Exeter Volunteer Rescue Captain Hope Strate shows department
member Alan Michl (left) how the new LUCAS device works.
The Exeter Volunteer Fire Department recently acquired a
LUCAS device. It is an automated CPR device that hooks directly into the
AED used by the department in the rescue unit.
They applied for and received a grant through The Helmsley
Foundation. “They decided to give grants to Iowa, Nebraska and the
Midwestern states. States with more turn-around time in order to help the
providers,” explained Exeter Volunteer Rescue Captain Hope Strate.
The device, which retails at $25,000, runs on a battery
which can last up to 30 days. The department plans to charge it at each
fire meeting. They received the updated LUCAS 3 model for the Exeter unit.
An advantage to the LUCAS device over the auto-pulse the
department owned is, “You can use the LUCAS device no matter what the body
type,” according to Strate, “This is a game changer for anyone who has had to
do CPR in the field.”
She continued, “You deploy the device, slide the backboard
under the patient ahead of time, attach a neck strap and you will be impressed
with how rapid the compressions are.”
The battery will last for 20-30 minutes and primarily works
on adults. A plunger on the top of the device has to reach the chest of
the patient for the device to work.
The department hopes to purchase an additional battery
through the grant in the next few months.
According to the Helmsley Foundation, “Not only do the
portable LUCAS 2 devices provide more effective, consistent and uninterrupted
chest compressions, but they also deliver hands-free care, which means medical
personnel are free to address other injuries and conditions of the
patient.”
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