Cardiac Care Project
Governor. Dennis Daugaard recently announced that South Dakota has received $3.7 million in funding over three years from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase lifesaving equipment that can increase survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is fatal for 95 percent of its victims and it’s a leading cause of death in our country,” the Governor said. “This grant will put the latest automatic chest compression equipment in every hospital and ambulance service in the state and help reduce those deaths.”
When cardiac arrest occurs, the heart stops abruptly, the victim collapses and quickly loses consciousness. Death usually follows unless a normal heart rhythm is restored within minutes through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, or electric shock to the heart. An automated chest compression device, or LUCAS®2 Chest Compression System, more effectively and consistently delivers the necessary chest compressions, increasing the patient’s chances of survival.
The Governor said the project will include the necessary training for using the devices and will be coordinated by the Department of Health and the Department of Public Safety. The agencies will be collaborating with their counterparts in North Dakota who have also received funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust to place the devices and train staff in hospitals and ambulance services across that state.
For more information regarding the Cardiac Care (LUCAS) Project contact Marty Link at 605.367.5372 or via email at Marty.Link@state.sd.us.
