Tempe equips fire trucks and ambulances with new heart monitors

PHOENIX – All Tempe Fire Medical Rescue frontline vehicles have been upgraded with new heart monitors, the city announced on Thursday.

The Stryker LIFEPAK 35 heart monitor and defibrillator is a tool that allows for faster treatment as data can be transmitted to a hospital in real time.

The monitors are also able to track vital signs like breathing, oxygen levels and blood pressure.

Tempe Fire Medical Rescue is the first fire department in the East Valley to place the technology in each of its vehicles, according to the announcement.

“The technology in these new LIFEPAK 35 monitors will improve the treatment capabilities of our paramedics, leading to improved outcomes for our patients and helping us meet our long-term goal of improving cardiac arrest survival in Tempe,” Tempe Fire Medical Rescue interim fire chief Darrell Duty said in a press release.

The new equipment will help paramedics identify heart attacks with more precision, perform shocks in a more efficient manner (so paramedics don’t have to pause CPR unless necessary), while providing live EKG data to hospitals, saving an emergency room time prior to a patient’s arrival.

“This is about getting people the best possible care when they need it most,” Tempe Fire Medical Rescue deputy fire chief Kevin Bailey Jr. said in a release.

“The new monitors help us move faster and communicate better with hospitals.”

The devices were obtained via an eight-year lease. Each firefighter and paramedic in Tempe underwent 6.5 hours of training before the devices were added the city’s vehicles. Tempe Fire Medical Rescue said it responds to more than 300 cardiac arrest calls annually.

Earlier this year, all Tempe Fire Medical Rescue frontline vehicles were equipped with LUCAS automated chest compression devices.

Related

Tempe Fire Medical Rescue has officially opened its new Fire Station No. 2Tempe equips all frontline fire trucks, ambulances with lifesaving CPR devicesHow to protect your dog from venomous snakes in Arizona10-year-old boy hospitalized after mountain rescue on Camelback’s Echo Canyon TrailHeat wave expected to bring record-breaking temps, heighten wildfire risk to parts of US2 contemporary fashion brands to make Arizona debuts at Scottsdale Quarter