Nueces County first responders added two new tools to their lifesaving kits. Nueces County Emergency Service District #4 got two new AutoPulse machines. The machine is basically an automatic CPR device, giving compressions electronically.
County Emergency Services typically send two paramedics on a call. Paramedic, Jeannene Marcheschi, says in a situation where a patient needs CPR, one paramedic is driving.
"That leaves the medic in the back who would have to do chest compressions, start IV’s, push medications, get an airway, ventilate the patients," Marcheschi said.
But the addition of the AutoPulse machine is freeing up the hands of paramedics in life or death situations.
"It gives us an opportunity to have an extra set of hands that we don’t normally have," Marcheschi said.
The machine gives CPR, and unlike a paramedic, it doesn’t need to stop and rest. It only takes 14 seconds to apply the AutoPulse machine to a patient. When a patient is strapped in and secured, continuous compressions begin in as little as three seconds.
An AutoPulse machine is crucial in an emergency situation where someone needs CPR. Continuous, high-quality CPR is the best way to save a patient’s life and best way to avoid any long-term health problems. EMS Chief Diana Bluntzer says that just another reason why paramedics are happy to have the AutoPulse machine as another tool to use in an emergency.?
"I keep hearing I wish I could’ve done more," Bluntzer said. "This gives them [the paramedics] the opportunity to do that much more."
Each AutoPulse machine cost $14,000. An anonymous donor donated one machine to Nueces County ESD #4.
