Wylie Fire Rescue honors crews after two on‑scene cardiac arrests saved using eCPR transfers to Medical City Plano

Wylie Fire Rescue on Oct. 28 recognized crews and dispatch personnel for two recent cases in which patients in cardiac arrest were identified as candidates for extracorporeal CPR (eCPR) and transported to Medical City Plano, where cardiology and ECMO teams took over care.

Heidi Hawkins, EMS program manager, described the cases and credited the decision to operate an in‑house EMS division — established about a year earlier within Wylie Fire Rescue — and the equipment and training that enabled rapid, advanced care in the field.

June 18 case (Greaves): Hawkins said dispatchers and units responded quickly after a 911 call reporting an unresponsive patient. The on‑scene team identified the patient as an eCPR candidate, initiated care within nine minutes of arrival and transported him to Medical City Plano, where the cath lab and ECMO team took over. "They took one look at us in the hallway. We didn't even stop in the ER," Hawkins said. The patient spent about eight days in the hospital and returned home to celebrate his retirement, Hawkins said.

Crews named in the June 18 response included Battalion Chief Brown, Zane Neely (ambulance), Captain Ham, Engineer/Driver Storm, Tim Turquette and Zach Littlefield; Chief Blythe…