Motorcycle medics saving lives by reaching patients faster

Motorcycle medics saving lives by reaching patients faster


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SALT LAKE CITY — When there's a medical emergency, seconds can make the difference in saving a life. And because of that, the Davis County Sheriff's Office is putting its paramedics on motorcycles, ensuring they're first to the scene to treat the patient immediately.

Deputy Christopher Pope has been with the Davis County Sheriff's Office for six years, but an average day at work is more than issuing citations, making arrests and keeping the peace. That's because he's also a paramedic.

Pope is part of a select few in the state who are cross-trained to be both law enforcement and lifesaver.

"We can carry everything we need to treat a critical patient and a regular patient immediately, and then we have a partner that shows up in a regular SUV with full gear in the next few minutes," Pope said.

Being on a motorcycle allows the 42 countywide deputy paramedics access in hard-to-reach places like bike paths and extra maneuverability in traffic.

"We've treated someone in the middle of a parade where we had to break off from doing our tricks and go and treat a patient," he said.

The Davis County Motors Division was actually inspired by the Miami-Dade Fire Department where it was able to decrease response times from about 15 minutes down to three minutes. Now the Davis County Sheriff's Office has a similar goal.


"We can carry everything we need to treat a critical patient, and a regular patient immediately and then we have a partner that shows up in a regular SUV with full gear in the next few minutes." Deputy Christopher Pope

Although the department hasn't studied how its response time has improved, Pope said he knows the program saves lives; most recently with a woman suffering a massive heart attack.

"We transported her to the hospital and skipped the ER, and she could go straight to surgery," Pope said. "She came out with no problems at all, no side effects."

The motorcycles are equipped with IVs, an oxygen tank, breathing tubes and pain medication.

"It doesn't look like it can carry a whole lot, but we carry a bit more than what the average person would think," he said.

If Pope comes across an emergency situation where a patient broke the law, the protocol is clear.

"We separate the two. We tell them, look I'm a paramedic. I'm here to treat you, I'm not worried about law enforcement right now,'" Pope said.

This helps to keeping the department's main goal front and center and hopefully sharing its idea with other departments.

"Treating patients, getting to them fast and getting that treatment on board as soon as we possibly can," he said.

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Ashley Kewish

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