BARDSTOWN, Ky. — Within minutes, a situation where someone is choking can go from bad to worse fast. The National Safety Council reports choking is the fourth leading cause of accidental deaths in the U.S.
To help save lives, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office now carries LifeVac choking rescue devices. In October, the department purchased 30 rescue kits. Their entire staff now knows how to use them and each deputy carries on in their vehicle.
The program has been named Landon’s Measure. In Nov. 2022, eight-year-old Landon McCubbins choked on a small bouncy ball while at school. First responders attempted to get it dislodged but were unsuccessful. McCubbins later died at the hospital.
“Unfortunately, this is a bad, tragic accident,” Chief Deputy Brandon Bryan said. “But this lets us put something positive in Landon’s name.”
Sometimes, Bryan says, his deputies arrive at an emergency faster than firefighters or paramedics. LifeVac allows them to act fast and effectively.
“If EMS is a ways out and for instance, if I am traveling next to a school and they have an incident, a choking incident, or even a residential area at a house, if I pay attention to that and I see it, I can be first on scene and I can start life-saving measures before the time lapse of EMS would take,” Deputy Jonathan Greer said.
Greer, who is a father and now has a LifeVac at home, says he’s glad to carry this piece of gear when on patrol.
He says while the Heimlich and CPR are effective; they are also more invasive.
“I warn the family that is there that it’s going to look violent, but it is going to save their life. It’s a life-saving measure,” Greer said. “This takes out that whole aspect. It’s so much easier. It looks better, and it’s a lot more successful as well.”
Bryan says other agencies in the area are now looking into carrying the life-saving device too.
“We’ve had our local fire department, we’ve had a day care reach out to us, we’ve had other sheriff’s office reaches that reach out. So I think that we want to be the first in the area, but I don’t think that will be the last,” Bryan said.
Greer encourages everyone to carry one of these devices.
The LifeVac is not only available for first responders. Anyone can purchase the device online. The company says should one be used to save a life, they will replace the device for free.
According to their website, LifeVac has saved nearly 1,400 lives.