tskstorm

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/01/21/2010-01-21_emts_accused_of_ignoring_dying_pregnant_woman_eutisha_rennix_back_on_job_after_3.html

To the OP, This is part of your job, don't be bashful and don't be a child, just do your job and act professionally. For those that are uncomfortable removing the bra completely or in the situation where everyone is around and towels etc... are not at your disposal, you can always just lift the "under-wire" and place your leads. This however can leave you with more artifact then usual, but this is the exception on how to do a 12 lead not the rule. Appropriate placement requires bra removal or unfastening at minimum. As far as privacy I know every system is different, however 99.5% of the time, If doing a 12 lead, it is just my partner and I (Double medic trucks) present. FD is no where to be found, they may have responded and been first on scene but they are almost immediately released soon as the ALS or BLS show up. On occasion a BLS crew will be there also however we just ask them to step out, unless 1 is a female, and then we have the BLS female stay, and 1 Medic, this doesn't really improve the patients privacy but it does limit who is there, and helps against anything looking inappropriate. Once again, be professional and do your job, treat your patients the same no matter the sex, and when faced with these situations, remain professional and learn from senior EMTs/Medics.

Depends on the hospital around here, however most of the time, they will only remove a patent IV if you started B/l IV's ... because they need to draw blood and they prefer to start a new IV then use a butterfly ... I don't know why.

Thanks, for the patient I specifically mentioned to begin with an IV S/L was established.

I ordered mine .. Hopefully I wont be the only one walking around with one !!

ahahahaha thats great lol

Yea but if everyone was informed and there were no arguments, it wouldn't be any fun !!

Seems everyones confused ... oh well moving on.

They are no where close, but it has been brought up a few times. Further As per the protocol update I received today to go in effect by 4/1/2010 EMT-B's in NYC can ADMINISTER Epi-pen auto injectors for asthma and anaphylaxis on standing order. Previously for anaphylaxis it was a medical control option, and was not an option at all for asthma. My understanding is the asthma protocol has come from paramedics riding a BLS truck (means they can only function in as an EMT) calling Medical Control to ask for a discretionary order to use the on board epi-pen while awaiting medics for a tight asthmatic in severe respiratory compromise. The order was granted, with good out come.

Didn't it say he was stabbed in the neck/throat ... What would a vest have to do with this? Am I missing something?

There are more Medics pushing them to get it then Basics. It eases the load on the Medics, and on the 9-1-1 system. Easy to say everyone should become a Medic, but the city would be bankrupt ... city is already cutting EMS budget every year, imagine having to pay 3000 newly upgraded medics and still manage budget cuts!! They are required to accept them .. any dr's office, or clinic, or hospital etc...

This brochure is causing a huge push for our EMT's to be given Narcan to administer under the premise if a heroin junkie can be given an auto injector with narcan, why cant a trained medical professional do the same. Here in NYC EMT's are not responsible for any injections except auto injectors. So if they were given Narcan in auto injectors the training needed would be minimal, the other thing that has been mentioned is nasal atomizers, so the EMT's wont even have to deal with sharps, as EMT's don't regularly use any sharps. Brochure over all good idea. Can't hurt anyone ... People who are going to do these things will do them anyway.

I see you don't need to know how to type, or spell to become a Capt! Although the content of his post may be right that was some horrible formatting!

First, every job is a good learning experience, all depends on what you take from it. Secondly I feel I should clarify, I'm not talking about a fluid challenge that would significantly raise b/p, more like a 500cc/1L bag set to a little more than Kvo, a little less than wide open. Our transport time from scene to stroke center was less than 5 minutes, I would approximate, even wide open, in this time the patient would have received no more than 300cc's. It seems I'm trying to justify myself, guess that's because it doesn't make sense and I'm trying to make it make sense. Going to have to dig up more information on this.

Yesterday my partner and I had a patient, 90 year old female, found on the floor unresponsive by granddaughter. The granddaughter stated she stepped out to make something to eat, and when she got back her grandmother was no longer sitting but but was on the floor. We found patient on the floor awake, but disoriented, no motor weakness on left, but minor facial droop, slurring speech (as per grand daughter) and deviating tongue to the left, no arm drift. PMH High Chol, and 2 strokes granddaughter didn't know if there was a lasting defect. Meds: ASA and lipitor. V/s: B/p 130/90, 68 HR, 14 RR, pupils PERRLA CTC, pale, moist, warm, ECG NSR 12 lead I wish I had saved it to post however it was NSR no elevations depressions, only thing I had noticed was the QTC was 521. We treated with local stroke protocols, which is oxygen, Iv, notification and Diesel therapy (load and go.) During transport I looked at my partner, and said, want to give her some fluids as well? He asked a great question, why? My only answer was, I remember someone(I don't remember who) saying to do so, but the physiology behind it was a mystery, so we skipped the fluids. At the end of the night, My partner and I had just clocked out, and were throwing around a football in the snow, trying to burn off some energy, after a long night. One of the Dr's come's out of the hospital and joins our game, and proceeded to tell us the Stroke notification we brought in went right up to cat scan and they found only old damage, but after coming back down to the ER they found she was having a Non-STEMI MI ! They found an Elevated troponin level. Of Course this is not relevant to the main question, which is why or why would you not give IV Fluids to an acute stroke patient, and what the reason behind it is.

In NY no, in the FDNY, YES. My uniform requirement is navy blue and certification patch and hospital patch on outter-most garment. Of course we are contracted by FDNY and we are subject to some of their rules, about how we dress, it is rarely complied with and even more rare for it to be enforced. There are certain promotion happy supervisors at FDNY that will be petty to the extent to ask to see your socks to see if you're complying with the black sock requirement ... and their are other supervisors coming to calls out of uniform/untucked shirts, wearing "crocs" on their feet. I know Rock, and we were just talking about him and these boots. I hope for nothing but the best for him.

If you enter demographics or nothing at all, how do you bill, how do you do Qa/Qi, what about continuity of care? How does the hospital have a clue what you did ? This is a load of nonsense. I often arrive at the hospital with a blank ACR/PCR and simply remembering vitals and critical information to give in my report to the nurse/doc. and at the conclusion of my patient care then find a corner to write in, and write out an entire ACR/PCR with what information has been available to us. Even to the extent of getting demographics or billing information from the hospitals. Before I leave that hospital before I can take another assignment the ACR/PCR must be complete with a copy given to the hospital. Most Rn's after they become familiar with the individual completing the ACR will sign it unfilled out, and just require you to drop it off when done, but when going to a facility you don't frequent often, or meeting a new RN they will not even sign the receipt of patient/transfer of care until your PCR is complete. This goes for ALS and BLS, from the chronic ETOH frequent flier, to the traumatic arrest. As Richard stated we will have supervisors dispatched to our locations if we're taking too long but sometimes you are going into the hospital with nothing written in, and it takes time to get your information and organize it and properly document everything and their are other times where you are the 8th, 9th or 10th ambulance in line to be triaged. You can't expect to be triaged, in 10 minutes.

The average is 30 min for BLS, 45 min for ALS, But this does not include restocking, things that we do not carry extra of, narcotics etc... ALL PCR's done before leaving, before the RN signs her name. We can not be called for an assignment while at a hospital no matter how long we take, we can only be asked to hurry up.

What it seems to you. Doesn't seem that way to me. I see a distinct difference in never having seen a patient like this case, and callously stepping over someone in need. The latter is what people seem to think it is. I don't see them as the same. Errors were made. Patient should have been treated different, still doesn't mean there are no other perspectives. The race card will be played, not by me, but before this is all over.

Welcome! To add to a previous post, attempts at good grammar and punctuation are also appreciated.

I guess they should have assumed she had another kid ... I'm sure they were laughing to themselves as the walked out, "haha stupid kid has no mother now!" C'mon, I'm not defending their lackadaisical attitude, or their ignorance to their job. Let's keep somethings in perspective, try another view point ... Jack and Jill EMT on their break, "someones turning blue" states john q public "haha you're funny cool joke I can't do anything because I'm on break" says jack "I remember them saying they couldn't do anything because they were on their break," another worker said. "We started screaming and cursing at them." Quoted from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/emt_duo_on_break_let_preg_mom_die_mrj8Jv8kjmS0Z3FNO4DmiL#ixzz0apMia5R8 Oh people are cursing at us think Jack and Jill, Scene Safety let me leave and go get help as I call 9-1-1 Some how I don't think they were heartless enough to purposefully leave her their because she had a kid and was pregnant, and god only knows how long it will take until this is turned into a racial event.

I know a Few Medics who work as FF for FDNY and as Medics for Voluntary Hospitals, Must have just not registered, but yes Richard is 100% correct.

AussiePhil, they cant even get his name right! In the article its Wynn, on his shirt its LIN and the video also says LIN !

Well with all the bad publicity for the FDNY at least they also got recognized for something good.

Check it out .. Okay maybe this was a little different.