Glenn Heights fire department receives new defibrillator

HARLEYDALE BROWN
The Ellis County Press
GLENN HEIGHTS - The City of Glenn Heights recently purchased a new defibrillator for the Glenn Heights Fire Department.

Bids ranged from $18,000 to $22,000 for the Phillips HeartStart model with the low bid coming in at $18,828.24.

When Glenn Heights Fire Department Chief Chris Shook was asked why the machine cost so much, he explained that these models used by paramedics are not cheap.

'The new unit will provide much needed information in the field by the paramedics to better save lives from heart attacks,' Shook said in a presentation to council members during their Jan. 2 council meeting.

The devices were not only used to start the heart beating again, but they also monitor the heart and they also show the different rhythms of the heart.

Knowing the heart rhythms could tell paramedics how to best use the machine when shocking the heart muscle, Shook said.

The very least expensive home unit offered by Phillips was almost $2,000, but was only meant to keep the heart beating until professional help arrived.

It would not compare to the unit a paramedic needed in the field to analyze heart rhythms, shock the heart to beat again and then properly monitor the heart until they could get the patient to an emergency room, according to Shook.

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