When Molloy sophomore Adam Salcedo graduated from Calhoun High School in Merrick, he was uncertain about what to study in college. After discussing his options with his mother, a nurse, he too decided to pursue a career in nursing. His mother had worked with many nurses who earned degrees from Molloy, and she was impressed by the quality of their skills. So, it was an easy decision for Adam to attend Molloy and study nursing.
In March 2025 Adam, a second-year student, went to Iceland Arena in New Hyde Park to watch his stepfather play in an ice hockey game. As he watched from the stands, he noticed a player on the opposing team attempting to make his way to the bench. At first, Adam thought it was just a cramp. Then the player collapsed on the ice and was not moving.
Immediately, Adam sprang into action and called 911, then he rushed across the ice. When he reached the unconscious player, he immediately turned him over. The man was purple, not breathing, and had no heartbeat. Adam knew they needed to start life-saving efforts right away. He removed the player’s chest guard and pads, and the team goalie stepped in and started doing compressions, but Adam recognized that the goalie was fatigued from playing in the game, and his compressions were not forceful enough. Adam asked the goalie to step aside so he could take over doing the compressions. Adam did the compressions and then used the rink’s AED. Then he went back to doing compressions and then the man started to breathe again. By the time they loaded him into the ambulance, the player had a pulse and had gotten his breath back. Adam had saved his life.
CPR training is important at Molloy. Members of the Heart Safe Committee at Molloy University have been working diligently towards obtaining the Citizen CPR Foundation’s Heart Safe Community designation for the Village of Rockville Centre, NY. The designation is awarded to municipalities that achieve specific criteria aimed at improving the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest chain of survival. The committee is comprised of faculty in the School of Nursing and members of the Molloy Nursing Student Association (MNSA). It is a multifaceted community outreach project involving education, policy creation and ongoing collaboration with local government, school district and health system leaders. Key components of the initiative involve providing CPR and AED education for community members, improving access to AEDs, creating cardiac emergency response plans (CERP) and recognizing citizen rescuers who have provided CPR to victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
Adam’s actions were recently recognized by the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation. The Foundation, which is dedicated to raising AED awareness across the country, recently gave Adam an award for his lifesaving efforts.