The Estevan Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been able to purchase a new Lucas machine, thanks to the generosity of a local company.
Harris Oilfield Construction donated $18,000 to the EMS, which covered the full cost of the machine’s purchase. EMS was able to showcase the equipment for the family members when they dropped by the EMS bay on Aug. 11.
The donation was made in memory of Doug Harris, who died in January at the age of 74.
Steven Raymond, a paramedic with EMS, said the Lucas machine will be used to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in cardiac arrest situations. Prior to having the Lucas machine, CPR had to be administered manually.
“You hook on the machine, and then there’s a plunger that comes down, and then that does perfect compressions for us,” said Raymond. “It never has to stop.”
Those perfect compressions can help save lives in a cardiac arrest situation, he said.
When a call comes in for a cardiac arrest, only two people are there to respond initially. One person would start performing compressions, and the other person would put on the monitor and start using the defibrillation pads.
“Within 10 minutes … another crew would show up … that we called in on the way, and then everybody would start rotating through compressions. Doing compressions by hand, it’s very tiring.”
As paramedics get tired, the compressions become less effective.
The local EMS did not have a Lucas machine previously, since it’s not viewed as a piece of equipment that’s essential for ambulances.
“Maybe some day in the future it will be, because it is expensive,” said Raymond. “Regina and Saskatoon currently have them.”
He’s not sure of any other rural communities to have this equipment.
“We’re pretty lucky to be one of the first rural services to actually get one,” said Raymond.
Raymond said Estevan EMS had been fundraising to pay for the cost of the Lucas machine. They went around the community looking for donations, and raised some money. When they talked to Harris Oilfield, they stepped forward with the full $18,000.
“For them to be able to give a gift like that to us … was really amazing,” said Raymond.
The money that was previously contributed by other companies for the Lucas machine will be used to purchase a few smaller items, including peripheral capillary oxygen saturation monitors, which tell paramedics the pulse rate and oxygen levels in the body. A new continuous positive airway pressure machine will be purchased, which will help people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
They will also purchase a new regulator for their Entonox, which is a pain control gas.
“Our goal would be at some point to have a second Lucas on our other truck … so we might do some fundraising in the future … for that,” said Lucas.
The Lucas machine has not been used as of yet.
Anyone who wants to make a donation to Estevan EMS can do so directly at their station inside St. Joseph’s Hospital. While they are attached to the hospital, Raymond said they don’t receive donations through St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.
