Area EMS departments receive new Lucas CPR device

Humans make mistakes—it’s in our nature, after all. Technological advances and machines, however, have succeeded in reducing those errors, and a new Lucas CPR device that four Grundy County emergency management departments recently received is expected to make the lifesaving process even more efficient in the future.
           
“Hopefully, it takes the work out of CPR for us,” Grundy Center EMT Brad Schmidt said. “When you think about it, if you have a 10 minute call, you’re doing 1,000 compressions over that time… It extends the stuff that we can do in the field. This basically takes the place of two people.”
           
Through grant funding, the EMS departments in Grundy Center, Wellsburg, Reinbeck and Dike have each gotten a device (valued at around $16,000), and they’re excited about the results they feel it can produce.
           
And while adapting to change isn’t always a smooth process, everyone involved is 100 percent onboard.
           
“This is a huge thing for the community,” said Schmidt, who works full-time along with Erica Martens, Kenny Abbas and Chief Dwight Gliem. “This does chest compressions perfectly. It does it at the exact right rate and the exact right depth every time.” 
 
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