The Fayetteville Fire Department is equipping firefighters with four new medications to enhance its lifesaving services.
As of July 1, albuterol, oral glucose, Benadryl, and Tylenol have been distributed to help those suffering from breathing difficulties, diabetic emergencies, allergic reactions, and high fevers, among other issues.
“We started about a year ago working with a medical director to identify ways that we could make a bigger difference, more positive impact in the patient outcomes to some of our residents,” said Chief Mike Hill.
Hill said having these medications in the EMT toolkit is helpful because his department may tend to get to an emergency a little bit faster than EMS.“So, it wasn't that the patients didn't have access to these medications before,” he said. “We're just starting to carry them now and they're getting them a little bit quicker than they were.”
According to a release, nearly 70% of calls for service are for medical reasons.