Taney County Ambulance District receives new equipment through CARES Act funding

HOLLISTER, Mo. (KY3) - Keeping paramedics safe during the pandemic has been a top priority for the Taney County Ambulance District.

”We know we’re transporting Covid positive patients, we know they have the virus,” Public Information Officer Johnathan Tudor said.

With the addition of the clean space Halo masks, paramedics say they feel more secure on calls.

”It’s similar to a paper that it can be reused between each patient and it protects the employees by pulling in air, filtering it, then delivering it to the person so they’re breathing in clean air,” Tudor said.

Tudor said the new masks are more comfortable and can be worn longer.

”Sometimes we’ll take transfers several hours away and if these patients are on a ventilators or CPAP machines then it can present a significant danger to the paramedics that are in the back of the truck,” Tudor said.

The new Halo masks were provided through a $70,000 CARES Act grant.

Each ambulance has two respirators and a mask for each paramedic.

”The second item we were able to get is a Safer System,” Tudor said.

“The safer aerosol containment system is basically a vacuum that catches all of the possible particulates the patient would exhale,” Taney County Ambulance District major of clinical services Matthew Aumiller said.

Aumiller said a lot of services had to stop providing these treatments to patients because of the high risk of exposure.

“So this allows us to keep treating our patients to a high level even when they have COVID-19 and still keep our people safe while doing so,” Aumiller said.

The safer system also keeps paramedics from having to stop care upon arriving at the hospital.

”If we were to carry that product through the hallways of the hospital then we risk exposing their personnel and their other patients so this product allows us to continue care all the way through from start to finish,” Aumiller said.

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