Categories
Uncategorized

2018 Neal Award Finalist for EMS1 column

My EMS1 column has been named a finalist in the 2018 ABM Jesse H. Neal Awards, a b-to-b award program honoring editorial excellence. Three columns are featured in the ballot. What President Trump gets wrong about the opioid epidemic Don’t ask paramedics to decide if opioid overdose victims live or die It’s time to talk climate change […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS1 – Dallas Standoff – Gold Medal Norovirus – Opioid Epidemic Response Flounders

1. Dallas SWAT Steps Away from Killer for Hours (DallasNews.com) Powerful. How the Dallas SWAT team cornered and killed the July 7 police shooter Go inside with the Dallas SWAT team as they tracked, talked to and killed the man who had killed five police officers and injured nine others. Interviews with the SWAT officers […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Yes to Glucagon – POTUS says ‘paramedics’ in SOTU – Telemedicine in Jail

1. Glucagon, yes we can! (EMS1.com) Harvard researchers looked at some NEMSIS (ePCR data) and speculated EMTs can’t use glucagon – a medication to treat hypoglycemia. Many EMTs inside (and outside) the U.S. are authorized and trained to administer the ~$200 per dose medication, but treat low blood sugar with food, oral glucose, or prepare […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Heroin(e) Documentary – SHOT Show 2018 – Checking AVPU

1. West Va. Fire Chief featured in Oscar-nominated documentary (FireRescue1.com) Heroin(e), a Netflix documentary features three women as they fight the opioid epidemic in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader is on the front lines of the epidemic and thinks society as a whole needs to change their outlook on opioid addicts. “We […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Opioid Declaration Renewed – Pain Assessment

1. Opioid Public Health Emergency Declaration Renewed FierceHealthcare reports “The Trump administration has renewed the declaration that officially categorized the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency shortly before it was set to expire.” Since declaring the the public health emergency in October there has been little to no action from the Trump administration. “Although […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Safe Injection Sites – Who Owns Diversion Problem

1. Mass. considers monitored injection sites What if injecting heroin was in a controlled, monitored and clean environment? The state’s opioid battle has prompted some lawmakers to endorse the idea of “supervised injection sites” as another way to reduce overdose deaths. “The Massachusetts Medical Society and the Massachusetts Hospital Association back the idea. In a […]

Categories
EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Naloxone Administration – Hydrant Access

1. Layperson administration of naloxone increasing in New Hampshire In 2017 the volume of naloxone administered by EMS personnel decreased in Manchester, N.H. The amount administered by laypeople increased. “Number of overdose deaths in Manchester decreased by 27 percent in 2016, according to Chris Stawasz, regional director for AMR in Nashua. However, total overdoses, including […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Get Smart about Opioid Exposure Risks

A panel of law enforcement and EMS experts discussed the risks of opioid exposure to police, fire and EMS in a panel discussion at EMS World Expo. To learn from the panel you can read this article What EMS providers need to know to protect themselves from fentanyl exposure and take a course from the EMS1Academy, Free […]

Categories
News and Events

Opioid Crisis is a National Emergency

The President’s declaration of a National Public Health Emergency is a partial step towards addressing the opioid crisis. A National Emergency declaration is a better match for the scope of the problem and the daily death toll from opioid overdoses. More concerning to me, though based on his televised remarks, is what the President gets […]

Categories
Uncategorized

Google searches for opioids, narcotics and other drugs

Idea I had for an EMS1 article, well-executed by Alex Bryant, which posted on July 19. Which opioids are Americans Googling the most?  And a slightly different angle on Google searches related to drug withdrawal in the Washington Post. Analysis | What our Google searches reveal about the drug epidemic I can also share that […]