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In a medical emergency where life-saving chest compressions are needed, local first responders now have help from an automated device.
The Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System (LUCAS) straps around the chest of a cardiac arrest patient to deliver compressions.
First responders with the volunteer fire departments in Luverne, Hills, Magnolia, Beaver Creek and Hardwick each received LUCAS chest compression machines through federal pandemic relief funds allocated to Rock County.
Hardwick firefighters were the last department to receive training by Rock County Ambulance Director Harlan Vander Kieft on Sept. 14.
“LUCAS is a very important piece of equipment to have in a rural world where it takes 10 to 15 minutes or longer to get to a hospital,” he said.
At the machine’s center is a plunger with a suction cup end attachment. The plunger presses into the chest at an even 101 compressions a minute at a depth of 1.5 to 2 inches until it is turned off.
The machine sustains life-saving circulation until the patient’s heart resumes beating, and the patient can be transported while the machine continues to operate.
“Even a well-fit person would have a tough time doing compressions for a long time,” Vander Kieft said. “As we tire, we are not as consistent as to the rate and depth.”
Five LUCAS machines were purchased and Vander Kieft, a certified instructor, completed the initial training for the Rock County-based departments.
In addition to consistent compressions for the patient, the LUCAS machine keeps the first responders and firefighters safe from leaning directly over the patient’s airway and possible exposure to the coronavirus.
Cost of the five machines was $69,076 and paid for through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars received in Rock County.