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News and Events

What’s the longest you have waited for an ambulance?

An Oklahoma City fire company transported an injured child in the fire engine after deciding they could no longer wait for an ambulance. Read the article, Is fire engine transport ever the best choice for an injured child?, on EMS1. When I was an EMT in far northern Wisconsin sometimes we waited 20 or 30 […]

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News and Events

The slow steady decline of ambulance to hospital transports is beginning

As we close in on 2020, it’s likely we are about to reach Peak EMS Transports, a term I am co-opting from Peak Oil, a phrase that has been used to describe the date in the future at which the extraction of oil will have reached maximum levels. After Peak EMS, there will be a […]

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News and Events

Ambulance Strike Team – Be at Your Best

Even though it’s snowing outside my window in Wisconsin there are still paramedics deployed as Ambulance Strike Teams in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael. And there are paramedics feeling the heat of not exercising appropriate professional behavior, especially between shifts. Read Hurricane deployment is not Beach Week for Ambulance Strike Teams on EMS1.com

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EMS Tips

EMS in the Warm Zone, Ambulance Collisions

EMS belongs in the warm zone Florida officials and anonymous first responders are disputing if paramedics were blocked from entering the Parkland high school scene, delayed from caring for victims or simply doing what they had been trained and ordered to do. “What’s going to come out is, in the communications on several circumstances, there […]

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EMS Tips

EMS Handwashing Policy – Updated

Wash your hands We really mean it, wash your hands Wash your hands more often than you are. Don’t know if you should wash your hands right now? That means you should stop what you are doing right now and wash your hands. Thanks. Keep reading Wash your hands after every patient contact, assessment or […]

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EMS Tips

EMS Tips – On Duty Carry – Motor Bike Ambulance – Airway Evangelism

1. Lawful on-duty firearm carry for W. Va. responders (EMS1.com) W. Va. HB 2916 would allow supervisors to give first responders permission to carry guns if they have successfully completed training and attend annual qualification classes. Fire Chief Dave Caudill said he fully supports the bill as it helps keep first responders safe. “On more than one […]

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EMS Tips

EMS Tips – FD Harassment – Learn Leadership – Emotional Support Animals

1. There was supposed to be change at Fairfax County Fire and Rescue  Investigations, reports and training programs were supposed to change and improve the culture at the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department after the suicide death of FF/Paramedic Nicole Mittendorff. Instead a Female battalion chief in charge of gender issues resigns in protest. Chief Kathleen Stanley was […]

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News and Events

EMS Tips – Drop the Puck – Moose Lake EMS

We’re in Moose Lake, Minn. for a youth hockey tournament. My son’s team, the Stevens Point Ice Hawks, is in the dark jerseys facing off against the Moose Lake Rebels. Between games I visited with a Mercy Hospital Ambulance EMT about the local EMS operation.

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EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Penetrating Trauma Transport by Police Car

1. Cops transporting shooting victim Lifesaving requires fast decisions and improvisation. Cops in Cleveland transported a shooting victim rather than wait for a delayed ambulance. “FOX8 reported that officers found the shooting victim on the front porch of a home after responding to reports of gunshots. Released body cam footage shows the officers treating the 19-year-old […]

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EMS Tips

EMS Tips – EMT LODD – Therapeutic Hypothermia Might Come Back

1. EMT Mousa Chaban, 32, died of injuries after ambulance collision (EMS1.com) “Chaban was partially ejected from the ambulance and died from his injuries.” The driver of the ambulance, Christine Wesner, failed to stop at a red light, and “allegedly fell asleep and crashed into another vehicle.” Resource: 5 evidence-based guidelines for fatigue management in EMS 2. […]