The City of Riverside held a special City Council meeting this past Monday night to discuss a resolution to apply for a Washington County Riverboat Grant. Plans to submit the grant were scheduled for Wednesday. 

The grant application is for the EMS Department and the Riverside Fire Department to purchase a cardiac monitor. This monitor would allow first responders to apply leads to the patient and then in real time transmit information to the ambulance personnel to see what the patient is experiencing before they arrive. 

City Administrator for the City of Riverside Christine Yancey shares the importance of this cardiac monitor, “I think it’s great. We’re, I don’t want to say an aging population, but let’s face it, we’re living longer. So those types of things need to be there, and it’s not just for the elderly but for anyone who needs any kind of advanced life support. I think it’s just much needed since we are growing pretty substantially here in Riverside and we’re just going to need something different than we currently have.” 

The cost of the Phillips Life Med Safety cardiac monitor is $43,793.90. The City’s request is for $26,000.00. The additional $17,793.90 will come from the fire department through fundraising and using dollars from the  department’s yearly fund.