This Week in EMS: H1N1 Preparedness...Federal EMS Issues...Special Event EMS
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has advised emergency officials and community leaders to plan for high rates of absenteeism this fall in case staff become sick or need to care for sick children, the age group hardest...
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DHS Secretary Advises Flu Preparedness
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has advised emergency officials and community leaders to plan for high rates of absenteeism this fall in case staff become sick or need to care for sick children, the age group hardest hit by the H1N1 flu strain. "Do it now before we're in the midst of this," she said.
Florida EMS Medical Director Pulls Medics
Twenty-five North Naples firefighters are no longer allowed to work as paramedics because they haven't met training requirements set by Collier County Medical Director Dr. Bob Tober. North Naples Fire Chief Orly Stolts said the move puts good medics out of commission and endangers residents.
Military Rethinking Golden Hour
The U.S. military is rethinking its "golden hour" goal for critically injured troops, questioning whether it should spend a little longer evacuating patients to get them to a better hospital.
Connecticut Aims to Save Illegal EMS Subscription Service
For nearly five decades, residents in Pawcatuck paid a fee to have an ambulance service in neighboring Rhode Island respond to their calls. The ambulance service was provided through a subscription, but now the state of Connecticut has told them it's illegal. Now, Connecticut legislators plan to introduce a bill this fall that would allow the corps to once again offer the subscription.
Federal EMS Issues
The latest issue of EMS on the Hill, a quarterly newsletter that addresses EMS issues for U.S. Senators and Representatives, federal EMS agency heads, state EMS directors, EMS chiefs and department heads, features articles on pandemic flu preparedness, legislator ambulance ridealongs, surge capacity and rural EMS issues.
EMS Operations
Anywhere a large crowd congregates, the need for a well-prepared emergency medical team is present. To provide the best possible service to their communities, it is essential that EMS agencies covering concerts and other large gatherings take all the risk factors into consideration and make sure the proper equipment and resources are in place to address all potential scenarios.
Training & Resources
Real World Skills for Scene Safety: Part 4
The fifth of DT4EMS' six steps, basic ground defense (BGD) is used to give the provider a moment to protect him- or herself if knocked to the ground. BGD is used to keep an attacker at bay. It can be employed if the provider was kneeling and attacked by surprise by either the patient or a bystander.
August CE Article: Critical Decisions
As a responder, your actions within the first few moments of arriving on the scene of a motor vehicle crash are crucial to the success of managing the situation. Within these moments, you must size up the situation, mitigate as many hazards as possible, establish incident command, rapidly triage patients and ultimately assess, treat and extricate patients from the scene. This CE activity is approved for 1.5 CEUs by EMS Magazine, an organization accredited by CECBEMS.
This month, EMSResponder offered daily money management tips for handling both business and personal finances. Check out the archives and look for EMS educator top tips next month!
Featured Podcast:
Is the economy having an adverse affect on emergency medical service crews? Thom Dick, EMS Magazine columnist and quality care coordinator at Platte Valley Ambulance in Brighton, CO, talks about the challenges EMS crews are facing due to budget cutbacks as part of The Brian Lehrer Show's Uncommon Economic Indicators series.
