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Essentials Critical Incident Stress Management is an important resource to know about and take advantage of. Learn what your organization can do to help!
Author: James Tucker, RN
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials The SOGs of a typical fire department usually state, somewhere, that a rest period during firefighting operations is required for safety. If this is the extent of your rehab program, you need to take another look at the whole concept. Are you doing enough to prevent serious trauma from overexertion or sudden death from heart attack or stroke?
Author: Philip L Hayes, EMT, EMS-I, FO
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Political Action News The U.S. House this week passed legislation championed by President Clinton requiring lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AED) in all Federal buildings in order to improve survival rates of people stricken with sudden cardiac arrests
Author:
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Political Action News A bill to provide grants for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in public schools.
Author:
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Grants & Fund Raising The Federal Aviation Administration’s search for a new regional aircraft crash/rescue training facility is over. San Bernadino County, California beat out competing grants proposals from Los Angeles and Ventura Counties for the new $5.6 million facility. Ninety percent of the funding will come from the FAA with a ten percent hard match raised by San Bernadino County.
Author: Rodney Slaughter
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Call / Incident Review The Scene: It is 4:32 on a Saturday afternoon. The weather is warm but usual for early September. You are dispatched to respond to the baseball field at the local high school for a “medical emergency.” The dispatcher has no further information because the call was received from a child.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Last month, we began this series with a look at the top five most commonly prescribed drugs: Premarin®, Synthroid®, Trimox®, hydrocodone with APAP, and Prozac®. If you missed that feature click here to read it. This month, we’ll cover the next five medications most commonly prescribed in the US — why they’re taken, and the implications for you and your patients during pre-hospital care.
Author: Patricia Carroll RN, CEN, MS
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Unintentional injury is the number one cause of death and disability for children age 14 and under. Each year over 6,000 children die and another 120,000 are permanently disabled. Every day, more than 39,000 children are injured serious enough to need medical attention. On a yearly basis this translates in to 213,000 hospitalizations, 7,900,000 emergency room visits and over 11,000,000 trips to the doctor! You've trained hard and you are prepared to deal with them, but, have you thought about how you can take an active role in helping to prevent them?
Author: Charles Conway, EMT-I, LPN
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials When your patient's chief complaint is abdominal pain the diagnosis could be one of several possibilities. Sometimes the diagnosis is easy, and sometimes it remains elusive. In fact, more than 40% of patients with abdominal pain never even discover their actual diagnosis! When the diagnosis is unknown it is termed "nonspecific abdominal pain." Another relevant fact is that 10-15% of abdominal pain complaints may not even originate from abdominal organs but from another area of the body such as the lungs or the heart. This is often due to referred pain patterns that occur from the vast network of nervous tissue.
Author: Colleen M Hayes, MBA, RN, EMT-P
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Infection Connection West Nile Encephalitis, or any of the mosquito-borne viral infections such as St. Louis Encephalitis can cause encephalitis, or an inflammation of the brain. West Nile Encephalitis made its debut in the summer of 1999 in the eastern U.S. By the end of the summer last year, New York City and its surrounding suburbs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut began active sampling for West Nile virus (i.e., surveillance) in mosquito and bird populations. When the first virus activity is detected in a community, prior to the occurrence of human disease, rapid mosquito control measures, such as targeted application of adulticides and larvacides, should be implemented.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Call / Incident Review The Scene: It's 10 AM on an unusually warm winter's day when the tones go off for a "Lift assist." It's not one of the usual lift assist patients --this address is new. There is no further information available from dispatch.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Perception is reality until changed. It’s true! How many times have you been on a call, walked up to your patient and, before even speaking to them, began making a judgement? And how often did those first impressions hold up?
Author: Matt Myers, EMT-P (EMS Education Manager MedicAler
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials To complete this investigation in the most expeditious manner, Medtronic Physio-Control assembled a team of engineers and experts to pursue several evaluation efforts simultaneously. Design and manufacturing engineers at Physio and its battery cell supplier were engaged in this effort. In addition, Physio retained an independent expert with more than 30 years experience in lithium battery technology to assist in the investigation and provide analysis of test and evaluation results. Engineers with direct experience in lithium battery technology and extensive laboratory facilities at Medtronic’s Promeon division also assisted in the investigation.
Author: Medtronic / Physio-Control
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials It is important for every prehospital care provider to have a basic understanding of the medications their patients take, how the drugs can affect patients who take too much or too little of the drug, and the effects they may have when a patient is acutely ill or injured. In this article, we’ll review the top five prescribed drugs in the United States for 1998 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), as reported by American Druggist and posted on the web site RxList [link http://www.rxlist.com/top200.htm] Each month, we will review five more drugs from the list, in order of the number of prescriptions written, starting with the most popular.
Author: Patricia Carroll RN, CEN, MS
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Once again I am writing to tell all of you how much we appreciate all of your support, and guidance. I will be leaving again on March 10th for Honduras. On this trip I will be staying as long as 6 months, or until all of our EMTs in Copan Ruinas have completed all of their training. For this trip I will be moving all of my computer gear to Honduras so that I can run all of our web based operations. Roz Morton, and the rest of the volunteers will be staying in Charlotte, NC to continue the fundraising side of the programs.
Author: Rodger Harrison
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials At Medtronic Physio-Control, we are proud that thousands of LIFEPAK 500 automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are in the field and ready to restore a normal heart rhythm to victims of heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest. The safety and well-being of our customers - and the people they treat with our AEDs - is always our highest priority. Fundamental to our commitment to you is full disclosure of factors that contribute to understanding, successful use and care of Medtronic Physio-Control equipment. Accordingly, we want to make you aware of our final report regarding the lithium batteries used to power LIFEPAK 500 units.
Author: Medtronic Physio-Control
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Stroke was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 1997 (1). During 1950-1996, age-standardized stroke death rates declined 70% for the entire U.S. population (2); however, the decline varied among racial/ethnic populations (1). The estimated number of stroke deaths by race/ethnicity and age illustrate the differences in stroke mortality that may be used to direct prevention efforts. This report presents an analysis of stroke mortality by age and racial/ethnic group; the findings indicate that for persons aged 35-64 years, excess stroke deaths and higher risk for stroke mortality occurred among members of U.S. racial/ethnic minority populations than among the non-Hispanic white population.
Author: CDC
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Paramedics For Children is scouring the country for surplus ambulances, and emergency medical equipment to take to Honduras. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina Paramedics For Children is an all volunteer organization dedicated to bringing aid to the children of third world countries. The next mission is set for March 10, 2000. They have the money to transport the ambulance, but have not found a suitable unit.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials John Becknell's latest EMS book, "The Communicating Manager," "nails the essence" of management-employee communication, says fire service icon Alan Brunacini, Fire Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department. "Every boss should read John Becknell's recently released communications book," Brunacini says. "This little book has a big message." Indeed, "The Communicating Manager: How To Talk So Medics Will Listen and Listen So Medics Will Talk" is not your usual dry, how-to book on management and communication.
Author: EMS Best Practices, Inc.
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials On Sept. 6, 1990, at 11:41 AM, the first Sedgwick County FD engine was dispatched to a brush fire. The Kansas winds were blowing at 17-34 MPH and temperature was in the mid-90s. It took nearly 3 hours and 18 Sedgwick County FD units before the rapidly spreading fire could be brought under control. When the fire was over, and cleanup operations were underway, the body of 25-year old Firefighter Todd Colton was discovered. The last units left the scene at 9:13 PM. According to the County Coroner, the primary cause of death was heat stroke.
Author: Philip L Hayes, EMT, EMS-I, FO
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Infection Connection Throughout history the world has suffered and benefitted from the tiny creatures we call microorganisms. What happens when these microbes gain the upper hand in the war between man and microbe? This article will define what Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is, what multidrug resistant bacteria are, who is at high risk, and how to prevent the transmission to other patients. The main multidrug resistant infections will also be discussed.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Call / Incident Review You are dispatched to a reported elderly male with difficulty breathing. Upon your arrival you find a 73 y.o. male found in his private home. The patient’s daughter called 911 and tells you that, “He suddenly complained that he couldn’t breathe.” The patient is A/O x2, but anxious and agitated. Your general impression is that the patient is in obvious respiratory distress as evidenced by significant accessory muscle use...
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Industry Issues The Florida Association of Professional EMTs and Paramedics (FAPEP) is a non-profit trade organization that was officially founded on April 3, 1992. It was created by eight Tallahassee paramedics who were motivated by their concern about the potential increase in EMT and paramedic recertification fees. The original goal of FAPEP was to make a difference in the EMS profession, from the EMT and paramedic level, as there existed no group to advocate for them. Through the hard work and dedication of the founding eight paramedics and the encouragement and membership of other Florida EMTs and paramedics, the organization has been successful in achieving its goal.
Author: Brittany Martinelli
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Redmond, Wash. — February 3, 2000 — Orange County (Fla.) Fire Rescue (OCFR) has launched an aggressive program to upgrade the level of emergency response provided to county residents and visitors. At the heart of the program are 75 LIFEPAK® 12 defibrillator/monitors, manufactured by Medtronic Physio-Control of Redmond, Wash.
Author: Physio Control
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials National EMS Memorial Service announces Third Annual National Moment of Silence Carlstadt, New Jersey - The National EMS Memorial Service today announced plans for the Third Annual National Moment of Silence, to be observed on Saturday, May 27, 2000, coinciding with the National EMS Memorial Service to be conducted in Roanoke, Virginia.
Author: Kevin M. Agard, Project Chair
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Matthew R. Bond, 28, died Friday evening in Hamot Medical Center, the first Erie-based trooper to die in the line of duty since 1956. He and fellow trooper William Stuckey pulled onto the berm to help a motorist whose car had slid into the median along Interstate 90 in Harborcreek Township. The state police cruiser was stopped along the southern berm when it was struck from behind by a tractor trailer driven by Albert E. Osement Jr. of Gaffney, S.C, state police said.
Author: By KEVIN FLOWERS and JIM MARTIN Staff writers
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Sources of Carbon Monoxide.
Author: Philip L Hayes, EMT, EMS-I, FO
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials
Author: Philip L Hayes, EMT, EMS-I, FO
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Infection Connection This article highlights of OSHA's Compliance Directive CPL 2-2.44D Enforcement Procedures for the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens. OSHA first published the bloodborne pathogens standard in 1991 because of a significant health risk associated with occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials that may contain bloodborne pathogens-- or microorganisms -- that cause bloodborne diseases. The compliance directive detailing enforcement procedures for the standard was published on March 6, 1992 (the effective date of the standard).
Author: Colleen M Hayes, MBA, RN, EMT-P
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Somers, CT: What seemed like a routine take-home of a bilateral amputee turned out to be a near-death experience for the patient a short time later when she was trapped by fire!
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials A person who leaves behind family and home at a moment’s notice to help a neighbor or other any person in need. This is the story of volunteer departments nationwide, many of which are expected to provide the same level of service as its big city counterparts, solely on income derived from weekly Bingo, the annual carnival and a few bake sales.”
Author: Lou Angeli, The Firefighters' Advocate
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials One person was killed and one injured when an ambulance and tractor truck collided about 8 a.m. Saturday on U.S. Highway 59 four miles east of Goliad.
Author: Victoria Advocate Staff Report (with permission)
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Grants & Fund Raising I was an avid comic book reader as a kid. Spider man, Batman, and Superman were all my heros. The classified advertisements in the back of each comic book held promise for me to acquire my own superhuman powers. One ad would transform me from a 90 pound weakling to a muscle man in six weeks. Another ad guaranteed that, with x-ray glasses, I could look through solid objects.
Author: Rodney Slaughter
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials With the millennium now here, the time has come for the true story to be revealed. The volunteer fire-rescue services have been dealt an unfair hand with which to play. It’s a game in which the stakes are extremely high - the wager, the lives of citizens and firefighters alike. With lack of support from local communities and inadequate government funding, the backbone of the American Emergency Services is deteriorating in some communities, and some believe that the volunteer system is spinning out of control. Could this be the final chapter in a story 350 years in the making?”
Author: Lou Angeli, The Firefighters' Advocate
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Paramedics For Children is scouring the country for surplus ambulances, and emergency medical equipment to take to Honduras. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina Paramedics For Children is an all volunteer organization dedicated to bringing aid to the children of third world countries.
Author: Roger Harrison
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials According to reports from the IAFF and Medtronic Physio-Control Corp. two firefighters in Florida suffered minor musculoskeletal injuries and respiratory irritation when a non-rechargeable lithium battery being used with the Medtronic Physio-Control Likepak 500 AED exploded.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials At last! Smaller than a dime and sticks to your watchband, keys, pager, or gameboy!
Author: PRNewswire
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials The Miami-Dade Police Department, a recognized leader for its innovative law enforcement programs, is now leading the way in the fight against one of the nation's leading killers, sudden cardiac arrest.
Author: Medtronic Physio-Control
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials The headlines report the grim news of yet another “fallen hero”. The death of an emergency response or public safety professional who has died “in the line of duty”.
Author: Peggy Rainone, EMT-B
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials (WORCESTER, MASS) -- Fire Rescue Teams remained silent and still as members of the Worcester Fire Department removed the remains of their fallen brother, 51 year old Firefighter Timothy P. Jackson, a 27 year veteran of Massachusetts' second largest fire-rescue agency. Jackson was found at 10:00am Sunday in the debris of the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building.
Author: Lou Angeli , Flirting With Disaster
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Top Stories Two fire fighters have been confirmed dead and four other missing fire fighters are presumed dead following a 5 alarm fire in Worcester, MA that started late Friday evening, Dec. 3, and burned long into Saturday. The fire fighters are Thomas E. Spencer, 42; Timothy P. Jackson, 51; James F. Lyons, 34; Joseph T. McGuirk, 38; Paul A. Brotherton, 41; and Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38.
Author: IAFC News Release
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials As crews painstakingly worked last night to recover the bodies of six firefighters who were killed in one of the city's worst fires, word of their identities spread through the community.
Those who died were Firefighter Paul A. Brotherton, 41, of Auburn; Firefighter Timothy P. Jackson, 51, of Hopedale; Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey, 38, of Leicester; Firefighter James F. Jay Lyons, 34, of Worcester; Firefighter Joseph T. McGuirk, 38, of Leicester; and Lt. Thomas E. Spencer, 42, of Worcester.
Author: Richard Nangle and John J. Monahan, Telegram &Gazette Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Infection Connection Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. While the symptoms of influenza are similar to the common cold, influenza infection often causes a more severe illness. Each year about 20,000 Americans die because of influenza or influenza related pneumonia. Over 90% of the deaths occur in persons aged 65 years and older. Pneumonia and influenza together are the 6th most common cause of death in the United States.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials Airbag deactivation times
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials It's 2:30 in the morning and you are called to a motor vehicle accident with injuries. Upon your arrival you find a car has hit a telephone pole after sliding off the road. The passenger side door has a one-foot indentation as the result of the accident. The driver side door is undamaged and your patient is conscious, alert and oriented sitting behind the steering wheel complaining of acute neck pain. The driver side airbag has not deployed. Do you know how to handle this situation?
Author: Philip L Hayes, EMT, EMS-I, FO
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials According to news stories written by The Philadelphia Daily News and MSNBC Philadelphia Station News 10, Philadelphia's Firefighters Union Local 22 claims there is an "epidemic" of Hepatitis C cases primarily among firefighters who worked in the years prior to standard use of protective equipment and universal precautions.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials According to news stories written by The Philadelphia Daily News and MSNBC Philadelphia Station News 10, Philadelphia's Firefighters Union Local 22 claims there is an "epidemic" of Hepatitis C cases primarily among firefighters who worked in the years prior to standard use of protective equipment and universal precautions.
Author: FRV Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials According to ACEP, many physicians have been in the situation in which they are treating an acutely ill or injured child with a significant past medical history but accurate and relevant information cannot be obtained from the accompanying parent or caregiver.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Essentials According to a StarNews.com report, written by Kevin O'Neal from the Indianapolis Star, a woman, whose mother contacted 911 because her daughter was mentally unstable, pulled a gun in emergency room and shot a Wishard Paramedic who just transported her to the ED for evaluation.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
Infection Connection If you are a first responder, EMT, Paramedic, firefighter or police officer - or anyone who works in the field setting responding to emergencies, you need to know the facts about each form of hepatitis and what you can do to protect yourself from this serious and life-threatening disease. EMS Village has put together a list of credible links with facts about Hepatitis C and the other forms of Hepatitis A, B, D, and E.
Author: EMS Village Staff
Submitted By: Philip Hayes (phayes)
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Wilford Hall will remain open and the hospital will continue to operate a fully-accredited emergency department. However, local emergency medical services 
The new vote averted the layoffs of 33 EMS workers, but the police department cuts remain uncertain. The plan will restore $4.6 million of the $6.7 million 
The new vote averted the layoffs of 33 EMS workers, but the police department cuts remain uncertain. The plan will restore $4.6 million of the $6.7 million 
10:45 am Update: Reader Max Vinograd took this picture at Medical Center Station Monday night around 6:30. He wrote us that the station was packed, 
Health officials said about 120 people were taken by ambulance from the event to emergency rooms. Several emergency physicians earlier this week called for 
Premier John Brumby has declared a $56-million package that includes 10 new mobile intensive care ambulance response units. 