More emergency calls for cardiac arrest than any other go out every year. When the Reno Fire Department responds to them, there is a high likelihood that they'll deploy a device called the Zoll AutoPulse.
The Zoll AutoPulse is a mechanical CPR device and is not the only one of its kind, but it can be found on every RFD ambulance.
It provides chest compressions to a patient in place of a responder.
The device increases the possibility of someone leaving the hospital with all of their neurological faculties intact following cardiac arrest.
“We have providers that are able to spend more time doing the other important things that we need to do in that situation,” said EMS Division Chief Cindy Green. “So the Reno Fire Department was able to start purchasing these and putting them on our ambulances about three years ago.”
Because the Reno Fire Department works alongside other medical agencies in the area, they have trained other providers on how to use the device and also learned from other agencies with different devices how to use theirs.
“We do a lot of training before we deployed these, not only did we train ourselves, but we also made sure that the individuals that we respond with and the individuals that we take these patients to know how it works and how to put it on, take it off and kind of troubleshoot some of the problem areas that we have,” said Green.
Green says it can be scary to see these devices used, but they really are lifesaving. She says all the training and funding used to get the devices is well worth it for that reason alone.
