Richard B the EMT

Studied it in the texts, and been in the field 38 years, and until this video was published here, never seen one! Guess some folks have all the luck.

I'll guess the double posting was an honest error, Jeff. "Equipment Fail", not your error My ex girlfriend, who is Deneh Navajo, might have something to comment on living on a "Rez", as she's also lived at numerous places around the US, Israel, and Italy before her one year on the Reservation. She's in Maine, now.

Seems you hit a motherlode. I had no previous idea that YouTube had a subsidiary called Medical Tube, via the YT site.

Newburgh? I have a few friends in Rescue there. Usually meet up with them at conventions and sales shows, know the faces, but am forgetful on the names.

I am hoping that we are talking about dispatch information, and not generalized area put downs. I have met a bunch of really nice people I'd be honored to have as friends who live in "bad' neighborhoods. I do state that it is racist that, due to one or two fools committing a crime, all living in a community are painted as also being evil folks.

How far "upstate", as where I live, if it isn't Nassau/Suffolk County, or New York City, it's upstate, even Yonkers. LOL Then, there's my friends in the Black River VFD and EMS. They claim to be so far upstate, if they sneeze, someone in Canada says "Bless You!"

I have sent to that supplied E-Mail address, the following, with my full name and address redacted here: Dear Councilman Stokes: I read, online at the EMT City.com web site, about your disagreement with the AMR Ambulance Service Providers in your area. In potentially violent situations, if I understand the gist of your statements, the crews should simply don "soft body armor", and respond in. As someone who has been working ambulances in the volunteer, proprietary, and municipal areas for 38 years, 25 years with the Fire Department of New York City Emergency Medical Service Command (recently retired), I find such attitude to truly be shocking. One of the first things taught to EMTs and Paramedics is what is called "Scene Safety". On arrival at a scene, the crews will do a quick "10 Second Scene Safety Survey", which includes looking for downed wires, obviously unstable things like trees and telephone poles overhanging car wrecks, flaming buildings, and people, other than Law Enforcement Officers or the Military, brandishing firearms or knives. Those in EMS are not usually trained in hand to hand combat by their employers, as is the case with the LEOs. Also, if needed, LEOs are carrying firearms of their own, to shoot back if necessary. EMS crews are trained in helping the sick and injured, not in causing some of the injuries they might treat. If an Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic gets hurt or killed at a violent scene, or on any assignment, they are not available to respond to help anyone else. In addition, a second crew will be needed to respond to the injured first crew, and a third to the original incident. While the second ambulance is leap-frogging over the area covered by the first crew, and the third over both the previous crews, who is going to cover the areas they left while helping at the first crew's scene? I admit that there are specialty trained "Tactical EMS" teams, who respond in to scenes with the SWAT or Hostage Negotiating Teams, or cross trained LEOs who serve in EMS capacity when in the special response. However, as with the US Military, most times, the "medic" is unarmed, and is protected by the armed LEOs (or the Army or Marine unit they are with). The Tactical EMS crews train regularly with the LEOs, which most "line unit" EMS crews do not do. Before you just tell an EMS crew to don the armor, I would suggest you ride a few tours in ambulances that cover areas in Jackson, or any large metropolitan area, known to be prone to violence on Saturday nights. I think that doing so might open your eyes. Respectfully, Richard B, New York State Emergency Medical Technician, FDNY EMS Command (Retired).

One of my former EMT associates was also a volunteer Fire Fighter, in the Oceanside (Nassau County, Long Island, NY) VFD. He told me of a mutual aid response he was on, going into Long Beach (Nassau County, Long Island, NY), over the Long Beach Bridge. Apparently, in addition to the siren, an apparatus to which he was assigned had an "8 Track" tape player, tied into the siren's amplifier, presumably so they could be in a parade without needing musicians. He said that on the way to this mutual aid call, they cranked up the 8 Track, with Flight of the Valkyries, as they were going over the bridge, even as they saw the flames lighting up the sky in the distance. Said it had a great effect on all the crews involved.

I thought one sleepz.

Ammonia inhalants were, when allowed in New York State, inch long by 1/4 inch wide glass tubes, in thick cotton coverings, containing a small amount of spirits of ammonia. When used, we would snap them (hence my previous mention of calling them "snappers"), breaking the glass (the reason for the thick cloth coverings), and wave them in close proximity to the patient's nose. Someone on this string mentioned seeing them actually inserted into the nostrils. When we were allowed them, this would have constituted malpractice. If someone had them so used on them, and they snorted in response, now you have an airway obstruction in the nasal cavities. I would not want to explain that one to an OLMC doctor, or the courts, later on. And, Timmy, while you may be late to this particular dance, at least you made it here.

Within every agency, there are usually some sub-specialty groups, claiming to be the most elite of the elite. They have braggarts, unfortunately, who can back it up to a degree most cannot challenge. I had mentioned Kevin Costner in "The Guardian". In a Navy oriented bar, his character bragged, in front of Navy personnel, that, even in weather where the Navy wouldn't respond, he, and his colleagues from the USCG, would. Were these "Coasties" meeting my definition here, that earned them your ire? Also, are you, or were you, one of these aforementioned Helo rescue personnel, but from a different service?

A long time ago, probably when the Keven Costner film, the Guardian, was in theaters, we had a discussion of what the person jumps out of a rescue helicopter to swim to a boat or boater in trouble was called. USCG and US Navy don't agree with each other as to what they are called, so I'd presume USAF personnel who do that have possibly another name. Where is Dusty when you need him for non-alphanumeric military service specialties identified? Then, it always seems the EMTs are never recognized. They either are "Paramedics", "Medics", "Doctors", or the dreaded "Ambulance Drivers", both to me directly, and via movies and TV. As for TV, lately, numerous dramatic, and even draumedy shows about the LEOs have them yelling for the "EMTs", when they get to hostages in time, or on rescuing one of their own from the bad guys.

That third picture was new for me.

What is frightening to me, is that the crash happened across the street from the Teaneck Police Department headquarters. My ex-fiancee is a volunteer in the hospital he, and the man he had saved, were taken to. My condolences to his family, the Teaneck PD, and the Teaneck FD and EMS, who probably interacted on numerous scenes with him.

In instances where the "alleged violator" simply messed up, without embarrassing the department or the union, most unions will stand with their guy. However, when doing so puts the department AND the union into a bad light, as in "actions bringing the reputation of the department (and the union) into disrepute," the unions, at least as I have witnessed, have stood back from the "alleged violator", to the point of sometimes pulling the union paid lawyers off the case. I also must state that what I just said is not the situation in each case.

With computer programs available to print up your own business cards, how many people are going to take you up on that dare?

Sounds good to me. Implied consent that the patient wants to go, and whatever else you do, the diesel bolus is always a good activity.

Dwayne, it sounds kind of like what I describe as "Static". While not meant in any way as a put down, even towards myself, it is the background of living. You get used to another individual, even one you love, much as you might get used to the physical pain of an arthritic knee, or the emotional pain of losing a parent, a relative, or even an elderly pet. While I am not a Joan Rivers fan, I agree with her assessment of looking at my hands, and seeing the hands of a parent. My father is gone over 2 decades, but I still see articles in the newspaper I want to show him.

Sounds like you caught on to the conditions in time. Unsolicited advice, seek individual counciling, and joint counciling, for the both of youze guyz.

I have an "open to all to whom it applies" type question: For those who use the arm/hand drop test, do you do it from no more than 6 inches above the face? I figure that it is too low a height to cause any damage, but I never recalled hearing of any specified height while in training.

As I commented earlier on, in this string, if the body is unconscious, it is that way for a reason, as a part of the self healing process. The fact that it took you 2 "snappers" to awaken you, and the crew didn't insist you go and be seen at an ER, personally, I find more than a bit disturbing. Something was happening to you, and they didn't really do anything to help you. Admittedly not knowing all the facts on this call where you were the patient, I think the crew might have just gotten lucky, and missed letting you die. "Duty to act" and all, and they really did not, but I wasn't on that call. Again, I don't have all the information about this particular call.

I don't believe there is anything about the non-medical stuff a patient might tell us as being covered by HIPAA, but I am still not telling anyone that a patient likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain...