BISMARCK – In April, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust awarded a grant to CHI St. Alexius Health facilities to save the lives of COVID-19 patients and to protect the front-line healthcare workers caring for them.

The grant funded the purchase of 11 LUCAS mechanical chest compression devices for CHI St. Alexius in Bismarck and its critical access hospitals located in Garrison, Turtle Lake, Carrington, Dickinson and Williston.

A total of $4.7 million will be distributed across five upper-midwestern states to pay for 367 LUCAS mechanical CPR devices to be deployed to hospitals caring for patients during the pandemic and beyond.

Research has shown cardiac damage in as many as one in five COVID-19 patients, leading to heart failure and death even among those who show no signs of respiratory distress. Among patients who recover, many could have long-term effects from such heart damage.

The rise in cardiac complications caused by COVID-19 exposes both patients and healthcare workers to greater risk, as hands-on CPR can be needed for extended periods and personal protective equipment can become less effective in keeping the virus from spreading to medical providers.

Mechanical CPR has been adopted by emergency medical responders and many hospitals around the globe, initially due to its ability to deliver extended CPR in compliance with American Heart Association guidelines. Multiple studies have demonstrated equivalence to high-performance CPR, as well as increased provider safety and higher rates of adequate compressions for patients in transport situations. Recently, the Department of Defense COVID-19 Practice Management Guide identified the LUCAS chest compression system as the best practice for managing patients in cardiac arrest to reduce the risk of exposure to care providers.