Helping Save Lives

A deputy is driving and along side the road is a parked car with a man slumped over the wheel. The deputy pulls over and tries to talk to the man. He is not responding. He checks his pulse and finds none. A call is placed to get paramedics there. In the mean time, the deputy himself can perform CPR. He hooks a portable defibrillator called AED (Automated External Defibrillator) up that he has in his cruiser. The AED gets the heart pumping again and paramedics take him on to the hospital. The deputy saves a life.

Sheriff Ronald Nichols puts saving lives and property among his list of high priorities as Sheriff of Ross County. Nichols knows this will saves lives. Cardiac Arrest is the #1 killer in this nation. A heart attack and cardiac arrest are not the same. The heart attack is also known as a plumbing problem, wherein vessels feeding the heart become narrow and close off. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) or "massive heart attack" as it is sometimes known as, is a electrical problem. This involves an irregular heart rhythm, usually ventricular fibrillation. The heart contracts chaotically and is unable to pump blood to the life sustaining organs. Some causes of SCA occur without warning; the victim will lose consciousness and a absence of a pulse. Some causes of cardiac arrest come from heart disease or abnormality, illegal drug use, electrocution, drowning, choking and trauma. The solution to the number one killer in this country is readily available and involves the execution of "chain of survival"; Early access to 911, early CPR, early defibrillator and early advanced care.

The AED Unit

This is why Sheriff Nichols wants Deputies trained in CPR and how to use the AED's. The county is mapped of into 5 sections for Patrol cars. One district is the city area. The other four districts are mapped out areas of Ross County. You may see the map-HERE. Each county car will have a AED available. Classes were held to train the road deputies in CPR and also the use of AED.

The class intructor-Mike Norman, EMS Program Director of Adena
Deputies train on the "dummy"

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