Bayhealth Foundation purchases new defibrillators

Bayhealth Foundation Helps Purchase New Defibrillators

Wednesday, November 13, 2019 | Heart & Vascular, Bayhealth Foundation
Defibrillators are pieces of lifesaving equipment used to help restore a patient’s normal heartbeat. When a need arose last year to replace our entire defibrillator fleet, the Bayhealth Foundation stepped in to help by providing $1 million to purchase more than 80 new defibrillators.

A defibrillator sends an electric shock to the heart to help restore a normal rhythm. The new Zoll defibrillators ensure Bayhealth has the best equipment and technology available when lifesaving measures are needed for the care of patients. “Early CPR and defibrillation is vital to patient outcomes and survival rates, so it’s important we have the latest technology,” said Clinical Educator Sylvia Stubbs, MSN, RN-BC.

The new defibrillators are hands-free devices with a detailed, real-time display that shows CPR quality metrics. This means team members no longer have to stop CPR to check heart rhythms because the data will be on the defibrillator’s monitor. The device also provides analytics to show if staff is doing CPR properly and if they need further education and training.

Senior Manager of Clinical Engineering Sterling Townsend, CBET, said defibrillators are a Risk Group 1 piece of equipment, making it vital that Bayhealth has fully functioning defibrillators available for use. “Usually we can phase out a product, but in this instance we had to replace an entire fleet because it’s important our staff is confident that the equipment can help save a life. The Foundation was definitely a godsend in stepping in to purchase the devices,” Townsend said.

The purchase of the new defibrillators is just one example of how the Bayhealth Foundation lives by Bayhealth’s mission to improve the healthcare community.

To learn more about how your support can help improve patient care in the Bayhealth community, visit the Bayhealth Foundation page or call 302-744-7015.