Brat Fry Benefits Saukville Ambulance Department

A Saukville Lion's Club Brat Fry on April 27 will benefit the village's ambulance department as a fundraiser kickoff for the purchase of new defibrillators. 

"(The defibrillators) are 15 years old, and the manufacturer is not going to supply parts for them if we have problems," ambulance director Shari Kirsch said.  The fund raising is helpful because "because our budgets are so tight right now," she said.

The village is looking to purchase two Medtronic Lifepak 15 defibrillators, which will cost a total of about $80,000, Kirsch said. The village had plans to replace them in the next three years, so the change by the manufacturer of the old one's has good timing.

Kirsch said the defibrillators are used quite often, especially on runs with people who have heart problems.

"We use them to monitor a patient's heart rate, and if we have a pulseless nonbreather we use them to shock and get the heart started again," she said.

The machines can transmit the heartrates to the hospital, so that doctors are already monitoring what is happening before the patient arrives, Kirsch said. 

An ambulance will be stationed at the cookout on April 27 so that visitors can get a glimpse of the machine and monitoring system. The brat fry will last from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Saukville Meats.