NOVEMBER 29, 2019, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
KFD welcomes new
assistant to station
McNary hosts annual Bazaar
KEIZERTIMES/Lauren Murphy
The annual McNary Holiday Bazaar helped hundreds of community members get an early
start on their holiday shopping.
KEIZERTIMES/Lauren Murphy
LUCAS, is a chest compression machine system that can perform CPR.
By LAUREN MURPHY
pressions for up to 45 minutes;
Of the Keizertimes
there is a second battery in case
Last month Keizer Fire Dis- a paitent needs more time, but
trict (KFD) introduced the new- Butler said that is not usually the
est member of its team, LUCAS; case.
“The machine auto-corrects
a chest compression system to
for chest size and resistance pro-
assist in calls involving CPR.
LUCAS, which stands for viding for the correct depth of
compressions,”
Lund University
Butler
said.
Cardiopulmo-
This makes it
nary Assist Sys- “ By utilizing
more accurate
tem, is a piece LUCAS, we
and
helpful
of equipment
than
human
that costs nearly will no longer
compressions.
$16,000 and was have to send
In addition
purchased with
to adjusting to
money from the personnel to
chest size and
2015
Equip- the (emergency
resistance,
it
ment Bond.
also provides
“It encircles department) to
continuous
the chest of a
provide chest
chest compres-
cardiac
arrest
sions – result-
victim and uti- compressions.”
ing in better
lizes a “plunger”
— Brian Butler, perfusion
of
to provide chest
Division Chief of Operations
blood to criti-
c o m p re s s i o n s
Keizer Fire District
cal organs like
at the correct
the brain and
depth and rate,”
heart.
said Brian But-
“We also have to move car-
ler, who is the Division Chief of
diac arrest patients several times.
Operations for KFD.
LUCAS can provide com- From where they are found to
where we are going to try to re-
vive them, from where we try to
revive them to the medic unit
and from the medic unit to the
emergency department,” Butler
said.
LUCAS gives compressions
while a patient is being moved:
down staris, in an elevator, or
anywhere else that would result
in less than ideal conditions for
human CPR.
“Currently, a normal medical
call gets fi ve responders while
a cardiac arrest call gets eight,”
Butler said.
With a LUCAS stationed on
all three Keizer Fire ambulances,
less responders are required for a
cardiac arrest calls.
“This can also free up other
fi refi ghters and EMTs to assist in
planning for and moving the pa-
tient, providing comfort to fam-
ily members on scene or starting
IV’s, administering medications,
intubating, etc.” he said.
When a cardiac arrest
patient is being transported
to the hospital they send fi ve
fi refi ghters: one to drive, one to
be the paramedic-in-charge, one
KEIZERTIMES/Lauren Murphy
LEFT: Noah Kuhl, a former McNary student, sells his own disc golf equipment. RIGHT: Vic-
toria Fleming (left) and Shelby Boothe sell arts and crafts with their business, The 2 Of Us
Creations.
ventilating the patient and two
alternating chest compressions.
“By utilizing LUCAS, we
will no longer have to send
personnel to the (emergency
department) to provide chest
compressions,” Butler said.
The benefi ts of only sending
three fi refi ghters are twofold. It
allows two fi remen to return to
service and be ready for another
calls and excludes the exhaust-
ing and dangerous job of doing
CPR in a traveling medic unit.
“First, these personnel can
return to service and be available
for other calls for service. And
second, having two fi refi ghters
standing in the back of a med-
ic unit doing CPR while the
medic unit is traveling down the
road is dangerous and physically
exhausting,” Butler said. “LU-
CAS eliminates this dangerous
burden on our fi refi ghters.”
Salem Health has utilized the
LUCAS machine as well, which
helps the transfering the patient
in a more seamless manner.
LUCAS is intended for adult
patients – though Butler said if
the device fi ts around the pa-
tient LUCAS is safe to use.
Just like human CPR, there
is about a 30 percent chance of
broken or separated ribs with
LUCAS.
“The patient may still expe-
rience some separated or broken
ribs, but this is in no way a rea-
son not to do CPR on a person
without a pulse,” Butler said.
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