By Angel Perkins Staff Writer
ARGOS — The Argos EMS Department now has another piece of state-of-the-art, life-saving equipment thanks to some effort from their local representatives and the Marshall County Community Foundation.
Argos EMS Director Russ Alderfer credited Argos town council member and local EMS liaison (also elementary educator) Valerie Harley for her help in acquiring the item as well as the local town employees who helped by “doing the legwork” when applying for the grant.

He said the foundation gave them a $10,000 grant to pay toward an AutoPulse, an automatic, cardiopulmonary, chest compression device which sells for nearly $14,800.
The difference in cost will be made up by the department’s donations and fundraisers such as their upcoming Port-A-Pit chicken sale April 26.
Alderfer said he had done extensive research on the machine and while other models were available, he thought the particular device would be an intelligent choice for the department as they find themselves, as volunteers, with only one person on staff during the day shift quite often.
“It will free up the person’s hands (to speak with the hospital or to administer other emergency services for the patient),” he explained. “And it will work better than by giving compressions by hand-the machine never gets tired.”
Emergency personnel trained in saving lives follow a 100-compressions-per-min-ute rule (with a succession of 30 repeated compressions followed by two breaths).
A patient is first laid onto the machine which is the size and shape of a large kickboard.
The AutoPulse adjusts itself to the individual person when a small, black strip (which would be positioned behind the person’s middle back area) determines their actual body weight.
The patient is then strapped to the machine with pads connected by Velcro, and the AutoPulse waits for the directive — a push of a button — and then squeezes across the chest area accordingly.
“This really isn’t for a child,” Alderfer said. “It’s meant to work for patients with a chest of 27 to 52 inches.”
The machine can also be programmed to emit a beep when it is time to begin giving the two “breaths” of oxygen to the patient.
“This isn’t a ‘high-use’ item; we may only use it four or five times a year,” said Alderfer. “But if it helps save one life, it was worth it.”