Blue Friday: Mendham Officers Save A Life

Patrolman Sean Ulversoy and Patrolwoman Victoria DiMaggio with the Mendham, Morris County police department are our two Blue Friday honorees today.

As you know we work closely with Morris County Sheriff Jim Gannon and many mayors across Morris County on the "Prevention Pathways" initiative helping with suicide prevention, addiction and addressing mental health.

The idea started with the Sherriff and Mayor's Ace Gallagher in Hanover and Mark Taylor in Florham Park and the Hope One Team which helps deal with mental health and administering Narcan.

In July, officers Ulversoy and Dimaggio were called to a scene with an unconscious local resident.

They were able to determine that the victim was in cardiac arrest following a drug overdose.

Acting immediately and using the resources available in the Narcan kit and were able to quickly resuscitate the victim.

According to the Mendham Township Mayor, Nick Monaghan who spoke to the Patch, almost all overdose cases which end in a 9-1-1 call mean a police officer will be the first on the scene.

"What many in the community may not realize, however, is that 99 percent of the time, the first responder to the scene is a Mendham Township police officer, and they often begin life-saving efforts, as was the case here. Without that early intervention, success would be much more elusive." - Nick Monaghan

Thanks to hero officers like Ulversoy and DiMaggio, and the great work of Sherriff Jim Gannon, as overdose deaths rise across the nation, we've actually seen a decrease over the past two years in New Jersey.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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