This Week in EMS: A Recap for March 1 - 7, 2008

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This week's top EMS headlines focused on the murder of Palm Beach County, Florida Fire-Rescue Lt. Rafael Vazquez, a paramedic killed Monday when a gunman opened fire in a Wendy's restaurant.

Vazquez, 42, was just finishing a lunch break with his wife and son after attending a course called "Strategy and Tactics" on managing large-scale incidents much like this one. However, Vazquez didn't get to respond to this incident. The gunman shot him in the back while he was exchanging a toy for his son, and then wounded four other customers before committing suicide.

The scene was a difficult one for responders. Some of them knew Vazquez well, and as events unfolded, Vazquez's wife wept outside with their 4-year-old son. Michele Vazquez met her husband when the two were partners working for American Medical Response in the 1990s.

A memorial service was being held this Friday. For more information visit the following coverage:

• Wife of Slain Paramedic Shares Her Grief
• Colleagues, Wife Recall Slain Paramedic
• 911 Calls Reveal Chaos at Florida Shooting
• Colleagues Worked on Slain Fla. Paramedic
• Florida Paramedic Slain at Restaurant

Now for the third week in a row, a school bus full of children has overturned, resulting in a high profile emergency response.

This week's incident occurred Monday in Cherokee County, Ga. when a bus carrying 27 students overturned on its morning route. None of the students were thrown from the bus and none were in critical condition, officials said. However, 10 students were taken to hospitals for treatment of neck and back injuries, and one student was flown to Atlanta Medical Center by helicopter because the student had lost consciousness after the accident.

Cherokee County sheriff's Sgt. Jay Baker said a preliminary analysis indicated the driver overcorrected when the vehicle's right-side tires went off the pavement.

For further details visit Bus Overturns in Ga.; Kids Injured.

Industry News:

NHTSA Launches EMS.gov

The Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) at NHTSA has announced the launch of EMS.gov. The innovative Web site, developed to meet the varied needs of the EMS community, contains the latest news from OEMS and functions as a portal to other resources such as EMSResponder.com.

Click above for further details.

FEMA Requests Applicants for the National Advisory Council

The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is requesting individuals who are interested in serving on the National Advisory Council (NAC) to apply for appointment. The NAC assists FEMA in carrying out its missions by providing advice and recommendations in the development and revision of the national preparedness goal, the national preparedness system, the National Incident Management System, the National Response Framework, and other related plans and strategies.

Resumes must be received on or before 5:00 pm EST on Friday, March 14, 2008. Click above for details.

Featured Column:

Supporting Employees to Adopt Technology

"It must be remembered that not everyone in today's hi-tech world is tech-savvy," writes columnist Paul Murphy. "Employees who are great, if not stellar, healthcare providers, may experience challenges using technology. This is not unique to EMS - it applies to everyone from first responders to surgeons. Using technology successfully can take time and can be frustrating - for anyone. If an individual has not been exposed to the technology, having to learn while providing patient care can be a daunting experience."

Paul discusses reaching out to employees to promote "buy-in," reduce negativity and support employee success. Click above to read more.

Featured Job:

EMS Education Coordinator, Laurens County EMS (SC)