Anderson (IN) Fire Department Uses $127,000 Grant for Cardiac Arrest Equipment

Ken de la Bastide
The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
(TNS)

New equipment purchased by the Anderson Fire Department will provide immediate medical attention to people suffering cardiac arrest.

The Anderson Fire Department has received a $127,272 grant from the Department of Homeland Security FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant. The city is providing $12,272 more toward the purchase.

The fire department will purchase 10 Lifepak 15 defibrillator/monitors.

“These new devices will enable more effective care with integrated systems of equipment and life-saving advances, having data solutions that improve the ability to handle time-dependent emergencies like cardiac arrest, heart attacks with blocked arteries, strokes or sepsis,” Fire Chief Dave Cravens said.

The new equipment, reportedly, will provide better views of the heart, enabling the delivery of better pre-hospital care.

“Additionally, the portable monitors can more accurately measure a greater span of vital data and transmit it to the hospital,” paramedic Todd Cawthorn said.

According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 350,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside the hospital every year. For every minute that passes without CPR or a defibrillator, the chance of survival decreases.

This new resource will allow emergency responders to treat the patient “where they fall,” resulting in the best chance of survival.

This grant allows the AFD to complete it goal of having top-of-the-line monitors in emergence vehicles, according to Cravens.

“Public safety is a constant top priority and the new defibrillator/monitors will help our EMTs and paramedics respond more efficiently to emergencies and provide the best care possible to our Anderson citizens,” Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said.

The Anderson Fire Department currently has 96 EMTs with 36 having a paramedics license, providing over 14,000 runs annually.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.

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New equipment purchased by the Anderson Fire Department will provide immediate medical attention to people suffering cardiac arrest.

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