Document text
Photo by Jim Craven Under the direction of trainer Julie La Sota, Jackson County sheriff's Deputy Marty Clark reaches over to shock a "patient" during a training session on how to use new portable defibrillators to be carried in patrol cars. Deputies will help hearts White City gets portable defibrillators By SUSAN JAY WHITE CITY -- The odds of surviving a heart attack or heart failure just got a lot better in this corner of the county. A dozen Jackson County sheriff's deputies, recently certified in adult, child and infant CPR, received training Wednesday on portable defibrillators. They are part of a pilot program in which they will respond to emergency calls involving cardiac arrest. Their aim is to speed treatment and thus increase the victim's chance of survival. When a person suffers cardiac arrest, the user-friendly, portable machines use an electrical current to shock the person's heart back into its normal rhythm. The program involves the sheriff's department, the White City Community Improvement Association, Fire District 3 and Mercy Flights. The sheriff's department bought one defibrillator and the community association bought the other, for a total of $6,000. The machines will be in county patrol cars while deputies are on duty. White City seemed the perfect place to try the program because of its size and community support. People should still call 911 to report a cardiac arrest. The county's emergency dispatcher will simultaneously notify those deputies trained on the defibrillator, along with Fire District 3 and Mercy Flights. "Police don't usually respond to emergency medical problems. It's definitely unusual," said Colin Fagan, a sheriff's deputy in White City who is also a longtime paramedic. The Multnomah County sheriff's department and Springfield police are the only other two agencies Fagan knows that have defibrillators and trained officers. Putting portable defibrillators in deputies' cars was Fagan's idea. "I think there needs to be an automatic external defibrillator in every public place and in every police car," he said, "because sudden cardiac arrest is such a treatable problem if treatment is done early and properly." Every year, 350,000 people die when their hearts suddenly stop because of heart disease and other health problems. "The key is time," said Fagan, who also works part-time as a paramedic for Mercy Flights. A person starts out with an 8 percent chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. Deputies on patrol in White City can respond as fast or faster than District 3 firefighters, he said. "For every minute that passes, a person's chance of survival decreases by 10 percent," he said. "The sooner you get a defibrillator there and on them, the greater the chance of resuscitating them." Fagan has seen hundreds of people suffer cardiac arrest during his time as a paramedic in San Diego and Arizona. Rod Edwards, battalion chief at Fire District 3, welcomes the backup from deputies. The fire district covers more than 200 square miles, with four satellite stations and two main stations. During the summer, however, numerous fires can keep fire and paramedic crews busy and delay responses. Even though paramedics from the fire district and Mercy Flights would respond along with deputies, "it's nice to know there's another resource out there," he said. Sheriff's Sgt. John Atkins, training on the defibrillator Wednesday, said he believes every deputy should be trained. He said he likes the idea because "it affords us an opportunity to save lives" and he thinks it will be a contagious trend among law enforcement agencies. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA