This Week in EMS: A Recap for April 5 - 11, 2008
Six people were injured early Monday when a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance transporting a critically ill patient collided head-on with another vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway.
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Six people were injured early Monday when a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance transporting a critically ill patient collided head-on with another vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway.
The patient in the ambulance, age 83, did not appear to suffer injuries in the accident, but the driver of the second vehicle, age 23, was extricated from the wreckage and airlifted in critical condition.
The four rescuers aboard the ambulance sustained significant but non-life threatening injury, the department reported.
For further details, news video and photos visit Six Hurt in Los Angeles Ambulance Crash.
Following last month's fatal ambulance crash in Charleston County, SC, local officials are reviewing their driving policy for emergency vehicles.
The March 25 crash occurred near the College of Charleston campus and killed a senior biology student from West Virginia, Emily J. Salisbury.
The county review is underway while investigators determine how fast the ambulance was traveling in an oncoming-traffic lane, and whether any criminal charges are warranted. Current local policy allows ambulances to exceed speed limits by no more than 10 mph and does permit driving against the flow of traffic.
For in in-depth look at local and national ambulance crash statistics, visit Fatal South Carolina Ambulance Crash Prompts Policy Review.
Another review was underway in Louisville, KY following the death of a critically ill infant who stopped breathing Saturday.
Firefighters who arrived on the scene first felt that the ambulance was taking too long, and rushed the child to the hospital in the back of a department vehicle. The child later died at the hospital.
EMS policy requires EMS to transport patients, so the city will review the response to this call as well as the related policy.
Read more at Louisville, KY Reviews EMS Procedures After Infant Death.
Industry News:
EMS Magazine Earns Coveted Neal Award from American Business Media
EMS Magazine, the No. 1 publication serving EMS providers, published a five-part series in 2007 entitled Coping With Violent People. Authors Thom Dick and Steve Rollert reviewed talk-down procedures used by EMS providers to de-escalate potentially violent situations, as well as solid restraint procedures that work on most patients. On March 14, EMS Magazine was honored for journalism excellence for this series by American Business Media at the 54th Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. To access the series online, visit www.EMSResponder.com/violentpeople.
Featured Pocast
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
In the story "Infant Arrest and CISD," paramedic Christine Clemens shares her experience during and following the death of a 4-month-old patient.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com.
EMS Magazine Online Exclusive:
EMS Recruitment Best Practices
"No one in EMS has time or resources to waste. So for something as labor-intensive as recruiting can be, you'll want to target your efforts toward audiences likely to be receptive to your efforts and that can give you the kind of workforce your organization needs," writes EMS Magazine Associate Editor John Erich. Read his online supplement to the March issue for tips on finding the right people.
Featured Column:
Longtime EMS book reviewer Norm Rooker reports on four items this month: the History Channel special entitled FRONTIER DOCTORS; a book by U.S. Army combat medics titled Not on My Watch, and two books about civilian EMS that he gives glowing reviews: Saving Troy and Rescuing Providence.
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