By TONY DOYLE
Operations Division Chief Multi-Township EMS

Multi-Township Emergency Medical Service is pleased to announce the placement a CPR Training Trailer into service. Months of close collaboration between Kerlin Motors and the K21 Health Foundation made this project possible. Kerlin Motors donated a trailer to transport and store CPR training equipment that was purchased on a grant from the K21 Health Foundation. With the help of these two businesses Multi-Township EMS now has the ability to teach up to 50 people at one time with top of the line training equipment.

In January 2013 Multi-Township EMS launched the One Heart Foundation; the One Heart Foundation primary goal is to improve the survival rate of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Each year 400,000 people die in the United States from out-of hospital cardiac arrest. Since Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation was developed in the 1950’s the chance of survival has not changed from 4-5 percent.

Multi-Township EMS has partnered with Kosciusko Community Hospital, Kerlin Motor’s, Zale Drugs, K21 Health Foundation and the American Heart Association. The One Heart Foundation teaches CPR to anyone that wants to learn. All Multi-Township EMS instructors are American Heart Association instructors. MTEMS set a goal to teach 5,000 people CPR in 2013 which was nearly achieved 4,800 people were taught. Currently MTEMS has taught 6,000 bystanders and professional rescuers CPR.

Multi-Township EMS currently has an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate of 29 percent. (Definition of a survivor is the ability to be discharged from the hospital neurologically intact.) MTEMS contributes that to the heightened awareness and the increase of bystander CPR as well as Dispatcher assisted CPR instructions given by the 911 dispatcher at the Kosciusko County Central Dispatch. Nearly 38 percent of all out of hospital cardiac arrests receive bystander CPR prior to EMS arrival. The national average is only 24 percent of all cardiac arrests receive bystander CPR prior to EMS arrival.

For more information on the One Heart Foundation contact Multi-Township EMS or visit their website www.mtems.com.