Chief1C

Build one that does the same as the Lucas II, and costs about $200... not $16,000.00 or was it $19,000? I don't remember, I stopped listening to the guy when he said the price. In fact, I believe I said "HA" out loud. Mostly, the majority of EMS supplies have NEVER changed in 25 years. Yet every year, the price goes up. Even as simple as a 12pc bag of cravats. It's goddamn highway robbery.

I feel obligated to call the police, any time that traffic needs to be directed.

According to our PCR program, in 2012, the most common "dispatch complaint" is abdominal pain. With accompanied hypotension, the symptoms usually side with a bleed, an aneurysm, or cardiogenic shock in which the patient begins to have digestive upset.

Masses? Hurt worse pushing or releasing pressure? EKG normal? I know you say the history is clear, but meh, I've found that some folks don't get complete physicals to find out exactly what goes on with their body. Blood in anything recently? Eat anything hot, sharp, toxic? Puking? Color? Poo-ing? Color... Can you smell something like. I can't really describe it. But I can effectively diagnose upper GI bleeding; or heavy lower GI bleeding, by just walking in someones house.

Good thing you're not one now, I'm recovering from a trip to the bakery, per se. Is this your response as a former cop, or as an EMT? Don't care either way. I didn't give any opinion on the dog being shot. I'd love to pop off dogs that run and jump up on me. I hate that. Dogs in public should be leashed, so should some small children. I'd expect the same actions, first aid in nature from a lower-level EMS responder, as I would a law enforcement officer. A reasonable amount of professional care and ethical actions, hopefully with a little compassion, toward the person having the medical problem. It doesn't matter what caused it. Lets say you're dispatched for seizures. You are dispatched to Random Teenager A. Random Teenager B states RT A may or may not have taken an unknown type or quantity of a drug. You almost fall off your pedestal, but catch yourself on your soap box, and take the person.. But you don't do much, because it's just a seizure. What can you possibly do? Or, you could check the patient, and find the patient took a prescribed drug, used a treat a disorder which causes seizures, and being a normal Random Teenager was too embarrassed to tell RT B. Or maybe it was meth.. or speed, or E... or Weed. Smoke enough, that'll make your world go round, in the opposite direction. Or maybe it's a diabetic? I transport a diabetic all the fricken time, probably more than a dozen times a year. Seizures, profound symptoms, respiratory arrest, all common. Last year, used 14 BVM's on 16 transports. Not gonna call in time some day.. But I always at least take the time to make sure that during the insulin OD induced hypoglycemic seizure, and subsequent arrest of breathing... that I do what I can for the patient.

I was in a town in the state, in the coal belt, on the way back from an expo. We ventured off the normal beaten path for something to eat (and drink...ahem..) There was a freight train coming down the middle of town, right down the street.

We could prolly hit 85, going down hill, but I wouldn't wanna be on board.

We use a Powercall, has a unique sound at 200W, turns heads. It's annoying as hell, but its different.

Galls will rape your pocket. Chief Supply

Meter maids? Wow, I was almost ready to label you a misguided soul with potential, but now I'm thinking troll.

IMO, the closest unit should always be sent, no matter what invisible political boundary exists.

Call! Provided you can personally pay the full bill including base rate and loaded miles... If not, do what everyone else does and suck it up. B/c you know damn well that no insurance company, medicaid or medicare plan will pay up when they read a PCR for someone bit by a mosquito ten minutes ago.

I've personally never had a LEO assist on a scene, unless I went out of my way to ask them. I've been offered use of their kits, but we're talking severely outdated kits here. I mean, like something you'd pull off of eBay, 16 unit boxes that probably expired thirty years ago. Not kidding. Even the new cars have the same kits. I wanted to do a fundraiser to buy them all Law Enforcement "PFAK" pouches, just locally anway. I mean, they're screwed unless we're right around the corner. And when police are involved before we respond, they make us stage and won't give a location. With only one car on duty at night and weekends, for 450sq. miles, that's a long wait for back up. I've seen 60 law enforcement vehicles flood in for one push of an emergency button on a radio. But it took nearly a half hour for the first of the 60 to show up. I always offer them some stuff from the ambulance to keep just in case, but with only having ARC "Emergency Responder", once, with only a two hour refresher now and then along with CPR, few of them accept. And they don't even have CPR masks.

If you noticed, MSNBC was reporting for nearly two hours that his name was Neil Young. I don't get too into calling actors "famous", I consider a person famous if they made a cultural impact on more than one generation of Americans. That said, a lot of famous people have been passing away lately. Mr. Armstrong definetly made a cultural impact on the globe.

We don't allow etoh in the building, on the grounds or response with in 10hrs of when you stop drinking. The only beer we serve are the birch and root varieties, and people are pretty picky over which brands they drink I must say. I'm a PA Dutch guy myself... I guess I don't worry for everyone else, nor do I concern myself with their views. Therefore, I don't feel shamed, embarrassed, et al; for the fire service as a whole.

What with the war(s) and all, there has been a tremendous surge in "federal contractors". Some agencies specialize in these kits, some added tactical sections... and unlike regular EMS supplies, where as some are controlled. They'll sell these kits to anyone. I purchased some of the new combat dressings, like for abdominal wounds, stump dressings, etc; to keep in the ambulance and WEMT bag. Anyhoo, you can go right to websites like North American Rescue, Rescue Essentials, etc; and buy damn near anything you please from tactical medic kits to combat life saver bags, fully equipped. If you wanna pay an arm and a leg, that is.

I'm sure whatever god you're worshiping will understand if you don't take your boots off, to tend to someone who is having an emergency.

One of my vehicles is the same model... It can seat five. Where in the holy hell did they fit the other seven people?

*Remembers. Welcome Back.

Industrial EMS is nothing new, if you want a well preserved vintage ambulance, with low miles, it probably came from a plant somewhere. If your state has a program to license a vehicle as a quick response unit, or squad vehicle.. You could in theory use anything from a golf cart to a cushman. Then you just get them to have a medical director sign on for that unit and you're good to go. Otherwise, you're probably just limited to first aid.

If you can identify a patient to an area smaller than a state, then it can be construed as a HIPAA Violation. We get a lot of "pitty" posts on here, so I googled this, and your state. In fact the details in your first post do match an actual call. So it did happen. However.. You NEED to edit your second post. No, really.. That has to be cleaned up. Get that name, age, sex, etc., out of there. I'm not being critical, totally serious. I'm a leader and a line officer, if one of my people posted that, I'd remove them and send them to a counciling center.. and kick their butt for posting the patient info. You made it possible to positively identify a patient, that's a no no. One of the mods needs to, please, clean that post up, and the replies that quoted it. Learn from mistakes, we can probably fix this. Explain your views carefully.

As long as the bag is full, they're still getting the same amount. If they're sucking the bag flat, then you have to up the intervention, or coach them to slow their breathing. There are a wide range of masks, with different purposes and abilities. But in terms of a general Non-rebreather, the difference between adult and child, is simply the size. No mask is equal, some are really large in adult, some barely fit in adult size.. Some child sizes are like toddler size, some are larger. Now and then, a mask will fit perfectly. I tend to use more nasal cannula's than masks, these days. That's one of those "figure it out on your own" deals in EMS. Take your skills, and your education and use it to make the tools work.

I dunno if News Robot posted this or not.. http://statter911.com/2012/08/16/must-see-video-nypd-cop-shoots-dog-crowd-outraged-but-no-one-seems-to-care-about-the-man-having-a-seizure-in-the-street/ So this is probably a homeless man, has a pitbull. The man is having a seizure, and the dog is protecting him. Cops shoot the dog, and the crowd goes nuts. I watched the long version, in nine minutes of footage, not one single person comments about the condition of the seizure patient, and not one single person tries to help. Including the police. There's one for your duty to act. I know they get a certain degree of emergency first aid training in their academy. Pennsylvania, equally among all Law Enforcement, gets ARC Emergency Responder. Not shocked at all, just pathetic. Damn cop car drivers.

I've... knock on wood... never had a problem with bedbugs, at least not that I recall. Fleas, now they're a problem. The weather has them in the billions, and the dirty households in the area are infested. Ran a call, I felt something inside my pant leg, dozens of fleas. Got off the ambo, let the rest of the crew transport. I stripped totally naked in the station, showered with a garden hose mixing insect repellant with dish soap, and changed into a hospital gown. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Burned my clothes, have about three dozen bites. I put enough Iodine on myself that I could survive a nuclear attack. I'm getting the retroactive itchies, I think i feel something on me, but nothing is there. I have half my body covered in Calamine, and I'm loopy from all the benadryl that I *sprayed on me. Pretty sure the bottle says not to use a large amount for a reason.

I can get compensated for acting? Cool! I'm gonna hold my breath till I see a check. I wonder how long I'll have to hold my breat........... *thud*