'Game Changer': Two More Automatic CPR Devices Are Coming To The Franklin Fire Department

FRANKLIN, WI — The Franklin Fire Department is receiving two more LUCAS CPR devices that automatically perform chest compressions on cardiac arrest patients. The Franklin Common Council approved the purchase during a meeting on Tuesday.

"Rather than us doing CPR and getting tired and doing it imperfectly, this machine straps around the patient and has a piston that compresses the sternum with a suction cup that actually pulls it back up that allows blood to flow back in and improves outcomes," Franklin Fire Chief Adam Remington told the Common Council on Tuesday.

The department already has one LUCAS CPR device which was purchased in 2018. The device's effectiveness was immediately obvious, so, as emergency call volumes increase for the department, the department sought to purchase two more, city documents said.

"It's pretty amazing if you've ever seen one work," Remington said.

Chest compressions are critical when it comes to saving a cardiac arrest patient, but for years, first responders have been tasked with performing them manually. In the field, that can be difficult, but the introduction of the devices can help to take tasks away from personnel during an emergency, allowing for other lifesaving measures such as airway management, the Fire Department's written request to the Common Council said.

"The patients that we use them on have better outcomes, not only more of them survive, but they have better outcomes to the point where they get out of the hospital in better condition," Remington said in the meeting.

The department originally requested three more devices for 2022, but the third was pushed to 2023 for approval, Remington said.

"I actually believe you will see these the same way you see AEDs now. You'll see them in other locations where people can grab it, prices are coming down," Remington added. "It's a true game-changer in the way we treat cardiac arrest"