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Dayton Daily News: Air Force doctor discusses helping save Damar Hamlin’s life; NFL to honor her

UC trauma surgeon says quick response on the field was critical to a positive outcome

headshot of Bill Bangert By Bill Bangert 513-558-4519
3 minute read February 9, 2023

The National Football League is honoring the UC trauma surgeon and some of her UC colleagues who helped save the life of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin after his heart stopped during a Jan. 2 NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Valerie Sams, MD, director of the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills (C-STARS) at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, were recognized at a pre-Super Bowl event in Glendale, AZ, site of Super Bowl LVII. 

“It’s a little awkward at the moment, but it’s a really great opportunity for us to highlight what we do and highlight our Air Force involvement here,” Sams, who is a Lt. Col. in the Air Force, said in an interview with the Dayton Daily News. Sams is assigned to the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine while working at the UC Medical Center as a surgeon.

a woman doctor in a white lab coat in a medical building

Valerie Sams, MD, director of the Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills at University of Cincinnati Medical Center/Photo/UC Health

Sams is part of a group of Air Force medics working at UC and training as part of the medical center’s Critical Care Air Transport, or CCAT, course. As part of that, she trains to care for patients who must be medically evacuated from battlefields.

“It’s like critical care in the sky,” Sams said. “You’re bringing people home from around the world, whether it’s from combat, from just being stationed or positioned outside the United States or even across the United States.”

Sams happened to be on call for duty Jan. 2 after Hamlin’s heart stopped during a game at Paycor Stadium. Medical staff at the game responded to the player immediately before he was transported to UCMC.

“We respond to all trauma activations,” she said. “I responded to the arrival, coordinated all of the care with the team to get him admitted.”

While fears were initially high, Hamlin was communicating with family and teammates within days from his hospital bed. He was released from the UCMC Jan. 9 to return to Buffalo.

“It’s very rare for people to have such a good outcome with an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. And the reason is, it’s where they are,” Sams said. “To have that care immediately available to him on the field was crucial because of the timing. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation or CPR is really the one thing that improves people’s chances of surviving an event like that.”

Read the entire story here.

Featured image at top/Joshua Bickel/Associated Press

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