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 in the state of Virginia are deploying the AutoPulse to help better manage cardiac arrest. Most recent customers include Goochland County Fire-Rescue Department, which purchased six devices, and Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad, which purchased seven devices.
Goochland County Fire-Rescue provides 24-hour fire and emergency medical services to more than 16,800 people in Goochland County, just west of Richmond, Virginia. “We implemented the AutoPulse countywide at all six of our stations,” said Eddie Ferguson, Goochland County’s Deputy Chief of EMS. “After several uses, the AutoPulse has yielded positive results. Beyond the increased perfusion benefits that we have seen our patients gain, the AutoPulse allows for a more efficiently run code, impacting our providers and EMS system in a positive and safe way. I would highly recommend the AutoPulse to any EMS system wishing to improve its resuscitation effectiveness.”
Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad offers emergency services to approximately 70,000 people over 25 square miles. It is the first system in the Northern Virginia area to place AutoPulse devices on all of its responding units. According to Sterling’s Chief Byron F. Andrews, III, “We believe the AutoPulse is a tool that helps our medics give patients a better chance at surviving cardiac arrest. By providing automated and uninterrupted chest compressions, medics can focus on other life-saving interventions. The AutoPulse helps them improve resuscitation efforts so that they believe they are doing everything they can for the victim. I cannot say enough about the benefits of the AutoPulse in terms of its ability to improve circulation and our efforts to help cardiac arrest victims.”
VCU Medical Center Study Showed Improved Survival to Discharge
A recent study, completed in conjunction with Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA), compared 499 manual CPR cases and 284 cases using automated CPR, which involved the use of the AutoPulse. The study analyzed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases between January 2001 and March 2005 and evaluated data before and after RAA paramedics began using the AutoPulse. Overall, the data showed a survival-to-hospital-discharge rate of 9.7 percent using automated CPR, compared with 2.9 percent using manual chest compressions. According to its Medical Director Joseph P. Ornato, M.D., RAA is the first EMS agency in the country to have shown that significantly more patients survive and are discharged from the hospital with use of the AutoPulse.
Other Virginia agencies that currently use the AutoPulse as part of their resuscitation efforts include Christiansburg Rescue Squad, Chase City Rescue Squad, Colonial Heights Fire & Rescue, Cumberland County EMS, Ettrick Matoaca Rescue Squad, Ford Volunteer Fire Department, Gloucester Emergency Service, Gloucester Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Henrico Volunteer Rescue Squad, James City County Fire Department, James City Volunteer Rescue Squad, Kilarnock Lancaster Volunteer Rescue, Lakeside Volunteer Rescue, Manchester Volunteer Rescue Squad, Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad, Medical College of Virginia Hospital, Mid-County Public Safety Equipment, Middlesex Volunteer Rescue Squad, Midway Volunteer Fire Department, Moneta Volunteer Ambulance, Montross Volunteer Rescue Squad, Powhatan County Fire Department, Providence Forge Volunteer Rescue, Richmond Ambulance Authority, Richmond Fire Department, Southside Virginia Emergency, and Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue. More than 235 EMS agencies and hospitals worldwide employ the AutoPulse.
About the AutoPulse
New AHA 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 maximum blood flow to the heart and brain.* 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.