This Week in EMS: Feuding Emergency Responders...9/11 Settlement...Multipatient Medical Event

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Tension Between Public, Private Las Vegas Responders Disturbing

Ever since the North Las Vegas Fire Department sought to transport more people to make more money and save firefighters' jobs, says John Wilson, general manager of American Medical Response and Medic West Ambulance, the fire departments in every jurisdiction are looking for retribution. If they get there first, some fire department responders are hustling to transport patients without waiting for the private responder.

Records in Pittsburgh Snowstorm Death Do Not Exist

More than a month since a Hazelwood man died while waiting 30 hours for an ambulance, some records detailing the hours leading up to the incident just don't exist.

WTC First Responders in Court on 9/11 Settlement

A federal judge wants to hear from ground zero workers about a multimillion-dollar legal settlement for people sickened by dust from the World Trade Center.

Point of View

Do We Deserve To Be Called Ambulance Drivers?

Anyone who has been in EMS for more than three months knows the sting, indignation and revulsion of being called an ambulance driver. Some medics politely try to correct people. Others say nothing after being labeled for so long it no longer registers, but we all feel the insult. "Here's the worst part," says author Patrick Pianezza, "as a medic for nearly 10 years, I'm starting to wonder if we deserve the title."

EMS Training Center

Multipatient Medical Event Tests Wake County EMS

At 9:26 a.m., on February 13, the Raleigh-Wake (NC) Emergency Communications Center received a call that a large number of children who had eaten together at a convention were beginning to get sick. While the caller advised that EMS was not required, the dispatch supervisor notified Deputy Fire Marshal Charles Ottaway, the county fire, rescue and emergency management duty officer, of the call. By 2:15 p.m., nearly 140 patients had been triaged. Forty required treatment.

Featured Article

Overwhelming Force

Not all the dangers associated with your ambulance come in the form of crashes and abrupt starts, stops and swerves. Just getting your patient into your rig to be transported can pose physical risks, as countless providers with battered backs can attest. What veteran providers have long known was quantified in recent research by an Australian ergonomist specializing in emergency-services operational issues. His findings, while more indicative than determinative, lend some mathematical legitimacy to long-held concerns about ergonomic design, physical demands and injury risk.

Continuing Education

ECG Clues to Identify the Site of Occlusion in Acute Myocardial Ischemia/Infarction

This video presentation sponsored by Philips discusses the value of ST depression and ST elevation in helping to better localize the acutely ischemic/infracted region and predict the site of occlusion within the involved coronary artery. The overall goal is to recognize clues in the ECG that will shorten the interval from discovery to treatment and improve patient outcome. After viewing this video, take the CE test that accompanies this lesson at www.rapidce.com.

This CE activity is approved by EMS Magazine, an organization accredited by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS), for .5 CEUs.

Abdominal Trauma

Blunt and penetrating abdominal trauma are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States, particularly because it can be very difficult to recognize clear symptoms early. This article discusses the incidence and epidemiology of abdominal trauma, reviews abdominal anatomy, discusses the mechanisms of injury for abdominal trauma, explains an abdominal assessment as part of a trauma exam and discusses prehospital management.