Source: Ryan Alves, The News-Enterprise
Hardin County’s fire departments and other emergency responders will be better equipped to perform life-saving maneuvers. Thanks to Hardin Memorial Health, 29 new automated external defibrillators were purchased for the county’s use.
Fire departments and other emergency responders received the new devices Tuesday, replacing previous units that were nearly 15 years old.
“These new ones are smaller,” said James Mudd, a supervisor with Hardin County EMS. “They’re also compatible with our cardiac monitors. So if the fire department gets on the scene first, we can later hook up those pads to our monitors.
“The old ones we had to change out or use an adaptor,” he added. “The new ones will also be compatible with all the monitors at the hospital.”
AEDs are used to help shock a person’s heart back into a normal rhythm if they go into cardiac arrest.
The first device was distributed Monday night at a fire chiefs’ meeting in Sonora.
HMH spent approximately $37,700 on the new equipment.
Elizabethtown Fire Chief Mark Malone said departments have been using the former AEDs since the late ’90s.
He said they are used when fire departments are asked to respond to calls that likely are cardiac related.
“We have several saves over the years,” Malone said. “In fact, Elizabethtown had the first save. The program has been very successful.”
Malone added the new AEDs have a smartphone component and can detect if it’s being used on an adult or a child.
“It’s better because we don’t have to carry two different kinds of pads around,” Malone said.
Mudd said the Hardin County Public Library also received a new AED.
HMH bought the AEDs as a part of its commitment to cardiac safety in the community and an ongoing effort to work alongside the PulsePoint app, said Megan Blaney, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
PulsePoint is an app launched between HMH and county EMS and 911 a little more than a year ago that alerts CPR-trained bystanders when someone is having a sudden cardiac arrest in a public place nearby.
Blaney said HMH wants consistent equipment available across the county to interface with hospital equipment, which is much safer for patients.
“The six-minute mark is what we’re shooting for as responders,” Malone said. “Anything before that and we’ve got a good chance at saving someone.”
Ryan Alves can be reached at 270-505-1747 or ralves@thenewsenterprise.com.
