The COVID-19 pandemic has taught many lessons. Perhaps one of the most important is that versatile equipment saves lives. Battery-operated portable emergency suction machines empower you to tend to patients wherever you find them—in their homes, in the emergency department, even in the parking lot. 

In 2014, Health Facilities Management magazine featured an article discussing the results of their Emergency Management Survey. A random sample of 911 hospital and health system executives were polled to learn about challenges faced during emergency situations such as natural disasters.

In October of 2012, the northeastern United States was slammed with arrival of Superstorm Sandy. As the most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season, Sandy wreaked havoc on New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and vital infrastructure systems such as power, transportation, and water treatment facilities suffered billions of dollars in damages.

If your hospital experiences a total power outage, you still need to provide patient care. You might be able to navigate the darkened rooms with a flashlight and emergency lighting, but how will you oxygenate that ventilated patient? How will you suction him?

One of the scariest calls you will run into is a child in respiratory distress. Children are challenging, with their inability to articulate symptoms; their small veins and airways; and the fact that when they crash, they crash with a vengeance.

The storm had knocked out power across three counties, and unfortunately your zone was situated in the thick of the storm. Although your station was equipped with an emergency generator, the steady influx of calls had kept you from touching base. And now you're dispatched to an overdose at the nearby homeless shelter.

This morning, you glanced at your calendar and realized the quarterly meeting with your paramedic lieutenants was quickly approaching. As an EMS manager, you know these meetings provide a great opportunity for feedback from the field: which treatment strategies are working, and which ones are not; what common problems their personnel encounter on scenes; and if there are any equipment issues that must be addressed.

Have you ever needed to clear a patient’s airway in a location where in-wall suction was not available? If so, you definitely recognize the importance of having a reliable portable suction unit. Not only do you want your unit to be lightweight and deliver appropriate suction, you want to be assured that your rechargeable battery is not going to fizzle out on you at a critical time.