Slightly Off the Mark

 Albion (Indiana) firefighters are testing a new device designed to assist them in performing life-saving CPR.

 

 

The Stryker CPR device is battery powered, and is designed to give high quality CPR with minimal interruptions--a major link in the chain of survival for the patient. Albion firefighters trained in using the device when it was delivered, and will be evaluating its usefulness in a three month trial.

In response to medical research, modern CPR is given at a much faster rate than when first developed, and as a result people giving it tend to get fatigued quickly. Since volunteer fire departments are increasingly having difficulty attracting members, there's a danger that not enough responders will be available when patients go into cardiac arrest.

 

 The device helps those problems by giving constant, high-quality CPR while firefighters and medics concentrate on other life-saving tasks on the scene. The device will be kept on the AFD's First Responder unit, ready for use at a moment's notice.

 

The AFD worked directly with Stryker and its local representative, Meagan Beveridge, in obtaining the device.