Manatee County Expands Life-Saving Drone Delivery Service
Manatee County is expanding its innovative drone delivery system to save lives. The service, a partnership between Manatee County, ArcherFRS, and Tampa General Hospital (TGH), will now cover a 35 square mile area, up from the previous 3.5 square miles. The drones will deliver automated external defibrillators (A-E-D) for heart attacks and NARCAN Nasal Spray for overdoses in under three minutes on average.
The expanded service will operate seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., significantly increasing the access to life-saving tools. The dispatcher will guide the caller through using the delivered equipment until first responders arrive. This program is crucial as 350,000 people in the U.S. experience a cardiac arrest outside the hospital each year, with only 10% surviving. Similarly, over 112,000 Americans died from opioid-related exposure last year, highlighting the need for quick access to life-saving tools like NARCAN.
The performance and effectiveness of this program will be evaluated by TGH, ArcherFRS, and Manatee County. The goal is to determine how to serve more residents across the state, potentially saving countless lives by reducing response times with drone deliveries.
The expanded drone delivery system in Manatee County is set to revolutionize emergency response. By covering a larger area and operating longer hours, it aims to provide quick access to life-saving equipment for heart attacks and overdoses. The success of this program could pave the way for wider adoption across the state and beyond.
