Hudson Valley 911 Dispatcher Saves 3-Month-Old’s Life

A Hudson Valley 911 dispatcher is being called a hero after she helped saved a 3-month-old boy’s life.

Recently, Courtney Starace of New Windsor gave Samantha Burke of Warwick instructions over the phone on how to perform CPR on her baby, who wasn’t breathing in Goshen.

Starace, an Orange County 911 dispatcher, received a call from Burke who said her months-old baby, Andrew, wasn’t breathing. Starace sent an ambulance to the home and told Burke how to administer CPR on her baby. After a few minutes, Andrew began breathing.

Andrew was suffering from a respiratory virus that likely caused him to stop breathing, officials say. He was transported to St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick and later transferred to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. Andrew spent three days at The Valley Hospital and is now home and healthy.

On Thursday, Courtney Starace got to meet the baby she saved and his family.

“After meeting Courtney, I can tell you that she is a special and caring young woman,” Samantha Burke said. “Anyone who meets her will fall in love with her. Orange County is lucky to have her on its team and we can’t thank Courtney enough for what she did for us. My family is grateful that we were able to meet her. Courtney is a hero.”

Starace, 27, was tearfully hugged by Andrew’s parents and got to hold Andrew.

“It was very special for me to be able to meet the Burke family and hold the baby,” Starace said. “It was a very heartwarming moment that I will never forget. I’m happy I could help. I did what I had to do during the 911 call with Mrs. Burke, but she also did a great job. She deserves a lot of credit, too.”

Starace started working as a 911 dispatcher with Orange County last August. She previously worked as an EMT for nine years. During his State of the County address, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus acknowledged Starace in front of a packed crowd and brought her on stage.

“We are proud of Courtney’s heroics and the wonderful work that our 911 dispatchers perform every day,” Neuhaus said. “She is a kind and compassionate young woman, and certainly has a bright future ahead of her.”

While on stage, Starace received a standing ovation.

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