First Aid Squad shows new equipment

WANTAGE — Four members of the Wantage Township First Aid Squad gave a demonstration of its new AutoPulse Resuscitation System, made by ZOLL, on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Former Mayor and 2015 First Aid Squad President Bill DeBoer, First Lieutenant Michael Puskas, Captain Joe Martin, and Training Officer Kayla Ouellette presented and demonstrated the new device.

DeBoer said the squad earmarked an anonymous donation of $15,000 for the “AutoPulse.”

Before the device, volunteers had to conduct compressions all the way to the Newton Hospital in the back of an extremely bumpy ambulance. Typically, they would “switch off” with another volunteer, but sometimes another volunteer was not available.

Later, Ouellette said that unbeknownst to most people, road bumps are amplified in the back of ambulances resulting in the volunteer rocking back and forth, trying to balance and compress at the same time, thus, possibly resulting in less effective compressions. On top of that, it's not safe for the crew as they work on their feet for the entire trip.

Puskas said, in the past, squad members also were required to stop compressions when moving patients down stairwells. Now with the new machine, possibly the first of its kind in Sussex County, vital blood will flow to the brain and heart tissue without stopping, thus preventing tissue death.

DeBoer, Martin, and Ouellette demonstrated deploying the device. During a call, one volunteer immediately begins manual Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), while the team sits the patient upright, slips part of the “AutoPulse” under the patient, and places the compression pad on the patient's chest. The machine then makes 30 compressions and allows the crew to give two breaths.

DeBoer added that compressions even continue without stopping while the defibrillator delivers the shock.

Because the Wantage Township First Aid Squad is a non-profit emergency services organization, it is 100 percent donor supported and run by volunteers. To become a volunteer contact: wtfas.nj@gmail.com, or mail donations to: WTFAS, 888 Route 23 South, Wantage, NJ 07461.

Both Martin and Ouellette started as cadets at the age of 16 and found their passion for healthcare related careers. Cadets can begin volunteering between the ages of 16 and 17. Currently the squad has 40 EMTs and 10 to 12 cadets.

Ouellette also said volunteers do not need to have any prior knowledge because the squad provides all the initial training.

Martin and Ouellette continued that donations pay for supplies which go straight back to the community.