Rapid Infuser Use in Kandahar Inspires Local Hospital's Purchase

07/20/2011 (WFRV) - Our Healthwatch report takes us on a trip to the war zone in the middle east, where a local nurse recently returned from his tour of duty. Registered nurse Eric Peterson works at Aurora Baycare Medical Center, but he's also been a member of the Navy for more than 20 years and recently got back from southeastern Afghanistan. He was department head of the trauma base at a hospital in Kandahar. "We treated the U.S. Coalition which included Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and any civilians who were injured as a result of war," says Peterson. One medical machine that made a world of difference while working on patients with major blood loss was the Belmont Rapid Infuser. Peterson describes it this way: "Basically it's a big pump that can infuse a liter of fluid, think of a liter of soda, can put that into the body in a minute. So we can put fluid or blood into the body in less than a minute." That saves countless lives. It made such an impact on Eric and his team overseas that while home on leave, he told his team at Aurora Baycare about it. Clinical educator Lisa Koehler with Aurora Baycare says the hospital has since become the only in northeast wisconsin to buy and use this rapid infuser in its emergency room and obstetrics department. "When Eric used it, they used it primarily for trauma which we will as well. But it's also if you think about any injury or anything that could cause rapid blood loss," says Koehler. "so disecting aneurysms, your cardiac patients having open heart surgery with potential for large blood loss, O.B.patients, women having c-sections who deliver can hemmorrage we can replace that as well." Peterson says, "It helped us greatly over there and I think it will help us a lot over here too." Article Source- Belmont Instruments

Wed Aug 31 2011