MC62019

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McHenry County News DISPLAY ADVERTISING & CLASSIFIEDS: 815-877-4044 • CIRCULATION: 815-877-4044 • E-MAIL: McHenryNews@RVPublishing.com

VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 26

11512 N. 2nd ST. • MACHESNEY PARK, IL 61115

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019

SUBMITTED PHOTO McHenry County News

Mercyhealth Development Foundation makes major donation to area EMS agencies Representatives of the fire departments receiving LUCAS Compression systems.

The Mercyhealth Development Foundation announced today it has committed more than $400,000 to purchase 30 life-saving devices to award to regional Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies. The devices, LUCAS Chest Compression Systems, deliver high-quality mechanical CPR in a consistent manner and have been proven to greatly improve cardiac arrest survival rates and save lives. A total of twenty-five area EMS agencies, located in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, are receiving the LUCAS systems. Foundation Board of Directors Chair Patrick O’Keefe made the announcement at a news conference Monday, June 10, at the Mercyhealth Pre-hospital and Emergency Services Center–Rockford. “The Foundation is thrilled to make this gift knowing that it will have a far-reaching impact on the health of the communities Mercyhealth serves,” said O’Keefe. “It will save countless lives.” Mercyhealth’s Pre-hospital and Emergency Services team will provide training to the first responders receiving the donated equipment. The LUCAS machines are already in use on Mercyhealth’s emergency field vehicles, called MD-1s, which provide additional physician-level field support to EMS on critical calls. “The benefits to both the patient and first responders are staggering,”

said Dr. Jay MacNeal, medical director of Mercyhealth Pre-hospital and Emergency Services. “Performing high-quality CPR typically occupies several EMS providers, but the LUCAS device’s automated compressions free these providers to perform other life critical skills. With these devices on board our agencies’ ambulances, as well as high-fidelity simulation training and advanced protocols, we hope to improve our patients’ cardiac arrest survival to over three to four times the national average.” The Loves Park Fire Department is one of the area EMS agencies to receive a LUCAS from the Mercyhealth Development Foundation. The donation comes at a time when Loves Park recently transitioned to an advanced life support ambulance service, meaning it will have its own ambulance dedicated to the city staffed by two paramedics. “We want to thank the Mercyhealth Development Foundation for its generosity in providing us with another tool in saving lives,” said Loves Park Fire Department Deputy Chief James Hart. “The LUCAS device is very portable and easy to use. We are excited for what it will bring and how it will better equip us in successfully providing services back to our community.” The Mercyhealth Development Foundation’s mission is to provide

development and oversight of philanthropic giving to support the Mercyhealth mission: Exceptional health care services with a passion for making lives better. “By making the LUCAS devices more accessible and widely used throughout the area, we will be improving the quality of pre-hospital, emergency medical services delivered to our patients,” said Jennifer Johns, Mercyhealth Development Foundation Director. “It’s a great feeling to know we are making a difference. EMS agencies receiving LUCAS systems: • Shannon Fire Department • Milton/Milton Township Fire Department • Oregon Fire Department • Fontana Fire Department • Harvard Fire Department • Win-Bur-Sew Fire Department • Mendota Fire Department • Dixon Fire Department • Loves Park Fire Department • Amboy Fire Department • Randall Fire Department • Capron Fire Department • Williams Bay Rescue • Richmond Township Fire Department • Darien Fire/EMS • West Suburban Fire Department • Northwest Fire Protection District • Brodhead Fire Department • Winnebago County Fire

Protection District (Durand) • Paw Paw Community Fire Protection District • North Park Fire Department • Polo Fire Department • Beloit Fire Department • Hebron Fire Department • Mercyhealth Emergency Department About Mercyhealth Mercyhealth is a multi-regional health system with more than 800 employed physician partners, seven hospitals and 85 primary and specialty care locations serving 55 northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin communities. Mercyhealth’s over 8,000 employee/partners care for more than

2.4 million patient visits each year. Mercyhealth offers four core service areas: hospital-based service; clinicbased services; home health, hospice and retail services; and a wholly owned insurance company. It provides over 125 specialties, including emergency/trauma care, pre-hospital services, a perinatal medicine in its 52-bed Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and heart, cancer and orthopedic care. As the top vertically integrated health care provider, it continuously works with a passion for making lives better for the people, families and communities it serves. For more information, please visit mercyhealthsystem.org.

Become an ‘Outdoor Explorer’ with McHenry County Conservation District Exploring outdoors keeps kids active, happy, and healthy. Need a little extra help motivating your kids, ages 14 and under, to step away from the computer screen and onto the trails? Purchase McHenry County Conservation District’s full color Outdoor Explorer Activity Book and challenge your kids physically, intellectually, and creatively through scavenger hunts, wildlife observations, tree measurements, hiking challenges, and more. Outdoor Explorer books are available for $5 to purchase at Lost Valley

Visitor Center, Route 31 and Harts Rd. in Ringwood; Prairieview Education Center, 2112 Behan Road in Crystal Lake; and online at MCCDistrict.org via program registration Code: 5698 ($2 transaction fee). Once (at least) 10 pages of the book are completed, stop in to receive an Outdoor Explorer Certificate and a prize. Be sure to finish the activities by Sept. 3 to redeem your prize. For more information contact Prairieview Education Center at (815) 479-5779 or www.MCCDistrict.org.

Huntley High softball team makes school history The Huntley High School softball team made school history in taking home the IHSA Class 4A State Championship on June 8. In defeating St. Charles East for the title, the Red Raiders became the first Huntley High School team to become state champions of any sport in school history. The team finished the season 35-7, including a 19-game win streak to close out the year. The title game was a tight race until the end, with the Raiders taking the duel 1-0 behind strong pitching from sophomore Briana Bower. “Words cannot describe this experience,” coach Mark Petryniec said. “We threw everything at them. On, over and in has been our philosophy, and it worked out to win a state championship today.”

COURTESY PHOTO McHenry County News

HHS softball team makes school history by becoming state champs.


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