Winona emergency responders now using automated CPR device

Winona Ambulance received Lucas Drive

WINONA, Minn. (WKBT) — A new device for Winona area first responders is making it easier to administer CPR to patients.

Winona Ambulance, which serves communities on both sides of the Mississippi river, is now using a Lucas Drive, an automated CPR device. The device applies continuous chest compressions to avoid a rescuer feeling tired after extended CPR.

While the Lucas Drive helps responders, emergency personnel say it is still important for people to know CPR.

“If nobody is doing anything before we get there, time is of the essence and there’s greater risk that there’s not going to be much that can be done once we actually get there if nothing is being done in the short term,” said Winona Ambulance Operation Supervisor Andrew Teska.

The Lucas Drive will be implemented in ambulance calls in the next week.

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