FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   

Contact:   Captain Dave Wheaton, Lee County Public Safety/EMS
                (941) 335-1661

LEE EMS TO PHASE IN DEFIBRILLATION MONITORS ON ITS AMBULANCES

 FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 18, 2002) – Paramedics and EMTs with Lee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will soon have the latest technology for saving lives. 

The county is beginning an upgrade of its Defibrillator/Heart Monitor/Pacing equipment.  Manufactured by Zoll, the first six of these units cost $21,000 each and will be placed on ambulances in the next several weeks.  The Zoll M-Series has the latest in biphasic waveform defibrillation and pacing technology.  The new units contain defibrillators, external heart pacers, pulse oximetry, 12-lead EKG, and blood pressure monitors in a single lightweight device.  

Zoll representatives will be at Lee County EMS today at 11 a.m. to train EMS medics on their use.  Media can coordinate with Capt. Dave Wheaton to get pictures/information. 

EMS will phase in the units on its other ambulances over the next two years. 

Cardiac arrest, where the heart and breathing stop, strikes approximately 350,000 Americans annually.  Survival is about two-to-five percent, but is higher in communities where an active citizen Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Early Defibrillation program is available.  Lee County has such a program in place. 

Last year, EMS began using two new drugs – Vasopressin and Amiodarone – to enhance treatment of Ventricular Fibrillation, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death.  Both medicines replaced the more traditional Epinephrine therapy and evidence suggests the new treatment could increase survival rates from 35 percent to 70 percent upon hospital admission and from 15 percent to 40 percent upon discharge. 

In addition, the county has placed 50 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for use in public facilities such as local government buildings, professional baseball parks (Hammond Stadium and City of Palms Park), the Edison-Ford Estates, Harborside Convention Hall, and various community centers. 

Lee County EMS provides out-of-hospital advanced life support response and care to more than 50,000 citizens and visitors each year and also operates an air ambulance helicopter.  Its annual budget is $21.4 million and it employs more than 200 people.  This year, EMS celebrates its 30th Anniversary serving the residents and visitors of Lee County.  To learn more about Lee County EMS, visit its web site at www.lee-county.com/ps/EMS/.