WILSON COUNTY, Texas — There's a new life-line in Wilson County. The life-saving technology is inside ambulances for Emergency Services District 4.
EMS Director for ESD 4 David Adams said the machine is a cardiac monitor, and calls it a major improvement. The machine is called LIFEPAK 35.
"We were informed by Stryker that we are first in the state of Texas to put this in service," he said. "And the second in the nation to put these in service."
The first responders cover over 411 square miles. Paramedic Steven Rodriguez said every second counts.
"This is something that has been a game-changer for us," he said. "We have to be prepared for anything."
Adams said the machine weighs about 15 pounds and costs about $62,000.
"Now, we can take live pictures of your heart, multiple angles," he said. "It tracks your oxygen level, and blood pressure."
He said another benefit is when they have to perform CPR on a patient.
"We also have a function on there during CPR, where we don't have to delay CPR and stop for rhythm checks," he said. "We can just continuously do compressions."
Rodriguez explained that this is saving them valuable time.
"Sometimes our transports can take anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes," he said. "Any moment something can happen."
The crews showed KENS 5 how it works. Once a patient is connected, it starts reading the heart. Crews can print the results, or their medical director can see it in real time through an app.
Sherri Demmer is Vice-President and is on the Board of Directors for ESD 4. She said this is huge for Wilson County.
"We are in a rural community," she said. "The faster we can provide care for our patients, the better outcome they will have. "We need this on our trucks. This is going to help our patients."
Adams said they got four of these machines. He said they have been in service for nearly two months and said they have used it on a hundred patients.