Wednesday, March 7, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
13
Fire district works to increase survival chances in cardiac arrest
Sisters resident David
Adler can attest to how sud-
denly a life can be in great
peril from cardiac arrest.
Quick and effective action by
civilians and first respond-
ers saved him when he was
felled by cardiac arrest while
working out (see story, page
1).
The Sisters-Camp
Sherman Fire District is
increasing the chances resi-
dents may survive a cardiac
arrest by making wholesale
improvements to the local
coordinated response sys-
tem. Improvements include
enhanced community educa-
tion, implementation of the
pulse point system, public
access to automated exter-
nal defibrillators (AED), and
enhanced advanced life sup-
port training and equipment
for firefighter/EMTs.
Cardiac arrest is the abrupt
loss of heart function in a
person who may or may not
have diagnosed heart disease.
Death occurs within minutes
after the heart stops, but car-
diac arrest may be reversed,
if CPR is performed, and an
AED is used to shock the
heart within a few minutes.
The District recognizes
the important role the com-
munity plays in saving lives.
Bystander CPR is one of the
most important aspects in
saving lives after a cardiac
arrest occurs, and having a
community that is trained
and willing to perform CPR
is critical. The District pro-
vides CPR and first aid
classes to area residents and
businesses. In the past two
years the District has trained
186 residents in the newest
techniques of CPR and first
aid.
Captain Jeremy Ast told
The Nugget that CPR is vital,
especially in rural areas.
Survivability in sudden car-
diac arrest diminishes by 10
percent per minute when a
patient is unattended. The
further you are from first
responders, the more critical
it is that you are trained to
react and perform life-saving
CPR.
Sisters-Camp Sherman
Fire District Fire Chief
Roger Johnson said, “CPR
has changed so much in the
past decade due to research
and clinical studies. If you
haven’t taken a CPR class in
a while we strongly encour-
age you to do so.”
A class is scheduled
for March 17. Contact the
District for information at
541-549-0771 or visit www.
sistersfire.com.
The Deschutes County
911 Service District can
provide CPR instructions
over the telephone prior to
the arrival of advanced life
ONTHE
CORNEROF
SPINEST&
WHOOD
AVE
support care and hands-only
CPR is also an option.
The PulsePoint phone
application is a way for area
residents to help save a life
when every second counts.
The application notifies peo-
ple when someone has suf-
fered a cardiac arrest near
their location. The applica-
tion informs users of the
location of the victim and
also notifies people where
the nearest AED is located.
The notification is sent at
the same time emergency
responders are notified so
the public is often the first
person on the scene of the
emergency. The application
was developed to encourage
bystander CPR and to save
lives during cardiac arrest.
Another benefit of the appli-
cation is that local residents
can choose to be alerted to
other types of emergencies
including fires and motor
vehicle accidents. Knowing
when there is an accident
on the pass can provide an
opportunity for people to
take an alternate route or
avoid the area altogether.
For more information about
PulsePoint visit http://www.
pulsepoint.org/.
Another important ele-
ment in the coordinated
response system is rapid pub-
lic access to AEDs. AEDs are
a computerized heart moni-
tor that can recognize lethal
cardiac arrhythmias and
deliver an electrical shock to
the heart. The lethal arrhyth-
mia will often be converted
back to normal if the AED is
used quickly after the cardiac
arrest occurs. The District
has been working with local
businesses in the past year to
increase the number of AEDs
within the community. Local
businesses have purchased
and installed 10 AEDs within
the Sisters community as
part of a grant program the
District implemented in
2017. There are now over 20
AEDs installed in businesses
and public buildings through-
out Sisters Country.
The last local element of
the coordinated system is
rapid response of basic and
advanced life-support per-
sonnel. The District has nine
highly trained career para-
medic staff on call 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. The
District also relies heavily
on its volunteer staff, which
includes an additional 6
paramedics, 15 emergency
medical technicians, and 13
emergency medical respond-
ers. Paramedic staff is trained
in high-performance CPR,
interosseous access for IV
medications and Lucas con-
tinuous CPR machine use. If
necessary, cardiac arrest vic-
tims also have access to two
air ambulances. Life Flight
and AirLink flight crews are
equipped with specialized
equipment and medications
that ground ambulance crews
don’t have access to. In
remote areas of the district,
Life Flight and AirLink can
often times provide quicker
access to area hospitals for
critical patients.
Over the past two years,
fire district personnel have
responded to 30 cardiac
arrest calls in Sisters Country.
By working together with our
community on this coordi-
nated system, we are making
great strides in improving the
chances of survival of sudden
cardiac arrest.
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