When someone needs emergency medical services to restore heart function or stop a bleed, time is the enemy. Minutes — even seconds — are literally the difference between life and death.
On that basis, people in and around the Lisbon and Mount Vernon communities are in a better position than ever, thanks to some recent additions to the time- and life-saving arsenal of equipment at the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service.
Several of those additions have occured over the last two years, says Jake Lindauer, who will soon celebrate his four-year anniversary as director of the LMV Ambulance Service.
In that time, he and his board and team members have raised about $275,000 from grants and local donations to upgrade equipment. “One of my goals when I came here was to get us to state-of-the-art in equipment and services,” he says. “Our slogan is Excellence in EMS, and we’re getting closer to where we want to be.”
One of the upgrades was a new ambulance purchased two years ago (they now have two ambulances). That cost over $200,000, half of which was a grant from the cities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon, and half from other local support.
Then, the city of Mount Vernon also donated a Ford Interceptor SUV in early 2021 that has been adapted into an ultra-fast response vehicle. “When we get a call for emergency services, we can get the SUV going to the site faster than the ambulance, which might have to wait a little longer for a driver or other staff,” says Lindauer. “In one recent example involving a motorcycle accident, we had the SUV and personnel on site four minutes ahead of the ambulance. The paramedic in the SUV had already done the assessment of injuries and started intervention of the victims, allowing a much quicker transfer to the ambulance and to the hospital.
“In situations like that, every minute counts — even seconds. Heart muscle is at stake.”
The most recent addition to the time-beating arsenal is an Advance Life Support (ALS) Zoll monitor. This portable and battery-operated machine will normally be carried in the SUV. It is attached to a victim to monitor vital signs like heart function (EKG) and breathing. It can also be used as a defibrillator to restore heart rhythm.
“We have these in the ambulances, but we didn’t have one for the SUV,” says Lindauer. “Our goal is to have an EKG on the patient within 10 minutes of the start of the cardiac emergency. This ALS monitor will help us do that. And we can tell the hospital what is going on before we even get there with the patient. They are prepped and ready.”
The ALS monitor cost $30,000, and was fully paid for by a grant from the Firehouse Subs Foundation, says Lindauter. “They are a great group of people to work with and have funded a lot of projects in Linn County, including our ALS monitor.”
Another new piece of equipment Lindauer and his staff like to show off is a cot autoload device that attaches to an ambulance to assist in loading a patient. The push-button hydraulic system loads a patient without manpower. Before, it took at least two people to load a patient by hand, and it probably wasn’t so safe for the ambulance crew or the patient, says Lindauer. “Now one person can do it with the push of a button. It’s probably our favorite piece of equipment. You just push the button, and it’s a little like a remote toy. We have fun with it.”
The autoload device was added to the backup ambulance (the newer ambulance already had one) at a cost of $28,000, all raised from local support.
“All of these additions happened because of our fundraising in the last four years, and much of that involved local support from our communities,” says Lindauer. “It’s just phenomenal, the support we’ve had.”
But the fundraising needs aren’t over. The next big project is going to be a building addition and remodel on-site at 730 1st Street East in Mount Vernon. It will allow room for a third ambulance, as well as upgraded sleeping quarters and a training center for staff and volunteers. It may happen in stages, says Lindauer, but eventually the cost could go over $1 million. “We’ll continue to look for new grants and local fundraising opportunities,” he says.
He also says they are always interested in new community volunteers who would like to help provide emergency services. They currently have 31 people on the volunteer team, with about half of them from Lisbon and Mount Vernon and the rest from surrounding communities.
“We want people who are interested in EMS services and excited to help in that field,” says Lindauer. “They have to be willing to commit 36 hours a month to this. If they live in these towns, they can even do some of their volunteer hours from home. It’s a unique way to give back to your community and learn some skills — we train you — that will benefit you wherever you go in life.”
The best way to inquire about volunteering is to go to their Web site at LMVAS.org, or email Lindauer at [email protected].
The autoloader for stretchers that was installed at the back of the new ambulance.