The Callaway County Ambulance Board voted on Tuesday to approve the purchase of eight new cardiac monitors - totaling more than $125,000.
The new devices are coming from Philips Healthcare along with the most inclusive warranty, which costs $40,404. The full warranty coverage includes calibrations and performance assurance as well as on-site warranty work conducted by a Philips Healthcare employee within 24 hours.
Paramedics used cardiac monitors from three potential providers - Philips Healthcare, Physio Control and Zoll Medical Corporation - before the ambulance district's monitor selection committee chose to recommend Philips Healthcare to the board. With its recommendation, the committee requested that Philips Healthcare's proposal be amended to increase the number of included batteries, reduce the number of AC power adapters from seven to two because of infrequent usage, add three desktop battery chargers, add the patient temperature module, provide additional warranty options and include an eighth monitor for training and on the MCI trailer, according to the Callaway County Ambulance District summary report.
Each company's products were available to test for a minimum of 30 days, and paramedics who attended in-service training could use the equipment on calls.
The board made $250,000 available in its capital budget for the purchase. Physio Control bid $237,602.60; Zoll Medical Corporation priced at $251,569.92; and Philips Healthcare came in at $192,804.34 with the warranty. Philips Healthcare offered a discounted price - at about 42 percent - because the company is hoping to increase its market share in the pre-hospital market in the midwestern region. Originally, the ambulance district sought to purchase seven cardiac monitors, but the discount allowed it to buy eight.
Paramedics are currently using LifePak 12s, which Callaway County Ambulance Director Charles Anderson said are at the end of their lifespan and the company that supported the product is no longer doing so.
The new cardiac monitors allow patient information to be uploaded digitally, giving hospitals and doctors patient data faster and more efficiently.
In other news, Anderson reported to the board that the district is seeing an increase in its sales tax received. The year-to-date total is $818,706.97 - a $291,066.90 jump from the same period last year.
The call volume for April was 1,577. That's 60 more calls compared to the same time last year. Average daily call volume for April was 12.67, and the year-to-date daily call volume is 13.14. Also for the month of April, the no-transport rate was 29 percent and 31 percent for the year to date. The ambulance district had no diversions in April and 43 patients were transferred from Fulton Medical Center, previously Callaway Community Hospital, to another medical facility.