EDITORIAL: Lifesavers

A life was saved in the downtown Port Washington office of Ozaukee Press on July 10, and eyes were opened to the gift of the emergency medical services provided by the City of Port Washington and the other Ozaukee County communities served by EMS departments.

A member of the newspaper’s office staff collapsed at her desk. She was in a state of cardiac arrest and unresponsive. Coworkers feared they would be witness to a tragic outcome. Then the EMS team arrived.

Everyone appreciates EMS providers. We admire their skill and dedication and are thankful our communities are served by them. Yet, for most people this appreciation is abstract, based on instinct rather than experience. Seeing these emergency responders apply their skills in real time raises appreciation to a new level.

The coworker at the desk adjacent to the stricken woman’s was still talking on the phone with the 911 operator, who had dispatched responders and was seeking more information about the nature of the emergency, when the first sirens were heard.

Help came in waves, first one city police officer, then another, followed quickly by paramedics and emergency medical technicians and then a pair of firefighters. In addition, the city’s deputy chief of EMS, a certified physician’s assistant, left a City Hall meeting to hurry to the scene.

There was not a second’s hesitation. The team knew instantly what it was facing. One of the paramedics began aggressive, hard and fast CPR. Other team members attended to airway and oxygen needs, attached monitors, prepared arrhythmic drug doses and carried on a steady dialogue tracking the woman’s condition and progress, or lack of it, as the urgent treatment progressed.

A defibrillator shock was administered, CPR continued, then another shock, followed by more CPR. The desperate measures went on for a number of minutes and time was running out. A third defibrillator shock was administered.

And then—what everyone in the room hoped for: a heartbeat and a semblance of rhythm restored.

The woman was taken to the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, where for a time she was in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator. She is now recovering at home.

Technology played a role in this survival story. Besides the automated external defibrillator, a LUCAS device was used to provide automated chest compressions following the manual CPR that was administered strenuously by the paramedic. The team also had an open line of communication with an emergency room physician throughout the process.

None of that would have made a difference,  however, were it not for the human participants on the scene of this medical drama. The paramedics and EMTs knew from their training that in a case of cardiac arrest like this they were facing daunting odds, but they went into action with obvious confidence in their abilities and demonstrable competence. Their energy, effectiveness and efficiency would shine in any line of work. Here it saved a life.

Emergency medical services providers go through rigorous training—a year or more for paramedics—and work rigorous duty schedules, but there are emotional demands as well. They must deal with the reality that failure is an inescapable element of their work. Only 11% of cardiac arrest victims treated by EMS survive.

Much has been written in this newspaper about what has been described as a crisis facing fire departments in Ozaukee County in their ability to pay EMS personnel. There was talk that some departments would not be able to support full-time paramedics and paid EMTs. The crisis has been averted for now by the distribution of $5 million in federal Covid relief money received by Ozaukee County to the fire departments in the county to cover EMS costs.

Some help is also expected from the long overdue increase in state revenue sharing recently approved by the Legislature and governor. Nevertheless, it is certain that EMS funding issues will return. When they do, let there be no talk of cutting back these services. They are essential and must be paid for. Consolidation of EMS among the nine fire departments in the county would ease that burden and must be pursued.

If it seems the writer of this editorial is biased in favor of assured EMS funding regardless of its cost, he is. After all, he saw a life being saved.