The Fremont-Rideout Foundation has successfully raised $44,000 for the Penn Valley Fire Department and they’re putting that money to good use to equip the department’s two ambulances with wireless EKG machines.

This will allow the residents of western Nevada County faster access to advanced life-saving cardiac treatments which are so vital in the initial period after a heart attack.

“Time is heart muscle, and the first 90 minutes are critical,” said Dr. Robert Plass, chief medical officer of Fremont-Rideout Health Group, the nonprofit community health care system that operates Rideout Memorial Hospital.

The installation of the new ekg machine allows for the diagnosis and treatment plan to be put in place by the emergency and cardiac teams at the hospital while the ambulance is still en route, so the appropriate clinical team is already standing by when the patient comes through the door.