This afternoon Medic 53 transmitted TVF&R's first wireless EKG to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. TVF&R was one of the first adopters of Philips’ ALS monitor eight years ago and becomes the first fire department in the nation to use the device’s capability to wirelessly transmit EKG results from the field to the emergency room. The new monitors enable our Firefighter EMT/Paramedics to assess patients for life-threatening heart conditions, provide gender-specific diagnostic criteria to enhance interpretation of cardiac symptoms in women, and pinpoint culprit arteries that may be blocked. Additionally, information gathered by paramedics is relayed to local hospitals, enabling hospital staff to activate special heart teams and prepare for patients before their arrival. This saves critical time for those patients that need the services of a cath lab. The national standard for field to cath lab is about 90 minutes. Thanks to our 12 lead EKGs in the field, TVF&R has many patients making it from field to the cath lab in less an hour.

TVF&R has deployed 46 Philips HeartStart MRx cardiac monitor/defibrillators via its paramedic fire engines, trucks, and medic units.

Wilsonville resident, Bob Archer, is a living testament to the effectiveness of wireless EKG transmission. Read his story.