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Technology upgrade
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Monte Keady, training chief with Fire District No. 1, and EMTs Linda Thompson and Dan Selby demonstrate a new 12 Lead EKG monitor at Station 3 Tuesday. |
New EKG machine will benefit heart attack patients
By MEGAN DOYLE
H&N Staff Writer
A new cell phone-based technology used by Klamath County Fire District No. 1 helps possible heart attack patients get treatment more quickly by sending information to emergency staff before the patient reaches the hospital.
The LifePak 12, 12-Lead Electrocardiogram (EKG) helps identify a heart attack and its location in the heart. Each ambulance in the district has an electrocardiogram. The cost of each unit is between $20,000 and $23,000.
Area medical personnel have been trained in operating the machine. Paramedics and hospital staff have been trained in reading the results and diagnosing a heart attack.
“There are a lot of clues in the little squiggly lines,” said Dan Selby, Fire District No. 1 paramedic.
Sending information
Using cell phone technology in ambulances, paramedics and emergency medical technicians send information from a patient’s EKG reading to Sky Lakes Medical Center staff, who can then ready medical teams and equipment to immediately perform an angioplasty.
Sky Lakes Medical Center does not have a 24-hour catheter lab. The EKG device cuts down on the amount of time a patient has to wait, especially during nights and on weekends, when doctors needed for a specific procedure are on-call, but not at the hospital.
This is especially crucial to county emergency service agencies farther away from the hospital.
“I think it’s going to work out wonderfully for us,” said Jane McLaughlin, Chiloquin Ambulance emergency medical services chief. “It means better survival for the patient.”
The average response time in the Chiloquin area is about 30 minutes, but can be as long as an hour depending on where the patient is, she said.
Using new technology
Rural fire districts are just beginning to make use of the technology, said Michael Lund, a Keno firefighter, paramedic and medical officer.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of experience with it yet here at the fire department,” Lund said.
He is teaching a basic emergency medical technician course at Klamath Community College and incorporates training on the electrocardiogram device into his classes.
“Part of that is teaching them about putting monitors on,” he said. The monitors are placed on the chest, arms and legs of the patient.
It’s easy to use, said Fire District No. 1 training chief Monte Keady. The LifePak 12 prints out a reading of the heart activity.
“Knowing what (the reading) is supposed to look like, and knowing what a bad one looks like, is key,” he said.
The LifePak 12, 12-Lead Electrocardiogram (EKG) helps identify a heart attack and its location in the heart. Each ambulance in the district has an electrocardiogram. The cost of each unit is between $20,000 and $23,000.
Area medical personnel have been trained in operating the machine. Paramedics and hospital staff have been trained in reading the results and diagnosing a heart attack.
“There are a lot of clues in the little squiggly lines,” said Dan Selby, Fire District No. 1 paramedic.
Sending information
Using cell phone technology in ambulances, paramedics and emergency medical technicians send information from a patient’s EKG reading to Sky Lakes Medical Center staff, who can then ready medical teams and equipment to immediately perform an angioplasty.
Sky Lakes Medical Center does not have a 24-hour catheter lab. The EKG device cuts down on the amount of time a patient has to wait, especially during nights and on weekends, when doctors needed for a specific procedure are on-call, but not at the hospital.
This is especially crucial to county emergency service agencies farther away from the hospital.
“I think it’s going to work out wonderfully for us,” said Jane McLaughlin, Chiloquin Ambulance emergency medical services chief. “It means better survival for the patient.”
The average response time in the Chiloquin area is about 30 minutes, but can be as long as an hour depending on where the patient is, she said.
Using new technology
Rural fire districts are just beginning to make use of the technology, said Michael Lund, a Keno firefighter, paramedic and medical officer.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of experience with it yet here at the fire department,” Lund said.
He is teaching a basic emergency medical technician course at Klamath Community College and incorporates training on the electrocardiogram device into his classes.
“Part of that is teaching them about putting monitors on,” he said. The monitors are placed on the chest, arms and legs of the patient.
It’s easy to use, said Fire District No. 1 training chief Monte Keady. The LifePak 12 prints out a reading of the heart activity.
“Knowing what (the reading) is supposed to look like, and knowing what a bad one looks like, is key,” he said.
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