How can we help you?

Trinity Health has received a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase equipment that will enable safer treatment of cardiac arrest patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

The award of $86,947 will be used to purchase seven LUCAS mechanical chest compression devices. The units allow for automated, hands-free resuscitation of patients in sudden cardiac arrest as a replacement for manual CPR.

Jeffrey Verhey, MD, a critical care physician and Board President of Trinity Health Foundation, says mechanical chest compression machines will be strategically placed in Trinity Hospital and Trinity Hospital – St. Joseph’s to be integrated into Trinity Health’s best practices for resuscitation efforts.

“These devices would be an important addition to our resuscitative efforts in ordinary times; now they are even more significant because they will help us respond to cardiac arrest while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection and mitigating exposure to our code blue responders,” Dr. Verhey said. “The Helmsley Charitable Trust deserves credit for stepping up and helping hospitals at this critical time.”

Mechanical CPR has been adopted by emergency medical responders and many hospitals around the globe, initially due to its ability to deliver extended CPR in compliance with American Heart Association guidelines. Recently, the Department of Defense COVID-19 Practice Management Guide identified the LUCAS chest compression system as the best practice for managing patients in cardiac arrest to reduce the risk of exposure to care providers.

“These devices are vital because we don’t want frontline healthcare workers to choose between trying to save a patient or risking exposure to themselves and others to the coronavirus,” said Walter Panzirer, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “LUCAS has been a proven, effective tool in saving lives during cardiac arrest, and having more of them available during this pandemic will save even more lives, including those of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.”

The Helmsley Charitable Trust is distributing $4,711,481 in funding across five upper-midwestern states to pay for 367 LUCAS mechanical CPR devices to be deployed to medical facilities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. The grants were expedited to ensure the devices are in place before the peak of COVID-19 hits. The systems will remain in place after the pandemic as part of the hospitals’ cardiac system of care.

“We were able to go from concept to delivery of the devices in two weeks, and that’s been an incredible effort of teamwork with the manufacturer and the hospitals to get them in place ahead of the peak needs,” said Panzirer. “It’s wonderful to see competing entities working together during a national crisis for the good of all.”