Dane County Launches New Ambulance, Intensive Summer Effort to Train Public on Saving Lives
June 15, 2009
Joshua Wescott, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823 or cell (608) 669-5606
Public CCR Trainings Coming to Farmers’ Market Starting this Saturday
Dane County is set to begin a campaign to educate the public on a life-saving skill that’s credited with dramatically improving the survival rates of heart attack patients in the county. County Executive Kathleen Falk made the announcement today standing in front of a brand new ambulance the county has purchased to assist emergency responders across Dane County.
Starting this Saturday, county staff will be offering training on cardio-cerebral resuscitation (CCR) to those attending the Downtown Farmers Market. Future trainings will be offered at the Farmers Market on June 27th, July 18th, and July 25th and also at the Dane County Fair July 16th-18th. CCR training takes about 15 minutes.
“From helping the hundreds of medical responders across our county with this top-notch new ambulance, to making sure our citizens know the best ways to safe lives, Dane County’s emergency medical system remains on the cutting edge,” Falk said.
Dane County is among only a handful of places in the entire country where cardio-cerebral resuscitation (CCR) is being performed on patients who suffer cardiac arrest. From the time a heart attack is first reported to the county’s 911 Center, dispatchers provide directions over the phone on how to perform CCR. Once responders arrive, they expand upon those efforts and provide medications in addition to the chest compressions. Some of the early data suggests that since starting CCR, the survival rate among patients who have witnessed heart attacks has doubled.
“Training as many people as possible how to do CCR greatly improves the chances someone suffering a heart attack will get the help they need,” Dane County Medical Director Dr. Paul Stiegler said.
The new Dane County ambulance is a 2009 Braun Ambulance with the most state of the art safety equipment to protect responders and patients. It includes five-point safety belts to help keep Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) safe and will soon be equipped to accommodate bariatric patients. It also features a 12-lead heart monitor/defibrillator and GPS technology. Funding for the $158,000 ambulance was included in the 2008 county budget signed by Falk.