FHSU Student Invents Device to Save Lives

Goldilocks ValveThere is a change coming to the medical field that is going to save lives every day. This new invention comes from a Fort Hays State University student. Bobbi McCollum, a Nebraska native, current resident of Portland, Oregon and an online student at FHSU is the bright mind behind the Goldilocks Valves.

Originally a journalism student, McCollum worked in Omaha and later moved to Denver, which is where she realized she wanted to change up her career. “Instead of writing the stories, I wanted to live them,” she says. She proceeded to enroll in an emergency medical technician class, which is what sparked her interest in emergency medicine. From there, her love of the field exploded which resulted in her taking more classes, and inspiring the idea for the Goldilocks Valves.

Patients, who are in cardiac arrest, have a tendency to hyperventilate during treatment, which causes them to intake too much air too quickly, resulting in a high mortality rate. “I knew I needed to provide a simple method to reduce operator error of the bag-valve-mask, therefore, preventing hyperventilation,” McCollum says, so she created The Goldilocks Valve. The Goldilocks Valves are a simple tool to save lives. “These adjustable valves, the Refill Regulating Valve (RRV) and the Outflow Regulating Valve (ORV), provide a method to indicate and moderate appropriate respiratory rate, volume, and subsequent pressure for each individual patient.”

Currently, McCollum is a virtual RN-BSN student at Fort Hays State University. When asked what attracted her to FHSU she said, “I found FHSU in my research and found it to have a stellar reputation, along with an affordable and flexible program.” And where there is one FHSU tiger, there are sure to be more; now several of her coworkers have enrolled at FHSU and one of them is actually a Hays native! McCollum talked about the Tiger community they have built up in Portland, and the friendship that they have built through it.

The Goldilocks Valves are going to change the standard of care. “It is a simple and inexpensive solution to a giant problem.  Big things are happening and the project has gotten some interest from some big names in the medical industry.  I foresee that the project is going to have some huge announcements to make in the near future,” McCollum says.

However, inventing a new medical tool is an expensive process, and the Goldilocks Valves will be launching a crowdfunding campaign in January to progress the project further. To learn more about the Goldilocks Valves or stay up to date on the project, you can go to their website (goldilocksvalves.com).

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