Give Your Back a Break

Few things are as hazardous to an EMS provider’s career as a back injury, yet backs are placed on the line every day—lifting gear and patients is part of the job. So anything that does the lifting for you is a plus.

Enter the Tank Boss portable oxygen cylinder lift from iTec Manufacturing. It helps transport, lift and load cylinders into an ambulance with ease, drastically reducing the risk of injury. And compared to the cost of an onboard lift for each vehicle, not to mention the cost of time lost due to injury, the Tank Boss is a deal.

“We had actually looked at putting onboard O₂ lift systems on each squad,” says Joy Cutter-McVay, captain and EMS coordinator for Florence Fire & EMS in Kentucky. “It cost quite a bit of money at the time. We saw the Tank Boss in a magazine, looked into it and realized it was better on our budget to have a system that we could use on any ambulance versus one that was attached to each vehicle. Budget kind of guided it but safety was the other issue. We always look for something that enhances that safety of our folks when lifting.”

Cutter-McVay says her personnel use the Tank Boss all the time. And iTec even helped customize the system to suit Florence Fire & EMS's specific needs.

“We store our cylinders in a specialty room, which is a step up from the normal base floor,” says Cutter-McVay. “The company went out of its way to put a special plate on the end of our system so we could get up the step into the room. And when we had a piece break all I had to do was give them a call and they made it right. Their customer service is top notch.”

Visit www.itecmfg.com/tankboss.