Don1977

Actually not a bad idea....hmm, wonder if Pennsylvania will have Pre-Hospital DMD's....

Just curious. I know there are services - private companies that mainly do transfer services, but do take emergent calls as well. However, their ambulances are missing certain medications/equipment. This is for the BLS side. I've worked for a private company that lacks :

AED :shock: Kind of stupid if you ask me... An ambulance without an AED...

Albuterol

Activated Charcoal

ASA

Epi-pens

KEDS (They have shortboards)

These are seemingly not part of the part 800 as these vehicles pass DOT inspection. As if the BLS scope of practice isn't small enough to begin with...

Just to add... this company is huge.

We don't have AED's in our trucks, but I was told last week that by 1/1/11 we have to have them.

we dont have albuterol, epipens or ASA either, EMT's cant use them anyway in PA.......

Chicago city EMS is ran by the fire dept. Check with Illinois EMS system http://www.idph.state.il.us/ems/ they might be able to help.

Remember folks......Stupid people=job security.....

Don, I thought you knew that deliberately using the Q word like that never works?

True........haha

If they are a threat or combative then yes sedate them.

My company has the mental health contract for the county we are in, I transport psychiatric transfers and emergencies everyday I work, sometimes 2 to 4 a day, unfortunately, and In my 8 years at this company only about 20 have been sedated which is a very small number.

Depends on the patient, Ive learned that some hospitals blow it out of proportion, many many times they have said the patient is "combative, blah,blah,blah" and when I get them for transport there okay or "tolerable".

90% of them can walk and act better then most of us and just need "attention" and get 3 free days at a psych evaluation hospital/clinic and need no sedation at all, no reason for it.

It has been quiet around here............

Never knew there was one........

The company I worked for recently had the most AWESOME lifting system. 2 crew members and maybe a first responder. Isn't that the most awesome system?

For those who have the funding to provide the level of support and equipment that are in the two above posts, KUDOS to your forward thinking department. Our system provides workman's comp as a benefit to it's employees who might be injured on the job. That's a great thing.

Can you read my sarcasm towards the situation?

I hear that Ruff....lol....sometimes we dont have crews to assist us and have to John Wayne it, Ive done 450-500 lbs with me and my partner, I think it depends on the person if they can lift or not. Im good with heavy patients and the pts with 30 steps, try to avoid them, but you know how that goes.......

My company has 3 Bariatric stryker cots, we use at least 2 of them once a day between regular transports and emergencies. Our rule is 4 people for these patients that are 300lbs and above with a supervisor present, if they are 500 and up, we try to get an extra person, We have patients that was 1,000 lbs already and 7 of us to move. We don't have hover mats or anything fancy, just us. We do have slide boards but they can do more bad then good at times, depends on patient. Sadly, we do have crew members that can't lift worth a damn so we like to send the "lifting" EMT's and medics which is me most of the time when I'm working and not on a call. We use MOD ambulances and our Freightliner for these patients. Any other questions, just ask...

EMT's can hardly fart in BLS protocols. As I said finger stick we cant "legally" do, as well breathing treatments. Now in Illinois EMTs can, which is what hit jess with a brick wall when she 1st came to PA from there. Just last year EMT's in PA where allowed to use CPAP.

check out our BLS protocols

Depends on what is classified as "ALS" remember, each state is different....in PA its ALS to "prick a finger" for a blood glucose....

Don't waste your time looking in PA, we don't honor NREMT, but I know in Illinois its optional....

Sorry Richard......nevermind.....I have no idea what happened

sorry to hear about your loss........

Two quotes I will remember in life:

1 from my former fire chief: "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask"

the other we all heard "You learn new stuff everyday"

Very true Ruff and HERBIE

Be ready to be belittled and criticized for every tiny thing you may mention. The attitude here is "you are wrong, so we will trash you for it" no matter what. Ignore those people, some of us here are friendly and understand.

I don't know what site your on because it sure the heck isn't this one.....sounds like you have some personal issues with people....

I have to agree with Dwayne on this topic, two thumbs up Dwayne!

I had the privilege of meeting this extreme athlete tonight, as well as his wife, and what an amazing, inspiring experience...

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=85090489887&v=wall

In the Race Across America the riders ride approx 3200 miles on a bicycle and finish in anywhere from 6-12 days, with most that complete it finishing on or before the 10th day. It's a 24hr race, no mandatory rest or sleep breaks. All riders start on one end of the country and the first on to the other side of North America wins..It's friggin' insane!!

Ian is riding to raise money for MS research, which has afflicted his drop dead gorgeous wife.

Anyway, I won't soon forget our visit and thought some of you might be interested in his story, and the race, and might even donate a few bucks if you have them laying around.

Have a great day all!

Dwayne

Yes I have, it was mentioned in one of our local news websites....good for him!!!!

So was she being ventilated with room air...doesn't sound like it. If I ran out of oxygen, a good old fashion BVM will do the trick along with a D cylinder from your airway bag.

This sounds like someone being extremely casual about a vent patient being moved from a nursing home and not being attentive when they should have.

To "notice" a patient has died after you restart the system sounds way too hokey...

The truck I had this morning/last night has the electric oxygen switch, but as AK said, D cylinder would have done the trick. Obviously the medic wasn't paying attention or didn't care.

alot of people at this service don't drive JP.

The same at my service....

We had an EMT at my company that the made "mentor" he was telling the new hires that were new EMT's to "make up vitals" if your unsure or can't do them. This kid was drunk often and had many fights with is ex that got him arrested, but they liked him. meanwhile, I sat there and fought to be a mentor, but then realized is it worth it for 50 cents more an hour???

Thats alot of damn oil!

Misunderstanding Alert.

I didn't say what was wrong with the patient, b/c that wasn't the purpose of my quip. I don't post when I cut a trauma victims clothes off.. There was swelling, bilaterally, they were stretched so tight I just barely got the tip of the pen cap/pocket doo hickey under them. I cut them so as to restore color and use to the hands. I was just sharing my story of how I coined battle scared silly bandz. They're annoying. If the patient already had them on "tightly" b/c of arm size, consider what will happen if the extremities swell. Thanks for assuming I hate the patient b/c the patient wears black.

Thanks for making me feel bad, I should have said that I cut them off b/c it was medically necessary. But since it's a big fad now, I thought I'd share my first experience with silly bandz. They stretch, but not enough, dozens of tiny tourniquets.. I've been an EMT for eleven years, paid and volunteer. Never had one complaint from a patient. I have my own way to go about things, I'm big on the statement in our protocols that allow to form them for the best care of the patient. I like to be able to go home and ask myself if I did the right things, and I did that best I could. The same protocols, b/c they aren't shaped for rural EMS, ended my week badly. They didn't allow me to save my patient, b/c of a technicality.. I thought this was a funny story, not too often can you get a funny bit out of a horrible situation. They don't teach how you talk to someone who doesn't want to see tomorrow. Nowhere does it say that I didn't like the patient. The pt., lacked appreciation of life, per se. I tried to pull them off, got one of those cause bands off. But the others were screamin', said I'll buy ya new ones kid, but they're coming off. I do that sometimes, if someone says it's my only good pair or.. or my only good.. I feel guilty and offer, once I obliged. I got called stuff that would make a preacher faint. The pt. was pissed, but when I told the pt. what (the pt) could do with them now, well that was funny, and it opened a rapport, more info was spilled out, and that was that. But nobody wants to hear about that.

Don't explain to them! remember when you assume you make an A-S-S out of you and me.....

Gotta love armchair medics/EMT's, dont you 4c.....

Spoke to him a few times on here..........wow..

RIP buddy!

If the patient is that conversant, do they really need the IV, or are you putting it in for self serving 'because I could' reasons?

From my experience, with 1 noteable exception, i have never had a patient argue about cutting off clothing etc. I did, with the 1 noteable exception give him a choice, cut it off or use the External Jugular. He saw my way of thinking.

Knowing you it was a "she"..............was she hot?????