In remote areas of St. Louis County, when a medical emergency occurs, it is often a St. Louis County Deputy Sheriff who is first on the scene.
Thanks to a generous grant donation from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to the Center for Resuscitation Medicine (CRM) at the University of Minnesota, the U of M purchased and donated a new automated device that performs chest compressions even while transporting a patient.
The automated CPR device is called LUCAS 3. It’s portable and easy to use and provides continuous chest compressions to patients.
The Helmlsey LUCAS Project chose to provide the device to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for use in remote areas, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, where it is likely to take longer for EMS to arrive on scene.
Deputies Scott Garrick and Brett Lucas have been trained through the Minnesota AED Project and are now certified to use the LUCAS 3 device.
Garrick is based in Ely; the Lucas is based in Cook. The two deputies work opposite schedules and will trade off carrying the device in their squad.
“This is a tool this is going to help save lives in St. Louis County,” said Sheriff Gordon Ramsay. “Anyone who has ever performed chest compressions, even for a few minutes, knows how exhausting it can be, and it’s not uncommon for our deputies in remote areas to do chest compressions by themselves for 20 minutes or longer until medical assistance arrives.”
Ramsay added, “The LUCAS device can provide those compressions on scene and continue during transport all the way to the hospital. I am grateful to the University of Minnesota, Stryker and the Helmlsey LUCAS Project for providing this important tool for our use, and also want to commend our deputies for achieving this extra certification to help in emergencies.”
The Helmlsey LUCAS Project previously assisted the sheriff’s office so that all patrol squads are now equipped with Automated External Defibrilators (AEDs).
“Providing LUCAS devices to greater Minnesota will benefit agencies and communities,” said Kim Harkins, Program Director at the Center for Resuscitation Medicine (CRM) at the University of Minnesota. “This is another tool for cardiac emergency responses that will improve patient outcomes.”
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement and emergency service across the county’s 7,000 square miles.
Sheriff’s deputies operate out of regional offices in Duluth, Virginia and Hibbing, with additional stations in Cook, Ely, Mountain Iron and Rice Lake.
To learn more about the work of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, visit stlouiscountymn. gov/sheriff or call (218) 726-2341.
