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January 9, 2014
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The Eagle Call 734-467-1900.
I
NKSTER
- W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Fire department now using Autopulse device
Health care workshop set
Library expands programs
New sergeant, officer sworn in
The Wayne-Westland Fire
Department has taken another step
into the future as the EMTs begin
testing an automated device
designed to provide cardiopul-
monary resuscitation for victims of
sudden cardiac arrest, freeing up
first responders' hands to perform
other necessarymedical tasks.
According to Assistant Chief
John Adams, the device is now
being evaluated by the Wayne-
Westland medical responders as
part of the departmental involve-
ment as theTest Department for the
Medical Control Board of Western
WayneCounty.
"We (Wayne-Westland) are the
fifth busiest department in the
state, so when you look at the likeli-
hood that we will experience one of
these cardiac events, it is more
probable it will be here,” Adams
said.
The department will now be
equipped with the new life-saving
technology, the ZOLL Autopulse
Non-invasive Cardiac Support
Pump, or Autopulse as the medical
rescue specialists refer to the
machine.
TheAutopulse is designedwith a
lifebandwhich fits around the chest
of a patient who has gone into car-
diac arrest, applying mechanical
resuscitation to the patient. The
Autopulse first measures the chest
in order to apply perfect force and
pressure to each individual, based
on the American Heart Association
guidelines. It then performs consis-
tent compressions. This consistency
has been attributed to saving
numerous lives of cardiac arrest
victims, according to Wayne
WestlandFireChiefMichael Reddy.
“Our goal is to protect the lives
ofWayne andWestland citizens, and
this purchase is an important step
inhelping to achieve that goal,” said
Reddy. “I have been a professional
first responder for more than 21
years, and I have never seen a
device that doeswhat theAutopulse
does.”
Adams said the devices, which
can range in cost from $2,500 to
$8,000, are not yet in widespread
use, partly due to the cost. He said
that Westland is working on several
grant sources for funding of the
devices.
Adams said that while the
Autopulse provides the necessary
resuscitation compressions, the
EMT has his or her hands free to
provide the needed ventilation and
medication therapy that can be the
difference between life anddeath.
With consistent compressions,
the Autopulse increases blood flow
by moving more blood, consistently
increasing the chances of survival.
The manual cardiopulmonary
resuscitation also helps improve
rescuer safety, as they don't have to
stand up and perform CPR in the
back of amoving ambulance.
“Once a person is in cardiac
arrest, every minute counts to get
the heart beating normally again,”
said Reddy. “For every minute that
passes the chance of survival
decreases by 10 percent. After 10
minutes, survival is unlikely. With
the Autopulse we are better pre-
pared to deal with cardiac arrest.”
Sudden cardiac arrest is the
leading cause of death in the
United States, killing one American
every two minutes. It is estimated
that 95 percent of victims of cardiac
arrest die before they reach a hospi-
tal or other source of emergency
response center. Sudden cardiac
arrest-related deaths are not for
lack of trying on responders' parts,
however, manual chest compres-
sions often come up short, with
pauses in compression being detri-
mental to the patient, Reddy
explained.
The Autopulse has been on the
market for five years, and is used
consistently in life-saving events
throughout the U.S. and around the
world, Reddy said.
“The use of the Autopulse was a
no-brainer for the city. It improves
CPR techniques to aid our fire fight-
ers in saving the lives of residents
and it improves safety for our res-
cuers. It is a win-win,” said
WestlandMayorWilliamWild.
Adams noted that this is part of
what he described as the continued
and serious effort of both Reddy
andWild to provide the best service
possible to the citizens of Wayne
andWestland.
“Our goal is to lead the way and
assist our residents by providing the
best possible service we can. The
chief has made it clear we need to
provide the best service possible
and the mayor has been instrumen-
tal in that effort.
“This equipment will help pro-
vide the best possible outcome for
our residents,”Adams said.
TheWayne Chamber of Commercewill host
a workshop on the Affordable Care Act begin-
ningwith registration at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 29.
A guest speaker will present an opinion-
free business seminar that covers the
Affordable Care Act. The event will take place
at the Wayne County Community College
District Western Campus located at 9555
HaggertyRoad inBelleville.
The workshop will continue from 1-3 p.m.
and is free of charge.
Pre-registration is requested as a boxed
lunch is included for attendees.
To register, call (734) 721-0100.
Angela Scott, theYouth Services Librarian
at the Leanna Hicks Inkster Public Library
hopes families will come out to enjoy the new
programs offered at the facility.
From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25,
the Inkster Family Literacy Movement will
host a reading rally at the library. There will
be lots of books, Scott said, and literacy activi-
ties for families at the library that day.
The library will offer some assistancewith
the new Affordable Health Care Act from
noon until 3 p.m. Jan. 15. when Community
Bridges Health Marketplace and Outreach
Navigators will be at the library to help peo-
ple understand and sign up for the new
health care offered, she said.
Help with financial planning will also be
offered at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at the library.
HantzGroup will provide food and beverages
while teaching and assisting people about
financial planning. Those interested should
register for the free event withDeniseBearre
at dbearre@inksterlibrary.org.
The kick off meeting for the Teen Club is
planned for 2 p.m. Jan 18 for teens 13-19.
Therewill be free pizza at themeeting where
the agenda for the rest of the year for the club
will be decided.
For more information, call (313) 563-2822.
The library is located at 2005 InksterRoad.
Brian Humphrey is the newest sergeant
in theWestlandPoliceDepartment.
Humphrey, a 16-year veteran officer, was
officially acknowledged in his new rank at a
recent meeting of theWestland City Council.
Humphrey has been a patrol officer and a
field training officer and he was the 2008
Westland Police Officer of the Year. He will
now be assigned to the patrol division as a
shift supervisor.
During the same meeting, Neil Egan was
sworn in as the newest member of the
department. Egan graduated with a bache-
lor's degree from Saginaw Valley University
and he has beenwith theHamtramck Police
Department for three years. During his
tenure in Hamtramck, he was assigned to
the SWAT team. Egan has already complet-
ed his training and orientation require-
ments and will be finishing his required
field training.
“The Westland Police Department has
nearly 50 years of tradition based on hard
work and professionalism. I am confident
that these two men will serve this communi-
ty well and will continue to uphold this
expectation,” saidWestlandPoliceChief Jeff
Jedrusik.
instead of the typical costly defined benefit
pension program, he added. Under this plan
the city will match an appointee's contribu-
tions two to one up to a cap of $12,500 annu-
ally. Appointees will have the option to vol-
untarily set aside some of their earnings and
if they chose not to contribute, the city will
not be obligated to either. The savings gener-
ated during employment and retirement
will bemore than $4.8million per appointee
based on an appointee working 25 years,
Wild said.
“While it will always be necessary to
keep salaries competitive to attract the best
talent, Westland must continue to imple-
ment reasonable methods by which to
obtain cost savings,” saidWild. “Health care
savings programs and 401 (K)-type plans are
common in private sector and alongwith the
established employee cost sharing will help
the city remain financially responsible.
“As my administration leads by example
it will be our intention to present these same
reforms to all of our employee groups mov-
ing forward as we continue to lower the
city's unfunded legacy costs,” he said.
Wild noted that his administration has
reduced the number of appointees from 22
in 2007 to 14 in 2013. Past benefit reductions
also include lower cost health plans and the
elimination of longevity pay and car
allowances. Since Wild took office he said,
he has reduced appointees' costs to the city
by nearly $2million.
Salaries
FROM PAGE 1
Sweet visit
Staff members from the Westland LongHorn Steakhouse recently visited the Village of
Westland, a senior living facility, and provided food to more than 50 residents and staff
to help celebrate the holiday season. The restaurant staff, complete with elf hats, also
baked holiday cookies and worked with residents to decorate the sweets and some
holiday stockings. On hand for the event were LongHorn servers Cassie Wood, left,
Mike Yates, Michael Derkatch and Amy Rohn