Ohio FD gets nearly $46K grant for mechanical CPR devices

Community West Foundation/Facebook

By Clara Wicinski
The Morning Journal

Community West Foundation, in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, awarded a grant to the Avon Lake Fire Department on Feb. 3 to support the purchase of two LUCAS Mechanical CPR Devices.

The LUCAS Mechanical CPR Device provides continuous, high-quality chest compressions during cardiac arrest, allowing first responders to focus on other critical aspects of patient care while improving safety for both patients and emergency personnel.

The advanced technology is especially valuable during transport, when delivering manual CPR can be challenging. The department currently operates three squads and will deploy the new devices to expand their lifesaving capabilities.

Avon Lake firefighter Brian Wood demonstrated the device and explained its critical advantages in the field.

“What it allows is for us to have another guy available,” Wood said. “If it wasn’t for this, this would be essentially a firefighter doing compressions, which is manpower-intensive. It’s nice to have continuous compressions with no interruptions while we’re able to do other things, administer drugs, whatever it is.”

Wood emphasized that the device’s ability to provide uninterrupted chest compressions is crucial for patient outcomes.

“Time is muscle. Every time you’re off the chest, you’re losing oxygen to the brain and heart,” he said.

“Typically, we go through cycles and rotate between two or three guys doing manual CPR. With this, we can continue compressions whether we’re on scene or during transport. That continuous, hands-off CPR can continue no matter what.”

The device is designed to accommodate most patients, though Wood noted there can occasionally be challenges with very large or very small individuals. The LUCAS system straps around patients and can be adjusted for different body types.

The $45,885 grant was made possible by funds raised through the annual Straight from the Heart raffle, which supports cardiac services and heart-healthy initiatives across Cleveland Clinic’s Avon, Fairview and Lutheran hospitals, as well as their surrounding communities.


Marty Uhle, president and CEO of Community West Foundation, said the partnership reflects the organization’s commitment to supporting emergency services in the region.

“Community West Foundation supports the West submarkets of the Cleveland Clinic, Fairview, Lutheran and Avon, in raising money for heart needs in those communities,” Uhle said. “And there’s no better example for heart than a cardiac machine. This CPR device is groundbreaking, and we’ve been funding them at all the local fire departments.”

The foundation has previously funded LUCAS devices for other local fire departments with plans to continue supporting departments throughout the region.

Uhle said the foundation’s mission to support the health and well-being of communities served by Cleveland Clinic’s western hospitals.

“We’re very humbled by the fact that they’re about to go out on a call, and we get to go back to our office,” he said. “Our role is to provide them the fuel to do what they do.”

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