 LCRA and Bandera Electric Cooperative representatives present a $30,510 grant to Utopia Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Inc. to buy a new cardiac monitor/defibrillator. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Lori A. Berger, LCRA Board member; Lauren Murley, Bandera Electric Cooperative representative; Dick Earnest, Bandera Electric Cooperative board director; John Fall, emergency medical technician-basic (EMT); Jennifer Davis, emergency care attendant (ECA); Jesse Pfieffer, EMT-basic; Patti McCaleb, EMT-basic; Heather Fall, ECA; and Doug Carlyle, Utopia Volunteer EMS president/paramedic. |
Utopia Volunteer Emergency Medical Services Inc. will buy a new cardiac monitor/defibrillator with a $30,510 community development grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bandera Electric Cooperative.
The grant will enable the group to replace its 10-year-old defibrillator with one that has the newest life-saving technology.
“This new cardiac monitor/defibrillator series will allow us to monitor all the patient’s critical vital signs and allow us to send that information ahead to the hospital before we arrive there,” said Utopia Volunteer EMS President Doug Carlyle, who also is a paramedic. “This capability helps us to more effectively treat our patients by giving the hospital information about them so the hospital staff in the emergency room can prepare for our arrival. The ER staff can alert other physicians or the catheterization lab if they decide the patient needs a coronary intervention.”
Utopia Volunteer EMS operates two licensed ambulances with seven staffed medics and 20 volunteer medics. It serves about 457 square miles spanning parts of four counties, with the closest emergency room about 42 miles away.
“Our medical calls remain fairly constant, and our trauma calls tend to surge in the warm months when people travel more and are more active outdoors,” Carlyle said. “We will keep the older generation monitor/defibrillator on our reserve truck, but this new cardiac monitor and defibrillator will help us make quicker diagnostic assessments. The faster we can make decisions with accurate information, the better care we can provide to our patients.”
The community grant is one of a number of grants recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. The program provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bandera Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants are due Jan. 31. More information is available at
lcra.org/cdpp.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; ensuring a clean, reliable water supply; and offering access to nature at more than 40 parks, recreation areas and river access sites along the Texas Colorado River, from the Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to enhancing the lives of Texans through water stewardship, energy and community services. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934. For more information, visit
lcra.org.
Media Contact
Clara Tuma
512–578–3292
clara.tuma@lcra.org
Source: LCRA Business News
