Carson City to install life-saving defibrillators in public buildings

Carson City buildings frequented by the public will soon be equipped with life-saving machines that could mean life instead of death for heart attack victims.

Employees at the Sheriff's Department, jail, City Hall, the Senior Center and the courthouse will be trained to use the $1,200 Automatic Electrical Defibrillator machines purchased by the city recently. The Senior Center paid for its own machine.

"They're the latest cutting edge," said Vince Pirozzi, Carson City Fire Department battalion chief. "You just turn it on. It talks to you and analyzes whether the patient needs to be shocked and it shocks."

When a person's heart stops, every minute that passes before the heart is defibrillated reduces the chance of survival by 10 percent, Pirozzi said.

"If it takes four minutes to get out there, that's 40 percent less chance they'll survive," he said.

The fire department will train and certify city volunteers on how to use the machines and in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Basically, if a person collapses and becomes unconscious, a staff member will be trained to look for signs of a cardiac arrest. If the victim's heart has stopped, the employee can stick pads on the victim's chest, turn the machine on and stand back to let it work before emergency response teams arrive, Pirozzi said.

"It's pretty cool," Pirozzi said. "It's really for people who are not actually trained, but we want to make sure everybody who uses them are qualified to use them."

Units were installed two years ago as part of a pilot program at the Carson Aquatic Facility and the Carson Nugget that bought two machines for use. The city decided to install the units in all city-owned buildings, starting with the places the public visits most often.

"What our goal is, eventually over the next couple years, is to put them in all the city buildings," said the city's Risk Management Program coordinator Tom Baker. "We're going to try to get as many people voluntarily trained as we can. There are quite a few who already want to go through it."

So far, the pool and Carson Nugget have not reported having to use the machines. As part of the program, the fire department must be notified if the machines are needed in an emergency.

Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.