Iowa receives grant for LUCAS purchase

By Dolly A. Butz
Sioux City Journal

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A $6.3 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust could improve the outcomes of Iowans experiencing cardiac arrest, especially those living in rural areas of the state.

The funds will be used to purchase 394 LUCAS chest compression systems for ambulances and 80 for hospitals across Iowa, as well as train responders in their use.

The LUCAS 2 Chest Compression System, which costs about $10,000, is a portable, electrically powered tool that delivers at least 100 compressions per minute. When the device is placed on the chest of a patient in cardiac arrest, Rebecca Curtiss, Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Bureau of Emergency and Trauma Services chief, said it frees up one of the responders to perform other life-saving measures.

Read full story: Iowa receives grant for mechanical CPR devices