By Peggy Linton
The Commercial Appeal
DESOTO COUNTY, Tenn. — A total of 12 C-PAP Starter Kits were donated to DeSoto County, and the cities of Hernando, Horn Lake, Olive Branch and Southaven by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.
Thanks to an anonymous donation, the Community Foundation made the presentation of these kits to assist emergency personnel in providing life-saving respiratory assistance for people in North Mississippi. The purpose of the donations is to improve the level and quality of emergency services for all residents in the area.
“Southaven Fire was able to place a couple of these units in service earlier this year and have seen tremendous results in patient outcome and even shorten hospital stays, so I definitely believe in the use of them,” said Tony McCallum, EMS director for the City of Southaven.
C-PAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. The basic principle of C-PAP is to apply a tight-fitting mask to the patient that is controlled by a regulator designed to provide a high flow of variable or fixed oxygen concentration.
The distribution of the C-PAP Starter Kits is based on an assessment prepared by the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Center for Manpower Studies at the University of Memphis. The assessment indicated that 12 units be distributed consistent with the rapidly expanding needs of residents of North Mississippi.
The assessment took into consideration the population growth, the expanding network of interstate, state and local transportation corridors, and distance of transportation to a medical center. With the C-PAP Starter Kits, the EMS providers will transport patients to facilities as dictated by existing operating procedures and with better service along the way. DeSoto received five, Hernando two, Horn Lake three, Olive Branch one and Southaven one.
“Life-saving emergency treatment is a significant and growing issue,” said Community Foundation President Tom Pittman. “We are pleased that an anonymous donor saw this need and took action that will make our community a safer place.”
The Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi is a nonprofit charitable organization with the mission of connecting people who care with causes that matter. Through the generosity of more than 500 donors, it has contributed $4.5 million during the last five years to 200 nonprofit organizations in its eight-county region.
The foundation’s priorities are education, health and children and youth. All donations to the Community Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To learn more about the work of the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi connecting people who care with causes that matter go to cfnm.org or call (662) 449-5002.
Copyright 2009 The Commercial Appeal, Inc.