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Idaho Enterprise

New Extrication Equipment for the OCA

         No one plans on ever needing emergency services. They don’t schedule a heart attack, arrange the time and place of a broken leg or fit a major car accident into their calendar.  Unfortunately it just happens and, all too often, it happens without any forewarning.  In those scary moments waiting for emergency services to arrive, Oneida County residents can be confident that while they might not have been planning or preparing for such an event, the Oneida County Ambulance (OCA) has.

         Since 1978, the OCA has worked to provide the very best emergency services to the variety of call outs that have come their way.  From rollovers to drownings to farm accidents to heart attacks and so many more, the one thing the OCA has learned from their various scenes is that they have to be prepared for every situation.

         To that end, the OCA has prioritized getting new and up-to-date equipment that have made their quality of care top notch.  Over the last several years, the department has added a new ambulance, power-lift stretchers, advanced defibrillators with monitoring capabilities and even automated CPR machines, all with the goal of giving their patients the best possible care and outcome they could have.

Obviously, having top of the line medical technology and equipment is key to excellent emergency care, but having high quality rescue equipment is just as crucial when the ambulance is dispatched to a motor vehicle accident (MVA).  The OCA runs a rescue truck that carries everything one would need to escape scenes such as vehicle entrapment or difficult terrain and keeping that equipment up to date has been forefront on their minds.

The OCA extrication equipment, the tools used to stabilize and then remove a vehicle away from the patient, have seen their fair share of MVAs over the last twenty plus years and have been in need of being updated.  The nature of hydraulic equipment- pumps not working, leaking or clogged hoses, timely set up, meticulous maintenance, and scene accessibility-  have steered the OCA in search of new equipment that will be more consistently reliable and easier to use.

With updated equipment needed and an eye on new technology, the OCA has slowly been working to purchase a new battery powered spreader, cutter, ram and combi tool over the last twenty-four months with the final tool arriving just last week.  The unit was able to budget and save to purchase with their own funds the first tools- the spreader and cutter.  With county ARPA money, the OCA was then able to buy the ram.  Finally, they were able to fund the cutter through grant money donated by Stotz Equipment out of Tremonton, Utah.

Since receiving the new tools, the unit has used the equipment on several MVA scenes.  From the first cut, they have noted how much faster and easier it is to care for their patients.  The scene moves, now, almost seamlessly and they attribute that to these top of the line tools.  

The OCA is grateful to all of those that have helped them to acquire this equipment to better serve the community. OCA board members shared, “We are so grateful for the grants and funding that help us run with top of the line equipment.  It has been a few years coming and we are excited to have these tools on board.  A big thank you to Stotz Equipment for seeing a need and helping us get this project across the finish line.  We don’t wish people to need this sort of emergency help, but we are excited to have what we need when they do.”