City to advertise for heart monitor

City officials approved the Fire-EMS Department to advertise for bids for a new heart monitor.

“The one we have is out of date,” Dino Collins, interim fire chief, told the City Council. “There are no more fixes for it. They are not going to service it anymore.”

Collins told city officials the heart monitor was purchased used and it has been serviced regularly.

“We’re new at ALS (advanced life support); we’ve only been at it five years. That monitor is a big piece of equipment for our service,” he said, explaining that it is required.

Capt. William Coker, coordinator for the Emergency Services Service, said Pea Ridge had an annual contract with Physio-Control, the company who makes the heart monitor, and they have serviced and calibrated it whenever it was needed.

“The current monitor we have is no longer serviceable by Physio-Control and we’re being forced to upgrade to something newer,” Coker said, adding that he had looked at other brands but this is the most cost efficient and the software the department uses will be compatible with it.

Mayor Jackie Crabtree told council members that he had talked about the ambulance service at a recent intergovernmental cooperation meeting at the county and the county’s comptroller had volunteered the county’s grant writer to see if some of the heart monitor cost could be funded by a grant.

A new heart monitor can cost up to $41,000, Collins said, but one “half-way through its life” could cost about $21,000.

Coker told city officials that the heart monitor can not be rented, in answer to a question from the city attorney.

Council member Steve Guthrie made a motion to research and advertise for bids. Council member

Ray Easley seconded the motion and all approved the motion.

Collins also reported that the cascade system is nearly repaired.

“A big thank you to Dino and Jack Wassman for working on that compressor,” Crabtree said.

Collins said a fellow firefighter from another department is certified to work on the compressor for the cascade system and he had helped them.

“By saving us a lot of money on these types of repairs, we will have the money for things desperately needed,” Easley said.

In other business, council members:

● Declared a Street Department truck (2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500) surplus and for sale;

● Approved a right-of-way easement for Habitat for Humanity, 1224 Pace Lane; and

● Approved the dates for the city’s spring clean up as April 3-6.