Warren County EMS could spend up to $8,000 on 10 life-saving batteries.
“We are going to have to buy batteries for the AutoPulses,” said EMS director Preston Denney. “The batteries are $800 each. We are down to 10 batteries.”

The AutoPulse is an automated, portable, battery-powered cardiopulmonary resuscitation device that uses a distributing band to deliver chest compressions.

It is composed of a constricting band and half backboard that is intended to be used as an adjunct to CPR during advanced cardiac life support by professional healthcare providers.
The department has five devices, which cost $16,000 each.

“It’s recommended you keep three batteries per AutoPulse,” said Denney. “They recommend you keep one battery in it, one battery on the charger, and an extra one. They should be rotated daily. We’re down to two batteries per AutoPulse. About every month or two, we’re having one that won’t recharge. We’re down to 10. We’ll have to buy some in the next couple months. We replaced some about three or four years ago.”
Replacing all 15 batteries would cost $12,000. Denney said maintaining 10 at a minimum of $8,000 is a
must.

“We’ve got enough to get us by, but if they start to die we will have to start replacing them,” said Denney. “We’ve been trying to hold off as long as we can. We are to the point now that if one dies tomorrow, we’ll have to order one to replace it. We are getting to where we use the AutoPulses more and more. We’ve probably used them 8 to 10 times in the last two months.”

The county Safety Committee approved Denney purchasing batteries as needed to maintain 10.