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This Week in EMS: Doctor Gets Life in UK Bomb Plot
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A doctor with Britain's National Health Service was sentenced this week to at least 32 years in prison for his role in two botched terrorist attacks in London and Scotland in 2007. The doctor's involvement is especially shocking and disturbing to the rescue community because one of his failed blasts was reportedly intended for responding paramedics.
Read more in Doctor Gets Life in UK Bomb Plot.
A new study from the Mayo Clinic indicates that food allergies send 50,000 Americans to EDs annually, far more than previously estimated. Researchers also found that the incidence of anaphylaxis increased about 10 percent from 1990 to 2000, with the most common cause being food allergies.
More than 12 million Americans have food allergies, with children at the highest risk for anaphylaxis.
Read more about the study: Anaphylaxis Twice as Common as Previously Reported.
An Indiana school bus carrying 50-60 students collided with a car in icy conditions Wednesday and landed on its side in a farm field. The uninjured students helped their injured peers and evacuated the bus before rescuers arrived. Responders treated students for mostly minor injuries and rescued the bus driver, who was trapped inside.
For details visit Indiana Students Hurt in Bus Crash.
The Mahwah Ambulance Corps of New Jersey was among those around the nation engaged in holiday community activities this week when misfortune struck.
Responder Glenn Vitrone, 51, was traveling in a detail escorting a Santa when his ambulance was totaled in a head-on collision. Both drivers were flown from the scene. Their conditions were not reported.
Read more in N.J. Responder Injured in Crash During 'Santa Detail.'
Industry News:
DHS Announces $34 Million in FY 2009 Emergency Operations Center Grants
These grants are intended to improve state, local and tribal emergency management and preparedness capabilities by supporting flexible, sustainable, secure and interoperable Emergency Operations Centers. EOC applications must be submitted by Feb. 27, 2009. Click above for details.
Exclusive on EMSResponder.com:
Saving Our Own: A Different Kind of Christmas
"We've never had a year like this one, and that's a fact," writes EMS Magazine columnist Thom Dick. "Chances are, no matter where you're reading this, you know somebody who's lost their job, their home, their health insurance or worse yet, their sense of joy... It stands to reason, some of us are probably struggling just as desperately as the ones we serve."
Featured Column:
Steve Kavalin artfully weaves tragedy, suspense and humor as he recalls a horrible accident involving a bicyclist vs. garbage truck. After remaining haunted for 25 years by memories of the patient's brain matter smashed in the road, he examines why this image affects him so strongly.
"I have always considered the brain a sacred (holy) organ," he writes. "Where does the brain end and the mind begin? Is the mind the seat of the soul? These are my two big questions."
Featured Podcast:
"Probably the first, most important lesson I ever learned was that you can be nice and then rude, but you can't be rude and then nice," begins Bruce Nepon, acting chair of the Allied Health Dept. of Delaware Technical and Community College in Dover, Del.
The Open Airways series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com.
Featured Job:
EMS System Quality Manager - Wichita, Kansas
This is the largest EMS System in the State of Kansas with 800 providers, responding to approximately 50,000 calls a year.
Click above for details and visit www.EMSResponder.com/jobs for additional listings.
Sign up here to receive the new EMS Jobs e-newsletter.
Featured Forum Thread:
"I'm curious how many people who transport a drunk person ALS, and how many would transport them BLS," writes DrParasite. "My reason for asking is because I've seen paramedics release very drunk people to a BLS crew, and also have seen BLS crews unhappy that the ALS didn't treat the call as an overdose."
Click above to read the discussion, and browse other topics at www.emsresponder.com/forums.
Poll Question:
If asked for advice, would you encourage your children to follow you into EMS?
Click to participate, and view previous polls at www.EMSResponder.com/polls.
Reminders:
EMSResponder.com is now on Facebook
We invite you to stop by our new page, leave us a note, and sign up as a fan.
Free Posters
Two posters are available from EMSResponder.com for free and unlimited distribution. Click to open the PDFs for the E2B Challenge poster and the ICARE poster.
To learn more about these topics visit www.EMSResponder.com/e2b and Do You Care Enough to ICARE?
Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:
- As Costs Rise, More Patients Pass on Ambulance
- Man's Body Left in Towed Car After Ohio Wreck
- Detained California Stroke Victim Sues Paramedics, Police
- Patient Escapes Ohio Ambulance, Gets Struck by Car
- N.C. Officials Seek Remedy to Late Ambulance Problem
- On-Duty Ambulance Involved in Accident on Alabama 202
- Slain Student Called 911, But No One Came for 48 Minutes
About Heather Caspi, EMSResponder.com Editor-in-Chief
Heather Caspi has been a public safety journalist since 2000, beginning as a reporter for sister site Firehouse.com. She later became the assistant news editor for Firehouse.com and Officer.com, and led the launch of EMSResponder.com in 2005. She graduated from the University of Maryland with degrees in Journalism and English Language and Literature, and earned her EMT-B at Merritt College in Oakland, California. She can be reached at Heather.Caspi@cygnusb2b.com.
