Keepin' it real on the road

Road Safety

We all think we practice it, we all think we are the best drivers in the world (at least those of us in EMS right?)

My company has just begun to install road safety devices similar to those in AMR ambulances. I guarantee, there are going to be a lot of high pitch tones for the first few months...the exciting thing is...we will be better drivers by the end of it (in and out of an ambulance).

How can one assess one's own driving safety? One needs to have an objective piece with proper parameters programmed into it to give an accurate account of good driving habits. Your partner in the seat next to you is not a good judge of driving. Individuals have different perspectives, but this black box by Zoll has one perspective that is repeated for every operator, creating a universal standard of driver safety.

While driving to a scene lights and sirens sounds, sometimes, like the best adrenaline rush you could have and gives you that feeling of being a superhero, just remember your state driving protocols and remember those who did not get so lucky.

"WRAL.com

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A paramedic was killed late Wednesday in an ambulance accident at Fort Bragg, authorities said Thursday.

The wreck occurred at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Plank and Turkey roads on post, said Tom McCollum, spokesman for Fort Bragg.

An ambulance from Womack Army Medical Center was responding to a mutual aid call from another military ambulance when the driver lost control and slammed into some nearby trees after overcorrecting, according to Emergency Chaplains, a group that ministers to first responders and emergency personnel."

By Craig Crosby
Portland Press Herald
Copyright 2007 Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

TURNER, Maine — Allan Parsons' last act was helping someone in need.

Parsons, 46, a paramedic from Wilton, was treating a patient in the back of a Med-Care ambulance early Thursday when the vehicle collided with a pickup truck on Route 4 in Turner, according to Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins.

Parsons was pronounced dead at the scene.

The unidentified patient was rushed to the hospital with two other people: Arlene Greenleaf, 68, of Bethel, who was driving the ambulance, and the driver of the pickup truck, Christopher Boutin, 29, of Turner.

The crash occurred at the intersection of Potato Road and Route 4 a little after 3 a.m., Desjardins said.

Greenleaf and Parsons, who were based in Mexico, were taking a patient from Rumford to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston when Boutin pulled his full-size Chevy pickup out in front of the ambulance, police say.

"A witness stated the ambulance's emergency lights were on and the pickup truck was crossing Route 4 from Potato Road to Lone Pine Road when the accident occurred," Desjardins said.

Greenleaf was removed from the ambulance with an extricating device. Boutin was ejected from the truck during the crash, Desjardins said.

Greenleaf was listed in fair condition at Central Maine Medical Center after undergoing surgery, Milligan said.

Officials at the hospital confirmed Thursday that Boutin was a patient there but declined to give his condition. Initial reports indicated he suffered multiple injuries, including head trauma, Desjardins said.

He had no information on the patient who was riding in the ambulance.

It was the kind of crash that could have claimed more lives, Desjardins said.

"It was a violent collision," he said.

(stories courtesy of ems1.com)

Cocoon

I have begun, recently, to practice a new technique with my stretcher at work. Keep in mind, this is just a small way of keeping me occupied when I am bored; however, the cocoon is a fantastic idea, especially in the winter or when dealing with an obese patient.


Here is how it works:

1) Take a sheet and tuck it in on the stretcher pad

2) Completely unfold a heavy blanket on the stretcher
3) Completely unfold another sheet on top of the heavy blanket

4) Grab both the blanket and sheet and fold a little on the top and bottom of the stretcher (this keeps the stretcher and sheets looking neat and fresh)
5) Take one side of the blanket (right or left) and fold to the other side of the stretcher, then fold back to the opposite edge of the stretcher. Finally, with the sheet/blanket looking like an S, take the end of the fold that is closest to the middle of the stretcher and fold it towards the same edge you just folded to prior to this move.

6) Repeat...

Magen David Adom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_zFPcMAaA&feature=related

אמת

As I pull into the base this morning, the sun is just beginning to shine it's first rays of light onto the earth, the still frigid air meets my nostrils, and a sigh reaches my throat. It is the start of my normal 10 hour shift of providing transport and emergency care to people all along the I-95 beltway and Metro-Boston. As I hop into the 55 this morning, the same musty, cleaning solution smell that exists in all of the ambulances thrusts itself at me. Soon, the engine is sputtering and roaring to life like a sleeping beast just rudely awakened.

Lights...check    Equipment...check  Computer...check

Sitting in the back of the ambulance, nothing jumps out at me anymore. I know where all of my equipment is, the quantity required by my check off sheet, and where to grab or discard extras. This is my office. Most people I know come to work, sit at a desk, have a desktop or laptop computer already prepared to be set up and ready for the day. Maybe they have stacks of paper, possibly reports they have to complete by the end of the day. A swivel chair, a desk, a calendar, maybe even a fun picture or post card dangles from a safety pin.

I look around my office. Tools crammed into every nook and cranny the truck has to offer. My desk is my lap. My desk lamp, the rear dome or Action Area light. My computer is a Tough Book. My reports come, sometimes, at a dizzying pace (I never know how many will be completed by the end of the day). My chair is a tech seat or bench seat. Diesel fume dust coats these seats and anything else it can cover in the back.

The radio crackles to life and then silences, another ambulance on its way for a transfer. My partner arrives and soon after, the phone rings. We have our first call of the day. The garage door opens with the crisp outside air rushing over me, the ambulance once again sputters and roars to life. The garage door closes and off we go.