to respond to a wide range of medical emergencies,” said Lori Lovell Knouse, director of the Health and Wellness Center.

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