WALLINGFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Z-Medica® Corporation, a medical device company which develops and distributes innovative hemostatic agents, announced today that the office of U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) presented Navy Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Chiarini with Z-Medica’s Thomas “Doc” Eagles and Francis X. Hursey awards. The awards were given in recognition for Chiarini’s heroic and life-saving actions as a medic with the 1st Platoon, 2nd Marine Division in Iraq and his current role as an EMT/firefighter in West Greenwich, RI.
The Thomas “Doc” Eagles award is named for a highly decorated Navy Corpsman who served in Vietnam and is responsible for the development of the new Marine Corps Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK), carried by every warfighter deployed by the U.S. Military, which includes QuikClot Combat Gauze®. The Award is given annually to “the warfighter who puts the care of others above all consideration of self.” The Francis X. Hursey Award is named for Z-Medica’s founder and the inventor of QuikClot® and is given to the civilian first responder who best exemplifies Z-Medica’s creed: “The Greatest Privilege is to Make a Difference®.”
As a medic on his third tour of duty in Iraq, Chiarini rescued numerous injured Marines during a convoy ambush where he placed himself in the line of fire while simultaneously providing medical aid. After a roadside explosive hit the first vehicle in his unit’s convoy and another explosion went off near a group of Marines and their interpreter, Chiarini stepped in to bring the injured to safety, applying QuikClot to treat bleeding wounds and stabilize the injured, all the while returning fire and continuing to defend his comrades until reinforcements arrived. Chiarini’s actions helped lead each Marine to safety that day.
This was not the only mission that placed Chiarini in harm’s way. His team was repeatedly fired on by snipers while thirty (30) of the convoys he rode in were struck by roadside bombs and three suicide bombers. The constant danger makes it all the more impressive that due to his bravery and battlefield medical expertise that of the 100 Marines he treated in theater, none lost their lives. For “Gallantry in Action,” Joshua was awarded The Silver Star, the U.S. Military’s third highest combat decoration, in October of 2007.
Currently a fire arms instructor in Middletown, RI, Chiarini includes QuikClot as part of the tactical trauma and rescue medical training he provides to law enforcement and military service members.
“As a Navy Hospital Corpsman, Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Chiarini is part of a rare breed of individuals who consistently risk their lives to save others. In wartime and peacetime, at home or abroad, Petty Officer Chiarini has answered the call. His uncommon courage and dedication to duty on the battlefield earned him a Silver Star, and his service as an EMT/firefighter in West Greenwich has earned him the gratitude of his fellow citizens. On behalf of Rhode Islanders, I salute Petty Officer Chiarini and his fellow Hospital Corpsmen,” said Senator Reed.
“We have never awarded both awards to the same individual before, but when we learned of Joshua’s amazing courage and all of the lives he has saved using QuikClot both on the battlefield and at home, we realized that he was the perfect candidate to receive both,” said Bart Gullong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Z-Medica. “At Z-Medica we are focused on helping to ensure that heroes like Joshua have access to QuikClot, a life-saving innovation designed to stop hemorrhagic bleeding no matter where it occurs, on the battlefield, by first responders and in the hospital environment.”
About Z-Medica®
Z-Medica Corporation is a medical device company developing innovative hemostatic agents. Their mission is to develop fast acting, easy to use, hemostasis products that stop bleeding wherever it occurs, enabling their customers to save lives and improve patient outcomes. The company manufactures and markets its QuikClot family of hemostasis products for use by healthcare professionals, first responders, law enforcement officers and the military. QuikClot products rapidly enhance the body’s natural coagulation process, helping to achieve hemostasis rapidly.
Based on tests conducted by the Naval Medical Research Center and the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research, the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC) recommended QuikClot Combat Gauze as the hemostatic agent for the Department of Defense, used by all U.S. Military Forces as the first line treatment of hemorrhage. QuikClot products are also widely used by first responders, in hospital emergency rooms, interventional cardiology and radiology laboratories and other healthcare environments where bleeding requires fast and effective control. Z-Medica is a privately-held company based in Wallingford, CT. More information about Z-Medica Corporation is available at www.z-medica.com.