Atascadero Fire receives new equipment through donated funds 

Department receives a contribution from woman’s estate of more than $1 million

–Thanks to the goodwill and the generosity of the estate of Bertha Shultz, the Atascadero Department of Fire and Emergency Services recently received and placed into service five new LifePak 15 cardiac monitors with advanced technology which will greatly improve the proper diagnosis and treatment for patients having cardiac emergencies.

Beginning in 1997 and continuing until her death, the department received many donations from Shultz. Throughout the years of her quiet donations, Shultz always stipulated that the money she gave to the department be specifically used to purchase medical equipment, supplies, training and infrastructure related to the department’s paramedic program. Sadly, this incredible supporter of the department passed away in June of 2015. Shultz had made it clear that the Atascadero Department of Fire and Emergency Services was one of her top priorities, and upon her passing the department received a contribution from her estate of more than $1 million.

Over the years, Shultz’s donations have allowed the department to augment its existing medical budget and upgrade several areas that otherwise would not have been possible, including covering the costs associated with training emergency responders, funding the required medical equipment to fully outfit two additional advanced life support fire engines, purchasing cardiopulmonary resuscitation training mannequins for community CPR training and paying for three firefighters to attend the Cuesta College Paramedic Program. The legacy of Bertha Schultz continues; the purchase of the new monitors at a total cost of $142,452 was only made possible because of her heartfelt and generous donations.

Mayor Tom O’Malley said, “the City of Atascadero is extremely grateful for the extraordinary generosity of Bertha Shultz, which continues to benefit our fire department and the emergency services provided to the citizens of Atascadero to this day. Our emergency personnel will be able to utilize these new monitors to quickly, effectively and efficiently provide advanced life support treatment”.

The new LifePak 15 cardiac monitor/automatic external defibrillators (AED’s) provide incredible technological advancements with rugged military specifications, including 12 lead EKG monitoring which will help quickly identify a patient having a coronary emergency requiring immediate surgery; carbon monoxide poisoning detection; pulse oximetry which determines the amount of oxygen inside a patient’s blood; a blood pressure device capable of automatically detecting changes in a patients vital signs; WIFI cards to transmit patient information to local hospitals and other advanced tools.

“The advanced medical technology these new monitors bring to our emergency service personnel will have an immediate and positive outcome in patient care,” said Engineer/Paramedic Matt Vierra, the Department’s Medical Officer. “It would not have been possible without Mrs. Shultz’s love and dedication to her community,” said Vierra.

For additional questions regarding the information provided in this press release, please contact Fire Captain/ADFES Public Information Officer Bill White at (805) 470-3336.

About the author: News Staff

News staff of the A-Town Daily News wrote and edited this article from local contributors and press releases. Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Connect with him on Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog. He can be reached at [email protected].