Great Falls Emergency Services Add Lift System, Chest Compression Device greatfallstribune/article/20140128/LIFESTYLE20/301280010/Life-saving-pick-me-up-Emergency-services-add-lift-system-chest-compression-device Great Falls Emergency Services has spent the last year beefing up some of the tools in its kit to help assist patients. A bariatric lift system is meant to assist EMTs in lifting and transporting overweight and obese patients, and a chest compression system provides consistent, strong compressions to patients having a cardiac episode. The bariatric lift, manufactured by Rx Fabrications of Denver, has been used several times by GFES in inter-facility transporting of patients, but EMTs have not used the system in an emergency situation, said Justin Grohs, GFES director. “This is cutting-edge for bariatric patients,” Grohs said. Grohs said GFES has been called on by other ambulance services to transport bariatric patients in nonemergency situations. The system includes a ramp and winch system built by Rx Fabrications that is used to draw a patient on a wider-than-normal cot into the back of the ambulance. Two more components to that system are inflatable lifts that are placed under patients to raise them to cot-level and, later, bed-level in an emergency room. One of GFES’ vehicles has been outfitted with the lift system, which cost nearly $20,000, including the wide cot, inflatable lifts and pulley system, Grohs said. “It’s meant to save our backs, save our knees, prevent injuries,” said Tayler Wise, an EMT at GFES. Rx Fabrications owner Rian Conradie said the injury prevention component of the lift systems is attractive to ambulance services. “My ramps have been used for 1,100-pound patients, but they’ve also been used to prevent back injuries,” Conradie said. Conradie said that in the five to six years since he began building the lifts, sales have increased each year. “The ones we have can go from anywhere to 100 to 1,400 pounds. It allows (EMTs) not to have any concerns” about lifting, he said. Grohs said the bariatric lift was purchased with the knowledge that obesity is becoming more widespread across the country. Grohs wanted to be prepared for an emergency situation involving an overweight patient. Standard cots are narrow and uncomfortable for many patients. For overweight or wide patients, it can become dangerous. Grohs said patients who do not fit in the cot can undermine stability of the unit. “This is the best approach for bariatric patients at the moment,” Grohs said. GFES also invested in a chest compression device, called a LUCAS, manufactured by Physio Control. The device is placed around a patient’s chest and adjusted for size, then performs chest compressions vital for survival in CPR. “Good, high-quality chest compressions give the patient a good chance of survival,” Grohs said. The problem with chest compressions is that humans, even those in good physical condition, tire relatively quickly. Quality of compressions drops with fatigue, Grohs said. Compressions also cannot be continued while the patient is being transported to the ambulance. Even large ambulances are cramped while a patient is being transported to the emergency room, and it is difficult for an EMT to perform compressions. The LUCAS easily can do the compressions while the patient is being moved and in the ambulance. The device costs about $5,000, Grohs said, and was purchased when GFES upgraded its smaller, or “sprinter” ambulance. Grohs said GFES hopes to add a LUCAS to each ambulance as it upgrades its fleet.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:58:55 +0000
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