The Mercer County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team is equipped with 25 potentially lifesaving medical kits thanks to Capital Health.
The kits enable team members to administer initial treatment to other SERT members or themselves when a scene is not safe for emergency medical service personnel to enter.
Prior to the donation, team members had to wait for initial treatment until EMS was cleared onto the scene.
The kits are based on U.S. Army recommendations for medical equipment needed on the battlefield, where the two leading cause of death are severe hemorrhage and insufficient airway. Kits include tourniquets, bandages, gloves and a nasopharyngeal airway.
Use of the medical kit increases survival likelihood in the event that a team member is shot on scene.
Capital Heath trauma surgeon Dr. Michael Kelly, who spearheaded the donation, said community members should show their support and appreciation for SERT members who put their lives at risk.
“I hope the SERT members who receive these kits never need to use them. But if they can potentially save even one life, then they are worth every penny,” Dr. Kelly said. He is a member of the U.S. Army and is set to deploy overseas this May in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
