Carrie Stambaugh/The Independent
Ashland — Ambulances in the Boyd County EMS fleet have new equipment officials say will not only save lives but improve the quality of life for many survivors.
Beginning Wednesday, all four ambulances run by Boyd County EMS will put into service new Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Units. The equipment was purchased through a grant from the Kentucky Board of EMS and will be used in the treatment of patients with acute respiratory failure.
Boyd EMS Director Tom Adams said congestive heart failure patients who develop pulmonary adema, meaning their lungs fill with fluid, and those suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will be the most likely to benefit from the new equipment, which had not been used as of early Friday afternoon.
“CPAP machines are most commonly used in the treatment of sleep apnea. But it has been found that patients in acute respiratory failure that would normally have to be intubated and put on a ventilator can be treated with the CPAP to save them the more aggressive treatment and the complications that go along with having to be put on a ventilator for periods of time after arrival at the hospital,” Adams said.
The CPAP machine provides positive pressure on the lungs, which pushes fluid back out of the lungs in pulmonary adema patients, Adams said. COPD patients likewise benefit from the continious pressure because it requires them to exert less energy to continue breathing on their own, he said.
By avoiding being intubated, Adams said, “Their hospital time is going to be shorter, their recovery time is going to be quicker and their quality of life better.”
Once a patient has been placed on a ventilator, which breathes for them, they must be carefully weaned off the machine and taught to breathe on their own again. This requires a longer hospital stay and patients are prone to other complications.
Adams said the new equipment is the latest improvement the agency has made in its continual effort to improve quality of care for patients. In addition to adding new medications for respiratory problems and switching to electronic recordkeeping, EMS workers are now able to take 12 lead electrocardiograms from the ambulance and transmit that information directly to the hospital en route, Adams said.
That valuable information about a patient’s heart allows the hospital to take steps to better treat the patient immediately upon arrival, he said.
“People just don’t realize what is in that truck. Sometimes whether they recover or whether that long-term outlook is good is determined by the treatment they receive in that living room before they even go to the hospital,” he said.
“We work real hard to stay up on what is the cutting edge of pre-hospital care and this is that point right now,” Adams said. “As things change, we will no doubt do our best to stay up with those changes.”
CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.
