Edina funds dedicated staff for pioneering mobile heart-lung support truck
The Edina City Council approved a contract amendment to fund two full-time positions for the Fire Department's mobile ECMO truck program, a groundbreaking service that provides advanced life support to patients experiencing heart and lung failure. The $340,000 annual investment through 2027, funded by healthcare partner Fairview, ensures the program can continue operating without pulling regular firefighters away from other emergency calls.
Edina's mobile ECMO truck program made history as the site of the world's first mobile extracorporeal membrane oxygenation procedure. In simple terms, ECMO is a heart-and-lung bypass machine that oxygenates blood outside the body and returns it to patients, potentially saving lives in critical cardiac and respiratory emergencies. "The first in the world mobile ECMO procedure was done right here in Edina," a program spokesperson told the council. "ECMO is a machine surgery where you can oxygenate the blood outside of the body and put it back in to help save lives."
When the program launched as a pilot, it faced a critical problem: deploying the ECMO truck meant pulling existing fire and ambulance crews away from their regular duties, straining the department's overall emergency response capacity. The council recognized this sustainability challenge and approved the contract amendment to address it directly.
Under the new agreement, Fairview will fund two dedicated positions staffed exclusively for the ECMO truck. These personnel will respond to ECMO calls while also assisting with general Edina fire operations when not deployed for specialized missions. A city official explained the strategic thinking: "Part of any good pilot program is failures and successes. We're using this opportunity to showcase the staffing of this vehicle with dedicated staffing while still growing the response capabilities for our Edina residents."
The amendment provides $340,000 annually and runs through 2027, giving the program stable funding to continue its life-saving work while enhancing the Fire Department's overall emergency response capabilities for residents.
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Approval of Contract Amendment for Mobile ECMO Truck Staffing
The Edina Fire Department's pioneering mobile ECMO program, a partnership with Fairview, initially struggled with sustainability as it pulled existing emergency crews out of service. To resolve this, a contract amendment was proposed and approved, ensuring Fairview funds two dedicated positions for the ECMO truck. These personnel will also assist with general Edina fire operations when not deployed for ECMO calls, enhancing overall department capabilities.
The first in the world mobile ECMO procedure was done right here in Edina. And ECMO is a in layman's terms heart and lung bypass. So, it's a machine surgery that's performed uh where you can oxygenate the blood outside of the body and put it back in to help save lives.
So part of any good pilot program is is failures and successes. So, we're using this opportunity to showcase the staffing of this vehicle with dedicated staffing while still growing the response capabilities for our Edina residents with this pilot program.
Source document
A firstofits-kind program delivering advanced life support capabilities in the prehosp system for cardiac victims is staying in Edina. In 2021, the Dina Fire Department began a partnership with Fair View and other health care providers to operate the mobile extracaporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO truck as part of a pilot program to treat patients experiencing severe cardiac or respiratory failure without access to specialized services. This specialized unit allows for rapid deployment of equipment and personnel to initiate ECMO therapy significantly improving survival chances for critical patients. >> The first in the world mobile ECMO procedure was done right here in Edina. And ECMO is a in layman's terms heart and lung bypass. So, it's a machine surgery that's performed uh where you can oxygenate the blood outside of the body and put it back in to help save lives. >> During the pilot phase, Edina Fire found that the model was not sustainable because when an ECMO call was dispatched, an ambulance or fire crew was taken out of service to respond. Under an amendment to the contract approved by the city council last month, Fairview will fund two dedicated positions to staff the ECMO truck. When these personnel are not actively deployed on ECMO related calls, the contract permits them to assist with Edina fire operations, including emergency response and other needs of the department. >> So part of any good pilot program is is failures and successes. So, we're using this opportunity to showcase the staffing of this vehicle with dedicated staffing while still growing the response capabilities for our Edina residents with this pilot program. The contract provides nearly $340,000 annually for staffing through 2027.
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