By Tia Lyons
Staff Writer
Over the past year, a series of holidays have come to define a life-changing moment for El Dorado Fire Chief Mosby.
Mosby signed the El Dorado Fire Department up to participate in a pilot program that was initiated by the Arkansas Department of Health and that participation began New Year’s Day 2018.
With heart disease among the leading causes of death for men and women in Arkansas and the state ranking high nationally in heart-attack deaths, the ADH set out to improve those statistics and to help save lives by launching a pilot program using Pulsara, a digital application that streamlines the emergency response process for patients who experience cardiac episodes.
With the push of a button, Pulsara sends alerts to the hospital and provided constant communication between paramedics and hospital staff from initial medical contact between patients and paramedics until an ambulance reaches the hospital.
“The paramedics get feedback from the hospital to let them know if everything is ready. It notifies the emergency room, the (catheterization) lab and the Chest Pain Center,” Mosby said.
The fire chief said the app helps to lower emergency response times and the EFD, Medical Center of South Arkansas and ProMed Ambulance, which serves Union County, are all a part of the pilot program to help ensure area patients receive the best medical care possible.
“They’re trying to see if an app like this needs to be rolled out statewide,” Mosby said, adding, “When I signed us up, I had no idea I’d be one of the patients to use it.”
Going for a run
It was April 1, 2018, a rare occurrence in which Easter and April Fool’s shared the same day.
Mosby and his family had gone to morning worship service and taken family Easter photos when Mosby decided to go for a run.
The fire chief had dutifully stuck to a goal he had set years earlier to begin running for exercise before he turned 35 years old.
Mosby, his wife Michelle and 13-year-old son Carson were celebrating Easter 2018 with Michelle’s family in Tinsman, about three miles north of Hampton.
After posing for Easter photos, Mosby changed into workout gear and set off down the rural gravel roads of Calhoun County.
“I had no problem with the run. I did a half-mile cool-down, and when I got back to the house, I started to get this uncomfortable feeling in my lungs. There was a burning sensation,” he recalled.
He initially attributed the sensation to seasonal allergies triggered by heavy pollen.
His brother-in-law and wife, both medical professionals — a paramedic and ER nurse at MCSA, respectively —, sprang into action and immediately checked Mosby out.
Though his blood pressure and blood-sugar level registered normal readings, Mosby asked his wife to drive him back to El Dorado for further medical evaluation at Fire Station 3 on Griffith.
They did not complete the trip back to El Dorado.
As soon as they regained clear cellphone service south of Hampton, Mosby called for an ambulance from his own fire department to meet him and Michelle on U.S. 167.
“We met the ambulance in Calion. I got in, they put me on the cardiac monitor and it was pretty obvious that I was having a cardiac event,” Mosby said.
By then, his blood pressure had “dropped quite a bit” and when the ambulance arrived at the MCSA ER, his BP had fallen to a “dangerously low” level.
Mosby would learn that he had experienced a myocardial infarction, a heart attack that occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t receive enough blood flow.
“A portion of your heart is being stalled by a lack of oxygen,” he explained. “There is some type of blockage in the coronary vessels that prevent blood from getting to the heart tissue, and if there is no blood, there is no oxygen.”
A prolonged period of a lack of blood and oxygen flow and the more time that passes to restore blood flow, the greater the risk of damage to the heart muscle and possibly, death.
A trained firefighter and paramedic and a member of the MCSA Chest Pain Committee, Mosby was intimately familiar with such medical responses and procedures.
However, that awareness did not ease a sense of urgency during his cardiac episode.
“My personal situation was heightened because it was me. My paramedics would probably say I got really bossy,” Mosby recalled with a laugh. “They did an exceptional job. They did everything they were supposed to do and everything worked.”
Mosby extended that praise to the MCSA staff, adding, “I was probably bossy in the hospital too.”
With the assistance of the pilot program and the use of Pulsara, he marveled at the time-lapse of his medical crisis: 73 minutes from the time of first medical contact with paramedics to the time he was treated at MCSA and “out of the woods.”
“That’s a time that would have been unheard of 25 years ago when I started at the fire department. The ER staff was efficient and quick and they got me moved to the cath lab and the cath lab was efficient,” Mosby said.
“They cleared the blockages in my blood vessels and put a stint in one them and I haven’t had any problems since,” he continued. “People should know that here in El Dorado, you don’t have to drive two hours to get good medical care.”
Go Red
To help raise awareness about heart disease, Mosby will share his story on another, upcoming holiday.
Mosby will deliver the keynote address during the El Dorado Go Red Luncheon for Men and Women, which is set for 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Valentine’s Day at the El Dorado Conference Center.
The event will include lunch, a silent auction and heart health screenings.
Other guest speakers include Amanda and Marleigh Bonsall.
Friday was National Wear Red Day, during which people sport the color red to help raise awareness about heart disease.
“Education is a big help in improving the cardiac health of citizens. Some of it is genetics. We can’t do anything about that,” Mosby said, noting that there is an extensive history of heart disease in his family.
“But there are things that you can fix, like healthy eating, exercise, finding ways to reduce stress in your life and getting appropriate screenings,” the fire chief said. “Living a healthier lifestyle, you can try to prevent some of these things.”
Mosby said the EFD will continue with the state’s pilot program and await further details about its progress.
“I don’t if it’s something they’re going to roll out statewide and try to find funding for on the state level or if it’s something they’ll recommend as a best practice,” he said.
As far as the efficiency of the program and the use of the Pulsar app, Mosby has given it his personal stamp of approval.
Other apps have also given Mosby and his wife some peace of mind when he goes running these days.
Using GPS technology, wife Michelle can track his location, route and movements, including if he stops for any reason.
“It’s call Road ID, a special app for runners and cyclists. My wife is not fully back at ease about me running, but that eases her mind some,” he said.
Tickets are $30 for the Go Red El Dorado Luncheon and they are available at Murphy Pitard Jewelers, the MCSA Gift Shop or online at bit.ly/GoRedElDo2019.
Table sponsorships are also available for $500.
Those who plan to attend the luncheon are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to ensure seating.
For more information, call Catherine Noyes, marketing director of MCSA, at 870-864-3245.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.