The Importance of Emergency Medical Supplies

Ray Duncanson, a Syracuse firefighter, was in the third floor attic of a burning house when his air pack ran out of air. Among crackling flames and billowing clouds of smoke, fellow firefighters were able to safely pull Duncanson from the window. A fatal accident was narrowly avoided. Michael Crotty wasn’t so lucky. Black cloth hangs from the Lawrence Park Township fire station where those who knew Michael D. Crotty mourn his death in the line of duty.

Crotty, a deputy fire chief for Lawrence Park Volunteer Fire Department, and also a recently hired Erie Bureau of Fire firefighter, was killed one Tuesday afternoon while commanding the scene of a blaze at Port Erie Plastics, 909 Troupe Road in Harborcreek Township. The fire consumed several stacks of wood and plastic skids stored outside. According to Lawrence Park fire officials, Crotty was on the ground directing firefighters at the plant site when the department's aerial truck's ladder "malfunctioned," causing Crotty's fatal injuries. They did not elaborate.

EMS supplies wield the power to save lives, but, unfortunately, often malfunction, leaving victims helpless. It is vitally important that the equipment be purchased from reliable suppliers who can guarantee the quality of their products. Dealmed Medical Supplies Inc. retains the highest standards of reliability and quality assurance. Our products are not outsourced, but are manufactured in state of the art plants, where the utmost care is given to follow government standards, and deliver quality goods. In situations where minutes count, count on Dealmed Medical Supplies Inc.

In a generation of growing awareness, more and more people are purchasing medical supplies for their homes and businesses. In particular, AEDs are a growing phenomenon. Countless lives have been saved through the use of life-saving AEDs, or automated external defibrillators.

It was an easy Tuesday for football players in the Trojan Power program at Wayzata High School. The weather was cool, they lifted a few weights and they did some light conditioning.

Then something went wrong, and a lot of things went right. Coach Matt Lombardi remembers seeing one of his players, Ted Okerstrom, fall.

"Teddy went down," he said. "He just fell, he was down. I went and saw him, and about in 3 seconds I looked down at Teddy and he went from quick breaths to no breaths."

Lombardi sent word to the school's athletic office. Dee Schrader is the secretary, but she's also an EMT. She grabbed one of the school's AEDs -- automated external defibrillators -- and hustled to the field. She handed it off to one of the boys. Meanwhile Ted's coach was doing CPR and giving him the pep talk of his life. "'We're going to make it, we got people coming, let's go, let's keep fighting, let's keep fighting,' Just very much coaching-type stuff," recalled Lombardi. Assistant football coach Ryan "R.J." Johnson got involved, too. He's been a volunteer firefighter for many years. "I got the AED opened up and on him," he said. "And basically once we turned that AED on, we listened to that and let it run the show." "It will tell you exactly what you need to do," said Schrader. "And that's exactly what we did." When she pushed the on button on the defibrillator, its electronic voice started giving instructions: Plug in the cable, stay calm, check responsiveness, call for help. "(It) told us when we needed to shock, which we did, and it worked perfectly," recalled Schrader. Lombardi, Schrader and Johnson think every school should have an AED on hand. However, Minnesota schools aren't required to have them.

Ted now has an internal defibrillator in his chest. It's there in case his heart stops beating again. It will have to be replaced every 6 years or so. The AED saved Ted, and he knows it. Ted's playing days are over, at least until doctors figure out why his heart stopped. "I plan on helping the coaches out a little bit, I want to stay involved with Wayzata football, because it's a big part of my life," he said, starting to tear up. For a teen who loves football, finding out you can't play anymore is hard news to take. But it’s nothing compared to losing a life. It is rapidly becoming the law in many states that AEDs are a requirement rather than a suggestion. In a world where obesity is a growing crisis, and the threat of heart disease is multiplying, AEDs are a requirement. For AEDs and all EMS supplies, Dealmed Medical. retains the gold quality in standards and reliability.

About the Author: Dealmed is a leadingmedical supplies company in the US with over 13,000 products in stock ready to ship. We carry a full line of disposable medical products as well as medical equipment, and EMS supplies and furniture with two fully stocked warehouses and thousands of products in stock you can rest assured your order will ship as quickly as possible.