Florida Fire Medic Accused of Taking Amputated Leg

[EMS49393]

I don't know how they do field amputations in FL, but I know how they are done in MD. We call for a "go team." The go team travels via medevac to the scene, they set up the most aseptic field they can and do their thing. The patient and team get a flight to shock trauma center, and the limb is accounted for by a team member. I was involved in MD EMS for over 10 years. Called the go team one time in a million calls, they were turned around halfway to the scene. One of our super-dooper rescue gurus arrived on scene and figured out how to extricate the patient and save the leg. His day for hero.

In central Arkansas, there is no specific protocol on field amputations. At least, I have never seen one. Luckily, I'm smarter than the average possum here and I would impress upon the physician receiving my distress call that I needed a team similar to the "go team" to my scene, should all extrication attempts fail. When all else fails, I drop the ball in the hands of on-line medical control. I know my docs, they know me, and they know that when I say the feces has come in contact with the rotary oscillator, that the sh*t has truly hit the fan.

It's kind of like a surgical cric... I'm 99.999% sure I'll never do one, but it's nice to know how. I'm 99.999% sure I'll never need a go team, but it's nice to know it would be there.

I have a labrador retriever, and she loves to chase things. She is master of her domain, and she will sit on point and survey her land. She's killed a squirrel, or several. In spite of her love for rodent, I'm just not sure she'd be even remotely interested in a rotten limb from some poor guy that was probably pretty attached to it.

Those guys are just sick and demented, not matter what rational they present about the incident. The sad part is that the medic might lose her license, but no big deal, they'll just transfer them to some cushy firefighting job. Ben & Jerry's behind, here she comes.

[reaper]

Oh please let me show off a couple of our larger FDs!

Miami-Dade

http://www.miamidade.gov/mdfr/emergency_stations.asp

I bet the majority of the applicants already had their medic mill cert in hand.

Palm Beach County

Please check out the station/apparatus "showcase".

http://www.pbcfr.org/stations.asp?view=text

And then we have Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) which has created another breed of FR under the SO.

http://www.sheriff.org/about_bso/dfres/

Bigger is better?

Vent, Do you remember when it was Broward county EMS?

They had a good system then.

[VentMedic]

Vent, Do you remember when it was Broward county EMS?

They had a good system then.

Yes. The Collier consolidation mess is now being compared to that. Collier EMS was also a good EMS only system.

EMS49393,

The news articles said the foot was severed. Often an extremity may already be almost totally detached so there is no need for the saw but rather just a little skin to cut through. That is done occasionally to remove the patient safely and then the extremity. There is now a decent success rate for reattachment depending on damage and preservation of the body part.

Farmers and machinists may cut their own fingers or hand off prior to our arrival if they have a sharp object nearby. We will then take the patient to the hospital, leave a container to put the extremity in and the FFs can retrieve it after they dismantle the machinery. A LEO will then bring it to the hospital. Even if the patient is airlifted, there will still be enough time for LEOs to get the part to the hospital while the patient is being prepped. If it is a fairly long distance, the police will set up a relay team of intercepts through their dispatch to keep the body part moving quickly across county lines. It is rather impressive to track such coordinated efforts.

Okay, that what professional EMS/FD/PD systems do. I don't know what happened to the county in this article except they figured the patient wasn't going to use that foot again and the dogs could put it to a better use. Good idea but the wrong way of doing things. Always check with the patient to see if they are really finished using that extremity or have no other plans for it. :roll: Maybe I shouldn't say that. Someone might ask a patient if they are finished with their foot because they want to take a doggie bag home.