Good Samaritan announced today that it has purchased state-of-the-art equipment that will be deployed in various locations throughout the hospital. Thirty-nine monitors were purchased to replace the existing 35 plus four additional defibrillators that will be placed in the new Gibault Memorial Tower. Good Samaritan believes that the ZOLL R Series^®, manufactured by ZOLL Medical Corporation, sets a new standard for CPR support, which can help enhance Good Samaritan’s resuscitation efforts and further its mission to improve patient care.

The R Series Monitor/Defibrillator, which is central to ZOLL’s resuscitation platform, is designed to promote consistent, high-quality, high-perfusion CPR and high-current defibrillation for adults and pediatrics. Its technologies include Real CPR Help^® to provide real-time feedback on compression quality, See-Thru CPR^® to help reduce pause time by filtering the CPR artifact, and EtCO₂ to signal the earliest changes in patient condition.

“Not all patients in cardiac arrest require a shock, but all require CPR,” said Karen Haak, Chief Nursing Officer. “This device allows us not only to deliver a shock if needed, but includes tools to help improve CPR quality, which is the factor that determines the functional outcome of sudden cardiac arrest.”

More than half of in-hospital codes involve non-shockable rhythms. The only treatment for such rhythms is high-quality CPR, with minimal interruptions. The unique CPR Dashboard™ on the R Series is designed to support health care providers throughout an entire cardiac event.

“All of the information needed to perform high-quality CPR is clearly displayed on the defibrillator screen. Real-time displays of CPR depth and rate, as well as a compression release indicator, are easily seen,” said Britni Roark, Critical Care Staff Nurse. “And the CPR idle timer lets our clinicians know exactly how long the patient has been without compressions.”

The R Series also performs daily-automated self-tests by checking 110 parameters to ensure code-readiness. This automatic testing frees up clinicians to focus on other tasks rather than equipment maintenance. Furthermore, if there is an issue, the R Series will provide a printed or electronic log to alert hospital personnel of any concerns in advance. A simple green checkmark indicates that the R Series is fully ready for use.

Good Samaritan Foundation donated funds to aid in the purchase of the new defibrillators. A total of $232,000 was given in support of buying these top-of-the-line monitors. “The difference between the Zoll Monitors and other defibrillators is remarkable. The easy-to-learn controls, clear displays and prompt coaching help our employees deliver better patient care,” stated Jennifer Pacheco, Director of Foundation. “The benefits to our patients is amazing and we wanted to help in any way we could to purchase these new defibrillators.”

In addition to the purchase of the 39 Zoll Monitors, Good Samaritan also acquired five AED’s that will be placed in high-traffic areas such as the cafeteria, new Central Billing Office building on St. Clair, Support Services Building, Health Pavilion lobby and the Accounting Department.