County favors monitors

Jay County Commissioners are on board with a grant request for equipment to transmit cardiac data from ambulances to Jay County Hospital.

Nursing director Lisa Craiger spoke to the commissioners this morning about a possible $20,000 grant from the Indiana State Department of Health that would help to purchase the transmitting equipment.

Since every minute for cardiac patients can be crucial to survival, Craiger said, the ability to send electrocardiogram data directly to the hospital could allow doctors to determine whether a patient should stop at JCH for treatment or be directly transported to the heart center at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie.

Now, a patient is often brought into JCH first and evaluated by a doctor, who then decides whether the patients needs to be put back in an ambulance and taken to Muncie.

"You need to get to that cath lab within 60 minutes," Craiger said. "They could go directly from the scene to the cath lab at Ball. We can increase survivability by decreasing those times."

The equipment will cost about $25,000 total, of which $1,356 would need to be paid by the county to install equipment in its four ambulances. The rest of the cost would be for the equipment at the hospital, most of which would be covered by the $20,000 grant.

"The hospital is ready to make a commitment to make this happen," said Craiger, telling the commissioners that even if JCH doesn't get the full $20,000, it would still be willing to front the cost for the transmitting equipment.

Jay County Emergency Medical Services director Teresa Foster-Geesaman said the equipment would be beneficial, since paramedics are sometimes uncomfortable about making the call on whether to go directly to Muncie. The ability to have a doctor monitor a patient's heart remotely would help in that process.

"I think we can get on board with that," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr., who signed a support statement to be sent with the grant.

In other business this morning, the commissioners:

•Reviewed a revised letter from Jay County Health Department environmental officer Dave Houck sent to area septic system installers about acceptable stone to be used in new installations. The commissioners approved of the letter. A previous letter from Houck appeared to show a preference for a specific stone.

•Approved an ordinance allowing off-road vehicles and golf carts to be driven on county roads. Golf carts must be equipped with headlights, reflectors, mirrors, brakes and a slow-moving vehicle sign to be legal on roads. The ordinance does not control travel of these vehicles in cities or towns.

•Signed an emergency claim of $2,600, which will be loaned to the Jay County Regional Sewer District so it can pay a fee to the railroad related to obtaining an easement to run a sewer line under tracks near Ind. 67.

•Made Jay County sheriff Ray Newton purchasing agent to buy a new in-car camera system at a cost of $4,000.25.[[In-content Ad]]