March 6, 2004

Making every second count

       The White River Township Fire Department is equipping all of its fire and rescue vehicles with automatic heart-starting devices in an effort to save the lives of heart attack victims. Firefighters also are on a campaign to urge more businesses, churches and schools to buy the devices.  The department’s 12 fire and rescue vehicles, plus the department’s rescue boat, will each be equipped with one of the devices in the next week, according to Lt. Jim Engmark.  “Sometimes our vehicles are close to an emergency, and having these devices in our vehicles lets us respond even quicker,” Engmark said.  Automatic defibrillators use an electric jolt to restart a victim’s heart after a heart attack.  Automatic defibrillators analyze heart rhythms to see if a person needs a shock. The machine checks vital signs and, in a computer-generated voice, tells the user when to push a button, when to step back and if the effort was successful.  Nationwide, public places such as golf courses, parks, malls, churches, store and schools are being equipped with defibrillators more often. The simplicity of the medical devices has prompted two local churches to buy automatic defibrillators.  “It’s pretty much goof-proof and is user-friendly,” said Tim Rismiller, facility services director for Mount Pleasant Christian Church on Bluff Road in Greenwood, which recently purchased two defibrillators. “You can’t accidentally shock someone.”  And at Community Church of Greenwood, one defibrillator will be kept in the health ministry area, while another will go to the new 82,000-square-foot sports complex, next to the church at 1477 W. Main St.  Last year, Clark-Pleasant Community School Corp. spent $2,500 to buy three devices to place in the student health clinic, the office near the indoor swimming pool and the cardiovascular training room at Whiteland Community High School.  Greenwood’s Meijer store was equipped with two automatic defibrillators in January 2001, and employees used it to save a 72-year-old man’s life later that year.  The White River Township Fire Department is trying to find special purchasing deals that would place defibrillators in other businesses, such as Menards, Target and Home Depot.  The department bought 10 defibrillators for $1,450 each, Engmark said. Firefighters and paramedics must complete an hour-long training course before being allowed to use an automatic defibrillator, he said.  White River Township is the only Johnson County department to equip all fire and rescue vehicles with automatic defibrillators.  Greenwood has 10 defibrillators in its fire and rescue vehicles, Fire Chief Steve Dhondt said.  The Franklin Fire Department has automatic defibrillators on its three ambulances and manual defibrillators on its fire vehicles, spokesman Jason Ramey said.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

         
The Zoll AED Plus

If you or your agency is interested in more information on the program or the equipment, you can contact Lieutenant Mark Hart, director of Emergency Medical Services via e-mail HERE or visit the Zoll website by clicking HERE.

  

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