Jackson County Emergency Medical Services will be making some pricey equipment upgrades to better serve the community in the coming months.
These new items will total around $320,000.
Hugh Garner, education coordinator for Jackson County EMS, is planning on these purchases being reimbursed through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, which replenishes government funds spent on things related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first item is the LUCAS 3, a device that will deliver chest compressions to patients as opposed to the paramedic needing to do it themselves. Garner said this will keep first responders from needing to stand for long periods of time in the moving ambulances, making providing care safer.
Additionally, it will limit the amount of time they will need to be in close proximity to patients who may be carrying COVID-19.
“You don’t actually have to touch the chest of the patient. You can maintain a little bit of a distance, and you don’t have to get up close and personal,” Garner said.
The department’s Lifepak 15 heart monitor and defibrillator devices won’t necessarily be upgraded, but they will be exchanged for new ones.
These devices automate the process for checking blood pressure, eliminating some time in close proximity to patients. They also can use the machine to measure breathing and carbon dioxide levels from a distance.
The current technology will be used going forward; however, the current systems being used by the department are suffering from quite a bit of wear and tear. Garner said with trading the current ones in, they can save around $10,000 per system.
Each ambulance also will be receiving an upgrade on its computers that are used to record patient information. The department will be getting 10 rugged near-military-grade laptops. Garner said this is being done because the current ones cannot withstand being used in inclement weather.
These will cost around $31,000 for the 10 systems.
The ambulances also will be equipped with the Stryker Power-LOAD system, which will mechanically lift patients and the stretcher in and out of the ambulance, eliminating the need for responders to lift it themselves.
Garner believes this will reduce back injuries suffered by staff and also decrease the amount of time the worker will need to be up near the patient.
“I’ve known people in this line of work, great people, that have been forced to retire because of back injuries they’ve suffered after years of lifting people over and over again,” Garner said.
The Power-LOAD systems individually cost around $21,000.
Garner is looking to make these upgrades now to prepare for the future while the opportunity for reimbursement is there.
“So if we already have them purchased through the CARES Act funding, then that saves money, and we can buy a new stretcher instead of the Power-LOAD,” he said. “We have to rotate those. It’s really difficult for a small service like this to buy seven high-dollar items at the same time. We don’t want to put a financial burden on ourselves or the county.”
Currently, four of seven ambulances already have this system with a fifth being returned to the department and installed this coming week. The additional two will be purchased through the CARES Act, and Garner plans to have those installed sometime next year.