Donations made to Blessing Foundation help buy trainer cardiac monitors for EMS students

QUINCY — Blessing Foundation donors recently spent $45,000 on two LIFEPAK 15 Trainer Cardiac Monitors for students of Blessing Hospital’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) paramedic and emergency medical technician programs.

These monitors, used by ambulance personnel in cases of suspected heart attack, replace 20-year-old technology and are the same machines used in many area ambulances. EMS professionals, who are skilled in cardiac care, provide on-the-scene recognition of and begin treatment for potentially life-threatening cardiac events when responding to emergency calls.

“Our goal is to train emergency medical professionals who are skilled in identifying cardiac emergencies so they can alert the hospital when they are transporting heart attack patients,” Erin Roberts, EMS manager and paramedic program director, said in a press release. “This allows hospital staff time to prepare, leading to patients getting treatment sooner and more lives saved.

“Cardiology is one of the most intimidating areas of study for EMS students. When surveyed, students always ask for more cardiology practice. These monitors are very important to meeting that need.”

Blessing Hospital is the state-designated resource hospital for the Quincy Area EMS system. Roberts says the new cardiac monitors will also be used in refresher training and various life support recertifications for paramedics and EMTs in the system, which includes Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock counties in Illinois.

Blessing’s EMS department wrote a grant to the Blessing Foundation seeking the funds to update the cardiac monitors.

“Donors to the Blessing Foundation are community-minded and generous people,” said Ann Awerkamp Dickson, administrative director for the Blessing Foundation. “Their support is vital to meeting the many needs that lead to improving the health of our communities — whether it be the latest technology or helping patients with financial needs purchase their medications, durable medical equipment, or meeting their basic needs of everyday living during their treatment.

“The purchase of the new cardiac monitors helps all of us who may, one day, experience a cardiac emergency.”

For more information on the Blessing Foundation, go to blessingfoundationconnects.com. For more information on the paramedic and EMS education programs, go to blessinghealth.org/careers/schools-and-programs.