ADVERTISEMENT
This Week in EMS: A Recap for May 3 - 9, 2008
Sign up here to receive the EMS Weekly Recap in your e-mail.
The catastrophic cyclone to hit Myanmar last Friday continued to hold the world's attention this week as the isolationist country refused most aid and the death toll was feared to reach 100,000.
Several U.N. aid flights were allowed to land late this week, but staff have not been allowed to distribute the aid. Relief supplies and personnel from around the world were on standby as negotiations continued.
To learn more visit Relief Efforts Hampered for Myanmar Cyclone Survivors .
We know that in a pandemic or major disaster there will not be enough medical personnel or supplies to treat all victims. However, until now the guidelines were fairly vague on how to make the god-like decisions of who to treat and who to let die.
This week an influential group of physicians released a grimly specific list of recommendations designed as a "blueprint" for medical personnel, so that resources will be used in a uniform, objective way. The list, however, is already stirring an ethical and legal controversy.
Read about the guidelines at Report Lists Who to Let Die in a Disaster .
New York City officials plan to dispatch the nation's first ambulance equipped to preserve dead bodies so that they can be used for organ donation if the family later consents. However, the fact that the preparation would be performed without permission has raised some concern.
The proposal for the Rapid Organ Recovery Ambulance followed complaints from families who were told their loved ones, who had wanted to donate, could not because they died outside a hospital. The program, which has federal funding, is set to launch within months if it goes through, and will be watched closely around the country.
Read more at New York City Ambulance to Prep Possible Organ Donors .
Industry News:
Honorees Announced for 2008 EMS Memorial Service
This year's service to honor EMS personnel killed in the line of duty will remember 73 heroes -- the largest ever. Services are set for 6 p.m. Saturday, May 24 at the First Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va.
"In addition to those who died in 2007, we are honoring people who died in incidents in previous years," said Kevin Dillard, president of the National EMS Memorial Service. NEMSMS previously waited for notifications of EMS line of duty deaths from the agencies of fallen responders. However, this year NEMSMS staff went back and researched these deaths to find those that were not reported.
EMS Magazine Online Exclusive
EMS Technology - On the Edge of Tomorrow
"With the certainty of gravity, the use of broadband wireless communication, high-speed data transmission and video imaging are currently available technologies that should be strongly considered by the Emergency Medical Service agencies of today for the applications of tomorrow," write Michael Smith & David Ridings.
Read the full article and find a package of related features including video, articles, a discussion and a poll.
New on EMSResponder.com
We need your input for this year's EMS Salary Survey. It's quick , so please stop by to respond, and look for the results in a forthcoming issue of EMS Magazine.
Course: Bariatric Lifting and Moving
This online course material is provided by Christopher B. Haber in conjunction with his April and May articles, "Bariatric Transport Challenges: Parts 1 and 2." The online materials include a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation and a handout packet, all available for use at your agency.
Featured Column:
Leadership & New Venture Success
If you're interested in launching new EMS programs, don't miss this column in which author Paul Murphy outlines the leadership traits that make a new venture successful.
When the right elements are present, Paul writes, "Creativity and success can flourish. When elements are stripped, the organization as a whole may suffer."
Featured Job:
Highway Safety Specialist -- NHTSA's Office of EMS
This position, located in Washington, DC will work primarily with the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services and the National EMS Advisory Council. The closing date is May 27th.
Click above for details and visit www.EMSResponder.com/jobs for additional listings including:
- Paramedics -- Johnson County, KS
- Chief of EMS -- 45th Parallel EMS, Northern NH and VT
- Paramedic Specialist Program Instructor - Mercy Medical Center, Des Moines, IA
- Paramedic - Okaloosa County, FL
- Paramedic - VCU Health Systems, VA
Featured Forum Thread:
In the ALS Treatment and Protocols forum, visitors discuss various protocols for administering Narcan, and debate whether many agencies are over or under-using it in the field.
"Basically, we over use it, and give too much when we do, and give it too fast, and don't do risk mitigation and good risk-benefit assessments before giving it," writes member croaker260. "...Definitely we need more training."
Click above to jump in to this discussion, or browse the forums at www.emsresponder.com/forums.
Poll Question:
Should EMS agencies reduce non-essential transports with Treat and Release programs?
Visit the poll on the EMSResponder.com homepage to participate, and view previous polls at www.EMSResponder.com/polls.
Reminders:
EMS Week 2008: Your Life is Our Mission
EMS Week 2008 is May 18-24. Click above for ideas, and please share your plans with ACEP and the EMS community. E-mail Heather Caspi at EMSResponder.com, and Lauren Simon at ACEP.
Your Agency Could Be the Winner of the 2008 EMS Magazine Gold Service Award!
Click above for details and to fill out the online nomination form. Nominations must be received by August 1, 2008.
Please answer a few brief questions. Results will appear in a forthcoming issue of EMS Magazine.
EMS Magazine's 23rd Annual Braun Industries/Monster Medic EMT/Paramedic of the Year Award
Nominate a colleague by July 7, 2008. It's easy! Click above for contest details.
Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:
- Nebraska Ambulance Rolls Over, Injures Paramedic
- FDNY Emergency Response Training Scrutinized
- Miami-Dade Units Retrofitted for Obese Patients
- Wisconsin Dispatcher Denies Mishandling Call
- Ohio Crew Saves Fellow Marathoner
- Colorado Responders Rescue Cat from Fire
- Inquiry: Hospitals Lack Capacity for Terrorist Attack
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.
