UD Emergency Care Unit goes
into action at NASCAR race

When a 52-year-old woman attending NASCAR races in Dover suffered cardiac arrest, UD Emergency Care Unit (UDECU) members were among those who helped save her life, according to Jack Lynn, public safety, UDECU adviser.

UDECU joins with other emergency care units from all over Delaware to provide medical response at events like the NASCAR races in June and the Delaware State Fair in Harrington as a community service.

A four-wheel-drive vehicle from Leipsic Volunteer Fire Company was first on the scene with Kent County paramedic Mike Bishop on board. The team found the woman in full arrest, and an immediate request for an ambulance was made. The crew of the UD-1 ambulance crew–Lynn and students Lindsay Dillinger (AS'02), Keith Clendaniel (AS'02) and Chris Selgas (HN'02), who were attending a safety meeting, were immediately dispatched to the scene with another Kent County paramedic Mike Love.

The woman, who had not responded to the first shock, was placed in the ambulance by the paramedics and the UD team, and a second shock was applied.

This time the woman responded and began spontaneous breathing and heartbeat. IV lines were set up and the patient was transported to Kent General Hospital.

During the spring NASCAR weekend, UDECU transported nine patients to Kent General Hospital. Six of these received paramedic intervention care, Lynn said.

UDECU is a student organization of approximately 50 volunteers, who receive 140 hours of training and are on duty approximately 12 hours a month.