A Lucas device is used on a CPR mannequin Tuesday. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

 

New pieces of equipment are making it easier for Emergency Medical Technicians to transport patients while providing chest compressions.

At Tuesday’s Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting staff from the Washington County Ambulance demonstrated how a Lucas device works and aids in CPR. Supervisor Chairman and Ambulance Director Richard Young explained the device is like a big belt around a patient with the machine on top of the chest, a suction cup then push on the chest to provide 102 compressions per minute. The Lucas device means there won’t be a pause in compressions when EMTs load and unload patients, or when a defibrillator has to be administered.

There is a Lucas device in the emergency room of WCHC, one in the Wellman ambulance, and one in each of the Washington County ambulances. Each machine costs $15,000 and was funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. As of the Tuesday meeting, EMTs had not had to use the device in Washington County.