Episode #1 – Mercy Donates CPR Technology To EMS/Fire
We're LIVE from Mercy Walworth Hospital and Medical Center's press conference, where they have donated 7 LUCAS CPR life saving devices to local EMS rescue squads / Fire departments.
What if your local emergency response team had access to medical technology that could reduce mortality rates for patients experiencing cardiac arrest? Well, that technology will be delivered to a rescue squad and fire department near you, courtesy of Mercy Health System.
Mercy purchased and donated seven new LUCAS Chest Compression Systems capable of performing life-saving, hands-free CPR compressions. "These devices will be deployed as part of the Walworth County EMS system," said Dr. Jay MacNeal, DO, MPH, NREMT-P, EMS Medical Director of Mercy Health System. "These devices are part of a coordinated system of automatic paramedic response to cardiac arrest patients throughout Walworth County. Local fire and EMS chiefs were instrumental in forming this plan of coordinated response to cardiac arrest victims."
The LUCAS Chest Compression System is used by emergency medical technicians in the field. The system delivers hands-free compressions, allowing EMTs to give cardiac arrest patients other life-saving therapies, such as ventilation, medication and defibrillation, and to think ahead in planning the patient's care. It also allows safer patient transport in both out-of-hospital and in-hospital situations, and makes CPR more effective from the field to the hospital. In addition, LUCAS reduces the impact of extenuating circumstances that can interrupt or affect the quality of chest compressions, such as transport conditions, rescuer fatigue and rescuer experience level.
The LUCAS system has already proven to save lives of recent cardiac arrest patients treated by Beloit and Janesville fire and rescue officials. In fact, Dr. MacNeal has used and evaluated several devices since 2005, when he was first introduced to mechanical CPR during medical school. "The LUCAS system offers reliability, ease of training and use, and a low cost of ownership to our services in the long term," Dr. MacNeal continues. "These are just a few reasons other states have implemented this device."
Mercy has also helped emergency responders improve outcomes in the field with various donations. Earlier this year, Mercy donated six King Vision units to Walworth County emergency crews. The King Vision video laryngoscopes are used by paramedics to improve cardiac arrest and intubation protocols. The laryngo
