CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The Pickaway Township Fire Department has equipped its crews with a mechanical ventilator and a handheld ultrasound device, additions the department says will let paramedics manage difficult airways and find hard-to-reach veins more quickly in the field.
The department said the roughly $20,000 in combined equipment was made possible entirely through community donations, with Amvets Post 2256, VFW Post 3331, Eagles Lodge 265 and township residents providing the funding.
The first piece of equipment, a HeroVent transport ventilator, is designed to supply oxygen to patients who need advanced airway management, including intubation, non-invasive ventilation, BiPAP or CPAP, according to the fire department. The device can also deliver timed breaths during cardiac arrest, freeing up paramedics’ hands to perform other interventions while the patient continues to receive adequate ventilation, the department said.
The second device, a Butterfly iQ point-of-care ultrasound, is a portable unit that gives paramedics guided visualization when inserting an IV line, the department said. Officials said the tool will be especially useful for patients considered “complicated sticks,” who may need medications for pain management, cardiac care or metabolic support but whose veins are difficult to access. The department said it will continue to use an intraosseous drill for cases that require emergent access regardless of the new ultrasound.
“Our township’s residents and visitors deserve the highest level of emergency medical care possible,” Pickaway Township Fire Department Captain I. Hardin said in a statement posted to the department’s Facebook page. “We are committed to continually learning, improving and embracing new technology to ensure we are providing the best possible care when our community needs us most.”
The department credited Medical Director Dr. D. Schneider along with captains Hardin and J. Mathes with bringing the new equipment into service.
The HeroVent, made by Ventis Medical, is an FDA-cleared transport ventilator distributed to EMS and fire agencies nationwide. The Butterfly iQ is a handheld ultrasound probe that connects to a tablet or smartphone, a format that has made point-of-care ultrasound increasingly common among ambulance crews in recent years.
Pickaway Township Fire Department is based on Tarlton Road outside Circleville and serves Pickaway Township, a roughly 49-square-mile area in southeastern Pickaway County with no incorporated cities or villages within its borders, according to U.S. Census data.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Pickaway Township Fire Department.
