American Heart Awareness month, #HeartMonth, is designated as the month of February by the CDC and numerous other organizations. The Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad is pleased to announce several new programs, and held a few events that occurred throughout February with our members, all focused on delivering better service to our patients and community.
Three programs were announced during #HeartMonth. The first, is a new way for our team to approach delivering CPR to victims of sudden cardiac arrest, called High-Performance CPR. A Team Approach, this method of delivering CPR has been proven across the country to be a more effective and efficient delivery method for victims who suffer sudden death. An updated CPR Course for the Pre-Hospital Provider such as our members, was rolled out to our instructors earlier this year, and we debuted the program with our officers and EMS instructors this past weekend.
A second item is a tool to help us both teach our new and current provider, as well as provide feedback on how well our EMT's deliver service to a victim of cardiac arrest. The CPRmeter from Laerdal Medical helps our Quality Improvement team measure the depth, rate and effectiveness of compression's during CPR. This helps our members better understand delivering CPR along National Standards, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
A second item is a tool to help us both teach our new and current provider, as well as provide feedback on how well our EMT's deliver service to a victim of cardiac arrest. The CPRmeter from Laerdal Medical helps our Quality Improvement team measure the depth, rate and effectiveness of compression's during CPR. This helps our members better understand delivering CPR along National Standards, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.
 LUCA-2 Chest Compression System, soon to be added to our first due ambulance | About ten years ago, the Clinton Squad was one of the first in the State to carry a device called the AutoPulse, a cardiac support pump that moves blood through the body of a patient who's heart has stopped. This was made possible through a very generous donation a Town Resident, and we carried for several years and used on many patients during those years. This year we are upgrading to a newer product called the LUCAS 2 Chest Compression System from Physio-Control. The LUCAS2 is designed to help improve outcomes by performing at least 100 compression's per minute with a depth of 2", and can be deployed quickly and with minimal interruption to patient care. While the price-tag of this new additional equipment approaches $15,000, we feel that if it helps our Technicians provide better care to the patient, we would find a way to make that happen. |
| In addition to these tools made available to us, we held a few events throughout the month, including updated CPR training to 14 EMT's in the area during a recent refresher training program; hosted a Firefighter Down rescue & CPR Demo for our rescue company and area fire departments; and finally a roll out of the High-Performance CPR to our new EMT students. During the EMT Course, our officers held a small competition against our new students as well as CPR instructors, in a team building event. While this event was occurring, the staff from Box 18 Productions graciously helped us document some of skills being learned for future use. For our Fire Fighter Down program, members of the CFARS Rescue Company joined fire fighters from Lebanon Boro Fire (18 Fire), Annandale Hose Company (46 Fire) and Town of Clinton Fire (45 Fire) to learn about how to efficiently assist a firefighter who suddenly collapses while dressed in full gear. Prior to this, CPR might be delayed until full access can be made to the patient, after removal of safety gear. Using new techniques, rescue efforts can begin immediately By working with our partners in emergency service, it helps to prepare all of our teams to work more closely at a scene of an emergency, so that we're not caught off-guard, and know how and what each of the team members should be doing during a stressful time. | Local Fire Companies join the CFARS Rescue Company for practice of CPR on a downed fire-fighter |
"Saving lives, and improving patient outcomes, is something that we strive for here at Clinton EMS" according to Frank Setnicky, Chief of the Squad. "By bringing new procedures in addition to the new technology, we will continue that commitment to our communities and our patients".
If any member of the community would like to make a donation to help offset the costs of these new programs, we ask that you visit our homepage on click DONATE NOW. You can choose your funds to go towards this program by entering #HeartMonth into the appropriate designation of funds box.
The Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad is a not-for-profit organization providing Emergency Medical and Rescue Services to the Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Lebanon Borough, as well as parts of Franklin and Union Townships on a 24-hour, 7 day a week basis. For more information about joining our membership as a volunteer, please visit our website at http://www.clintonems.org
If any member of the community would like to make a donation to help offset the costs of these new programs, we ask that you visit our homepage on click DONATE NOW. You can choose your funds to go towards this program by entering #HeartMonth into the appropriate designation of funds box.
The Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad is a not-for-profit organization providing Emergency Medical and Rescue Services to the Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Lebanon Borough, as well as parts of Franklin and Union Townships on a 24-hour, 7 day a week basis. For more information about joining our membership as a volunteer, please visit our website at http://www.clintonems.org
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