A $120,000 grant from Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield to the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute will be used to buy lifesaving cardiac care equipment for local municipal and volunteer ambulance companies

The funding will place electrocardiogram modems and software in 37 ambulances across Oneida, Herkimer and Madison Counties.

Tom Norton, Director of Cardiac Services at the Heart Institute, says the equipment will allow EMS personnel to transmit vital information directly to the hospital.

He says it will help speed up the diagnosis and treatment of patients experiencing heart attack symptoms.

Norton says over 500 seriously ill cardiac patients are brought to the Faxton-St.Luke's and St. Elizabeth Medical Center's Emergency Rooms each year.

Jim Rondenelli, WIBX
Jim Rondenelli, WIBX
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