News

Sliding to Saftey- an article from Suburban Journals

By Mary Shapiro (Suburban Journals)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 8:33 AM CST

A prone, cocooned Denise Jacobson looked a little like a hot dog in a bun while going down the stairs on a recent Friday at LaSalle Springs Middle School in Wildwood.

Jacobson was being lowered down the stairs using a recently purchased emergency transport device, called a Med Sled.

Aimme Kappler and Jean Hantak, physical therapists with the Special School District of St. Louis County, had just unrolled the Med Sled - a high-density sheet of polyethylene - from its storage bag.

They had pressed up the sides around Jacobson, also a physical therapist at Special School District, and used three cross straps secured across her chest to hold her in place.

One of them connected a 21-foot tether on a carabiner (a metal snap used in mountain climbing or caving) to a railing anchor bracket at the top of the first flight of stairs.

Then Hantak and Kappler used the pulley-type system to lower Jacobson to the bottom of the first flight, after which the carabiner was unhooked off the first railing and rehooked to the next flight's banister.

The training exercise was a success. The three learned how to deploy and use the Med Sled, and, more importantly, Jacobson arrived safely on the first floor.

Despite its light weight, the Med Sled can support up to 1,000 pounds and allows others to quickly and easily move a person with injuries or disabilities down stairs.

St. Louis County Police Officer Don Scognamiglio, LaSalle Springs' school resource officer, had been the "hot dog" earlier.

"It feels like a massage chair, with the steps just rolling off your back. It's very gentle on you," he said.

The only local school district using them, Rockwood just completed installing 32 Med Sleds in its eight multi-story buildings.

A person lowering the Med Sled usually can do it with only a thumb and forefinger, said instructor Jeff Messer, general sales manager for ARC Products LLC in Des Peres, which makes the Med Sleds.

Clifford Adkins, of Imperial, ARC president and inventor of the Med Sled, was inspired after developing a Dead Sled device to help hunters transport animal carcasses.

His 2004 inspiration led to his founding ARC.

Before that, the 1977 Kirkwood High School graduate had been with Anheuser Busch in business development for more than 20 years.

The Med Sled was developed after some military paramedics saw his Dead Sled at a hunting/fishing trade show in 2005 and asked if a new design could be created to allow injured soldiers to be pulled back quickly from front lines.

After he designed a military sled, Adkins went back to the drawing board to create the Med Sled.

More than 600 U.S. and Canadian hospitals now have them, including Barnes-Jewish, he said.

Med Sleds also serve nursing homes, universities, government facilities, and offices.

Kim Cranston, Rockwood's chief communications officer, said the Med Sleds' were purchased for about $300 each.

"There was more than one purchased for each multi-story school, to be kept near various stairwells that serve as exit routes. In case we can't use elevators, it's important to do everything we can to ensure the safety of all students in a crisis, including students with disabilities," she said.

Download a PDF of article

View the article on The Suburban Journals website

Request More Information

Contact us about one of our Evactuation Devices

Interested In:



News/Press view all