County commissioners consider AED purchase proposal

Every day in America, nearly 1,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest and for many of them, access to automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, can make the difference between life and death.

Members of the Cape Girardeau County Commission were asked at their meeting Thursday to consider purchase of 80 portable AEDs and related equipment for use by county fire districts, first responders and other emergency personnel.

AEDs can be used to deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help re-establish heart rhythm during a cardiac arrest episode. According to the American Red Cross, more than 350,000 people will suffer sudden cardiac arrest this year in the United States.

“By increasing our numbers countywide, it will improve our responses in the county for cardiac arrest and keep people more safe,” said Sean Mitchell, deputy chief of the Jackson Fire Rescue. Mitchell offered the proposal to the county commissioners on behalf of the Cape Girardeau County Firefighters Association, for which he serves as president.

The AEDs, he said, would be an upgrade for fire districts and other emergency personnel who currently have defibrillators and would be compatible with equipment used by Cape County Private Ambulance Service, meaning there would be a smoother transition between first-responders and ambulance staff.

In addition, the upgraded equipment in the proposal would be Wi-Fi enabled and could be remotely monitored.

“That makes the readiness of the AED better so we don’t have to have somebody (physically) checking on them all the time,” Mitchell said.

Cost of the AEDs and ancillary equipment would be $197,419.04. Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said the commissioners will review the proposal and consider the possibility of using Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds for the purchase.

PulsePoint app

In a related presentation, the commissioners heard from Randy Morris, deputy chief of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, who talked about PulsePoint, a downloadable app the city plans to launch by mid-August.

The free app, available to emergency personnel as well as the general public, is designed to send out immediate notifications of cardiac episodes and the location of nearby AEDs.

“This has been several years in the making,” Morris said. “We’ll be doing a ‘soft launch’ within the next couple of weeks.”

According to the system’s developers, 57% of U.S. adults say they’ve had CPR training and most would be willing to use CPR or an AED to help save a stranger’s life.

“Bystander CPR has been proven in several cases to give better patient outcomes (until the arrival of emergency personnel), because the earlier you can get defibrillation in place and CPR started, the better,” Morris said.

Saint Francis Healthcare System, Morris said, is partnering with the city in the PulsePoint project.

More information about the system is available online at pulsepoint.org.

Reimbursement adjustments

In other business Thursday, the County Commission revised some previously-approved reimbursements to several schools for expenses they incurred related to COVID-19.

The revisions were made after it was determined expenses the schools incurred between March 1 and 26 were eligible for reimbursement out of the county’s CARES Act fund. The adjustments included an additional $693.63 to Notre Dame Regional High School, $17,263.70 to the Jackson School District, $2,960.56 to the Cape Girardeau School District and $2.54 to Saxony Lutheran School.

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