SEQUIM — The Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild has presented $31,109 to Clallam County Fire District No. 3 for the purchase of new Zoll X Series monitors and defibrillators to equip ambulances and fire engines.
Guild President Jean Janis presented the donation to Fire Chief Ben Andrews at a Friday luncheon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church attended by about 50 people.
Continuing legacy
The guild’s support “helps us to continue to stay on the front edge of technology, equipment and training,” Andrews said.
“Like every other public agency, finances are a struggle for us,” he said.
“Our revenue goes up by a little over 1 percent a year, but our expenses go up way more than that every year.”
As such, ongoing donations from the guild allow “us to continue to have the type of equipment that is maintained and appropriate for what we are doing,” Andrews said.
“We could just get by, but this helps to do better than just getting by.”
And that allows the fire department to provide better service to the community, he said.
The guild, founded in 1970, is a nonprofit organization that includes about 85 to 100 active members. It has donated more than $2 million to health care providers and emergency responders to date.
The money is raised at the Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild Thrift Shop at 204 W. Bell St. — which sells donated and consignment items — or through donations from the public, said Addie Curtis, guild publicity chair.
Zoll X Series monitors and defibrillators are used by paramedics in the field on patients suffering from cardiac arrest, and have the capability to monitor carbon monoxide levels in the air, Andrews said.
‘Better decisions’
“With these machines, we can make better decisions in the field and . . . start treatment sooner — instead of waiting to get to the hospital or choosing the most appropriate hospital to go to,” he said.
The quicker treatment begins on a person with cardiac arrest, the better the person’s chances for survival, Andrews said.
He said that in the past, a paramedic would open the sufferer’s airway and begin CPR before bringing in a monitor to shock the heart in an attempt to restart it.
“Now, we are actually putting a monitor on and shocking before we even start CPR, because . . . typically, there is still enough oxygen in the system that it is more critical to get electricity to the heart than it is to start CPR,” Andrews said.
The guild also has made donations to the Peninsula College School of Nursing, the Sequim-Dungeness Health and Wellness Clinic, medical scholarships and Sequim helipad construction.
Volunteers needed
The average age of the guild’s volunteers is 70, Curtis said. The group welcomes new volunteers.
“The shop is . . . a great way to serve your community” while meeting new friends, she said.
For more information about the guild, call 360-683-7044.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
