City Highlights Investment in New Lifesaving Equipment
Published on February 17, 2023
Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) officials today said new lifesaving equipment will enhance the department’s already exemplary cardiac survival success rates.
Mayor Gaylor Baird, LFR Fire Chief Dave Engler, LFR Battalion Chief of Emergency Medical Services Jamie Pospisil, and LFR Chief Medical Director Dr. Noah Bernhardson showcased some of the new equipment at a news conference at Station 15, 6601 Pine Lake Road.
“Outfitting our paramedics with state-of-the-art equipment will provide even better medical care and health outcomes for our residents and support the safety of our first responders who provide that essential and life-saving care,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. "As Lincoln grows, my administration continues to prioritize public safety investments in our city budget that keep you, your family, and our first responders safe.”
Funding for the equipment is from the 2023 City budget and is part of a $2.2 million, no interest, five-year lease program that includes equipment maintenance. All equipment is now in service and includes:
- 35 cardiac monitors
- 20 cardiac monitor simulators used for training
- 12 powered cots to lift patients to a level to load into the ambulance rather than personnel bending and lifting
- 11 devices to load patients into ambulances, which reduce risk of injuries to first responders
- 12 motorized devices used to move patients more easily down stairs
- 8 automatic chest compression devices
- 11 lighted intubation devices used to illuminate patients’ airways during insertion of breathing tubes
- 6 automated external defibrillators to be placed in all LFR support vehicles
“The new equipment will also make certain that the members of our community are getting the best patient care. Every success we enjoy matches the hard work of the women and men of this organization but also the support of the people of our community,” Chief Engler said.
Engler added that a new computerized dispatch system will ensure fast response times and efficient deployment of paramedics, who were called upon 27,000 times in 2022.
“LFR’s attention to performance, development of community relationships and continual improvement will result in making Lincoln one of the best performing EMS systems in the country and provide the best outcomes for the Lincoln community,” Chief Engler said.
Dr. Bernhardson said that Lincoln affords a greater than double opportunity for patients to survive, in part because of CPR performed by bystanders prior to the arrival of first responders. Of the 141 non-traumatic cardiac arrest cases in 2022, Dr. Bernhardson noted that bystanders were performing CPR 70.8 % of the time when LFR arrived compared to the national CPR rate of 40.2%.
Overall, the survival rate for non-traumatic cardiac arrests in Lincoln for 2022 is 18.4%, twice the average nationally, according to most recent statistics. This means that 26 people were revived following a sudden cardiac arrest. Statistically, only 13 people should have survived, Bernhardson said.
“Due to the hard work of our community members, our 911 dispatchers, our law enforcement, Lincoln Fire and Rescue EMTs and paramedics, our health systems including nurses, respiratory therapists, emergency physicians, cardiologists, and critical care physicians, we gave 26 people a second chance at life,” Dr. Bernhardson said.
Mayor Gaylor Baird concluded by thanking those who work to make our community safer.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said, “I want to personally congratulate and thank Chief Engler and all the highly skilled, hard-working team members at Lincoln Fire and Rescue for their efforts.”
Lincoln Fire and Rescue is a combined fire and emergency services department that responds to all 911 calls in Lincoln, and in nearby communities that contract with LFR. Lincoln Fire and Rescue has received the Mission Lifeline Award from the American Heart Association for seven consecutive years – the last five being Gold Plus Awards.
More information on LFR is available at fire.lincoln.ne.gov.