The South Orange Rescue Squad now has two LifePaks — portable monitors that include defibrillators and numerous vital sign assessment tools — that were made possible by a gift from a former Squad member, making SORS the first in Essex County and one of only two basic life support agencies in the state to have the advanced technology on board its ambulances.
Chief Victor Rothstein shows former SORS member and her husband, Jimmy, one of two LifePaks, which their gift enabled the squad to purchase. (Photo by Laura Griffin)
Former SORS President and Squad member Sharon Schwarz, who volunteered with the squad for 28 years, and her husband, Jimmy, provided the gift and were invited to the rescue squad ambulance bay on Monday night to check out the equipment themselves and see how far technology has come since she left 20 years ago.
“This machine, which will undoubtedly save lives, would not be possible without the generosity and support of Sharon and Jimmy Schwarz,” said Chief Victor Rothstein.
The LifePak-15 machines have been refurbished and re-certified and cost a total of $22,500 for both. The technology allows emergency responders to not only use the defibrillator but also assess blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation levels (SpCO), and end tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) levels that indicate whether a patient has carbon monoxide poisoning.
“The South Orange Rescue Squad comprises a group of EMTs who really do strive to be the very best in the emergency prehospital medical field,” Rothstein said. “Being able to roll out such an advanced and life saving machine solidifies our continued reputation here in New Jersey of being a progressive and forward thinking EMS agency.”
Former SORS president and Squad member Sharon Schwarz tests EMT Benjamin Morganstein’s blood pressure using the new life-support monitor her donation enabled the squad to purchase. (Photo by Laura Griffin)
Making this gift was meaningful for Schwarz not only because of her longtime connection to the South Orange Rescue Squad and because it will save lives, but for even deeper personal reasons.
When she was 19, Schwarz said, her 51-year-old father died of a heart attack while eating in a restaurant where no one knew CPR. It was then, she said, she decided she wanted to be able to save others’ lives one day. A few years later, in 1977, she started volunteering with the SORS, where she went on to spend 28 years helping others and where she continues to help the rescue squad through donations and encouragement.
In her time with SORS, Schwarz handled thousands of emergency calls including delivering three babies, which she says were among the highlights. She served as president of Squad from 1985 to 1988 and 1993 to 1994, and was honored at the Squad’s 70th Anniversary in 2022.
She was impressed with the LifePak, which in addition to all the life-support monitoring it does, it also allows paramedics and EMTs assess how well their CPR is working.
“It’s a great tool. It almost gives us instant feedback on how our CPR is working on cardiac arrest patients,” Rothstein said.
The machine can also help the EMTs identify what is causing respiratory distress, allowing them to quickly address underlying condition for the patient’s symptoms and also determine when a patient is in shock.
In addition, the machine is capable of performing EKGs, and Rothstein said that while the Squad does not have approvals and is not trained for that yet, they hope to be using it in the near future.
Rothstein said that historically, SORS has always looked for new equipment and honed skills to keep improving the service they provide their patients. “We like to be cutting edge,” he said.
To that point, Rothstein said SORS was:
- The first basic life support (BLS) agency in New Jersey to successfully resuscitate a patient in cardiac arrest using an AED
- The first volunteer BLS agency in Essex County to carry albuterol for asthma/COPD exacerbations, aspirin for heart attacks/chest pain, hemostatic impregnated gauze for major bleeding and CPAP for severe respiratory distress
- One of the first BLS agencies in New Jersey to carry and assess capillary blood glucose using a glucometer
- The only BLS agency in New Jersey carrying the naso-flo airway, which is an oropharyngeal airway that has the capabilities of delivering high concentrated oxygen directly to the patients pharynx, ensuring better oxygen delivery to the patient’s lungs during cardiac arrest and overdoses
From left, front row: Dan Cohen, Jimmy Schwarz, Sharon Schwarz, Trystn Murphy, Genevieve Stefens. Back row: Benjamin Morganstein, Leneisa Reed, Jeff Hark, Nik Engineer, Victor Rothstein, Khaliq Ahmed, Joshua Alexis
(Photo by Laura Griffin)
Last year, according to its social media posts, SORS crews answered about 2,000 9-1-1 calls and handled more than 60 standbys and community events in South Orange and Maplewood, including Maplewoodstock, Columbia High School football games, Fourth of July, Flood’s Hill concerts and 5K runs.
To help handle the load, SORS has put a deposit down on a fourth ambulance, said SORS President Nik Engineer, but there’s a long wait time for ambulances and it won’t be delivered until the end of 2027. In the meantime, they’ll be rolling out fundraising events to help cover the cost — which is now close to $360,000.
“In 2026, we’re going to kick off a concerted two-year effort to fundraise for the ambulance,” he said. “We’re thinking about how we do that. We’ve got some fun ideas.”
One of the two LifePaks that were purchased with the gift from Sharon and Jimmy Schwarz. (Photo by Laura Griffin)
