After having to wait more than a year, Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue has deployed two new LUCAS automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices in frontline ambulances, providing critical cardiac care to the community. 

“CPR can be difficult to do well over a long duration or while in transport,” Fire Chief Chuck Cerasoli said.

The new devices can quickly be applied to adult cardiac arrest patients to deliver uninterrupted high-quality chest compressions. The device overcomes caregiver fatigue and allows for hands-free CPR during transport, which allows for treatment of the underlying cause instead of needing to switch CPR providers every two minutes. 

The LUCAS device has been shown to improve quality of chest compressions, increase ETCO2 levels, as well as being able to sustain life-saving circulation during prolonged resuscitation attempts. In addition to never getting tired, the device increases compression ratios and blood flow to the brain versus manual CPR. The device can be used on scene, during transport and in the hospital. 

With these devices, SSFR gains access to valuable metrics that provide a comprehensive view of cardiac arrest cases and help improve training efforts.

The devices cost around $37,000 and were funded from two grants. The first came from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s Emergency Medical and Trauma Services branch, and the second came from the Yampa Valley Medical Center Foundation’s Community Health Benefit Fund. Each unit has been placed in a frontline ambulance to aid with cardiac arrest calls. 

“We’re fortunate to be able to tap into healthcare programs like these to provide essential lifesaving equipment to our community,” Cerasoli said. “We can thank CDPHE and YVMCF for their support and commitment to high-quality care.”