Orange County Fire Rescue to Deploy 30 Devices for Entire Rescue Fleet; Joins Collier County EMS, EVAC Ambulance, and Other Early Adopters
CHELMSFORD, Mass.—ZOLL® Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL), a manufacturer of resuscitation devices and related software solutions, today reported that a growing number of EMS agencies and other healthcare organizations in the state of Florida are deploying the ZOLL AutoPulse® Non-invasive Cardiac Support Pump. The most current adopter, Orange County Fire Rescue, has purchased 30 AutoPulse units to outfit its entire fleet of emergency vehicles, which serves approximately one million residents.
According to Orange County’s Medical Director George A. Ralls, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., “Mechanical CPR devices, such as the AutoPulse, are an effective way to free up paramedics and EMTs to engage in other critical interventions during cardiac arrest. The limitations of manual CPR have been shown in the literature, and this device has been designed to overcome these limitations.”
Collier County EMS has 28 AutoPulse devices in operation. “The AutoPulse is a vast improvement over the manual CPR concept, and it is a vital link in our own chain of survival statistics today,” said Robert B. Tober, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., Medical Director, Collier County EMS. “It improves blood flow by compressing the entire chest area instead of one small point above the heart. The blood flow generated by its consistent, uninterrupted compressions allows more oxygen to get to the heart and brain. It also allows vital medications to circulate more quickly through a patient. It is a great tool that is helping our medics improve their resuscitation efforts. When treating cardiac arrest, the most important issue is continuous, uninterrupted cardiac compressions. Nothing else I know of does that better than the AutoPulse.”
EVAC Ambulance, in Volusia County, has 16 devices. At the American Heart Association Meeting this past November, EVAC reported on a concurrently controlled, retrospective review of all pre-hospital cardiac arrest patient records between October 2003 and January 2005. The study showed that:
- The AutoPulse had a significant improvement in survival to the ED in 118 patients, when compared to manual CPR in 405 patients (29% vs. 19%, p=0.02).
- These improvements in survival were most pronounced in patients with initial rhythms of pulseless electrical activity (PEA) (32% vs. 17%, p=0.04) and asystole (24% vs. 10%, p=0.01).
Recent AutoPulse Save by Hialeah Fire Department
Another Florida user, Hialeah Fire Department, had a recent save using the AutoPulse. In February, paramedics responded to a call at a dialysis clinic that involved a 42-year-old male in respiratory arrest. During the call, the patient went into cardiac arrest and was in an asystolic rhythm for more than 12 minutes. Once in cardiac arrest, paramedics immediately placed the patient on the AutoPulse. The crew defibrillated several times, opened his airway, and administered drugs. The medics were able to restart the patient’s heart, and he arrived at the hospital with a blood pressure of 116/72 as well as a strong pulse. The patient was discharged from the hospital with no detectable brain damage.
“This type of call is what makes me a true believer in the AutoPulse,” said Hialeah Fire Department’s Rescue Division Chief Miguel Anchia. “It is also why we purchased 19 devices, enough to outfit every one of our emergency vehicles, including our fire trucks, engines, and ladder trucks. The AutoPulse is a key part of our first-line response for cardiac arrest calls. It allows our medics to better manage cardiac arrest and protect the people of Hialeah.
Other Florida customers that are using the AutoPulse as part of their resuscitation efforts include: Baptist Hospital Bay Point - South Miami Hospital, Baptist Medical Center – Jacksonville, Boca Grove Plantation Fire Department, City of Coral Gables Fire Department, Dania Beach Fire Department, City of Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety Department, Delray Beach Fire Department, Deltona Fire Department, Dixie County EMS, Hallandale Beach Fire Department, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Key Biscayne Fire Department, Key Largo Volunteer Ambulance Corp., North Palm Beach Department of Public Safety, Palm Beach Fire Rescue, Port Orange Fire Department, Putnam County EMS, Riviera Beach Fire Rescue, NASA/USAF Fire Rescue at The Kennedy Space Center, TimberRidge Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, West Palm Beach Fire Rescue, Wewahitchka Ambulance Service, Winter Springs Fire Department, and Lost Tree Village Property Owners Association, Inc.
About the AutoPulse
New American Heart Association 2005 Guidelines note that interrupting chest compressions can decrease the rate of survival from cardiac arrest.* The AutoPulse is an automated, portable device with a simple, load-distributing LifeBand® that squeezes the entire chest in a consistent, uninterrupted “hands-free” manner, delivering improved blood flow to the heart and brain during sudden cardiac arrest.* It is the same type of load-distributing technology that the Guidelines recommend “as an adjunct to CPR for patients with cardiac arrest in the out-of-hospital or in hospital setting (Class IIb).”* Additionally, it offers the benefit of freeing up rescuers to focus on other life-saving interventions.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation is committed to developing technologies that help advance the practice of resuscitation. With products for pacing, defibrillation, circulation, ventilation, and fluid resuscitation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS professionals, and lay rescuers resuscitate sudden cardiac arrest or trauma victims. ZOLL also designs and markets software that automates the documentation and management of both clinical and non-clinical information.
ZOLL markets and sells its products in more than 140 countries. The Company has direct operations, distributor networks, and business partners throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. For more information, visit www.zoll.com or call +1 (978) 421-9655.
Certain statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking” statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, ZOLL’s ability to compete in the resuscitation business; acceptance of the AutoPulse; changes in regulations affecting the healthcare industry; general economic conditions; and those other factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in ZOLL’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which was filed with the SEC on February 10, 2006.
© 2006 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. 269 Mill Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824-4105. AutoPulse, LifeBand, and ZOLL are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation. All product names are the property of their respective owners.
*Clinical references available upon request.