The Lombard Fire Department is proud to announce that all front-line Advanced Life Support Ambulances will now be equipped with a Zoll AutoPulse Resuscitation System. The purchase of this equipment was an employee-driven initiative that was made possible through a joint purchasing agreement between the Village and the Foreign Fire Insurance Board. It was approved by the Village Board at their August 19, 2021 meeting.
The AutoPulse by Zoll Medical is an automated, mechanical CPR device that provides high-quality uninterrupted CPR for patients that suffer sudden cardiac arrest. Restoring blood flow as soon as possible is critical to survival for the person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest and is the most vital part of any resuscitative effort.
The AutoPulse measures the chest of a patient and then a band squeezes around the chest and provides uninterrupted CPR, improving blood flow to the heart and brain and allowing first responders to concentrate on other life saving measures such as breathing and medications for patients. A recent study showed the AutoPulse can decrease interruptions in CPR by 85 percent.
“The benefits of providing uninterrupted automated quality CPR can literally be life or death,” said Trustee Brian LaVaque, chair of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee of the Village Board. “Our ability to offer this potentially lifesaving pre-hospital intervention in emergency situations or under circumstances where maintaining constant physical CPR might be impossible represents a huge advance in critical care we can provide to people in Lombard.”
As an Advanced Life support agency, the Lombard Fire Department relies on training and new technology when responding to emergencies involving sudden cardiac arrest.
“Our paramedics will now be better equipped to restore blood flow to the heart, brain, and other critical organs which drastically improves a patient’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest and returning to everyday life” says Lt. Dan Ekhart, EMS Coordinator for the Lombard Fire Department.