(Town of Penhold)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Better Patient Outcomes Expected

Red Deer Emergency Services donates LUCAS 2 CPR device to Penhold Fire Department

Sep 26, 2022 | 12:28 PM

Officials with the Town of Penhold have announced that Red Deer Emergency Services has donated a LUCAS 2 CPR device to the Penhold Fire Department.

Officials say this device is designed to provide consistent compressions at a fixed rate through difficult transport and environmental conditions while eliminating the strain put on the responders who perform CPR.

“Typically on a cardiac call, we need a minimum of five Medical First Responders to assist the EMS crew,” says Sean Pendergast, Protective Services Manager/Fire Chief, Town of Penhold. “There are many interventions that need to be created in the first few seconds of these calls. An airway needs to be established, a drug pathway needs to be established, the heart monitor needs to be attached to the patient, the environment needs to be secure, and CPR has to be continuous from the moment we arrive.”

“The best professionals in the world cannot provide CPR at the same consistency and effectiveness as this device, and the LUCAS doesn’t tire,” adds Pendergast. “The Town of Penhold is very grateful to have such supportive neighbours throughout the region. RDES has always supported our volunteer department and our firefighters truly appreciate the work they do.

“RDES provided both Penhold Fire Department captains with a train the trainer session on the device, and we are happy to report that the majority of the department will be trained and competent on the LUCAS 2 by the end of September,” shares MacKenzie Johnston, Fire Captain, Penhold Fire Department. “The LUCAS is already installed on our primary response apparatus and ready to be deployed.”

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“Over the course of September and October, the City of Red Deer will be donating Lucas CPR devices to our regional partner fire departments; Blackfalds, Penhold, Sylvan Lake, and Red Deer County,” notes Curtis Schaefer, Assistant Deputy Chief, Red Deer Emergency Services. “The City of Red Deer Emergency Services has carried the Lucas CPR Device on the ambulances for the past eight years and has seen the benefit to the citizens we serve. The Lucas CPR devices are life cycled as part of our equipment management program.”

“With this year’s life cycle, the suggestion was brought forward by one of our EMS supervisors, Donavon Brandon, to donate the CPR devices that are being replaced to our regional partner fire departments,” continues Schaefer. “The donation would support the fire departments to provide a higher level of care for patients in cardiac arrest. The Lucas CPR device is used to perform CPR on a patient who is in cardiac arrest where the device provides a consistent depth and rate of CPR and does not tire over time.”

Schaefer says this provides a higher quality of CPR which leads to better patient outcomes.

“We are able to share that the donations have already had a positive impact on our neighbouring communities. On the same day as the donation to the Blackfalds Fire Department, they responded to a cardiac arrest call in which they were able to use the Lucas CPR device and see pulses return in the patient,” concludes Schaefer.

(Supplied)