News

This Week in EMS: A Recap for April 5 - 11, 2008

HEATHER CASPI, Editor

04/10/2008

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Six people were injured early Monday when a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance transporting a critically ill patient collided head-on with another vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway.

The patient in the ambulance, age 83, did not appear to suffer injuries in the accident, but the driver of the second vehicle, age 23, was extricated from the wreckage and airlifted in critical condition.

The four rescuers aboard the ambulance sustained significant but non-life threatening injury, the department reported.

For further details, news video and photos visit Six Hurt in Los Angeles Ambulance Crash.

Following last month's fatal ambulance crash in Charleston County, SC, local officials are reviewing their driving policy for emergency vehicles.

The March 25 crash occurred near the College of Charleston campus and killed a senior biology student from West Virginia, Emily J. Salisbury.

The county review is underway while investigators determine how fast the ambulance was traveling in an oncoming-traffic lane, and whether any criminal charges are warranted. Current local policy allows ambulances to exceed speed limits by no more than 10 mph and does permit driving against the flow of traffic.

For in in-depth look at local and national ambulance crash statistics, visit Fatal South Carolina Ambulance Crash Prompts Policy Review.

Another review was underway in Louisville, KY following the death of a critically ill infant who stopped breathing Saturday.

Firefighters who arrived on the scene first felt that the ambulance was taking too long, and rushed the child to the hospital in the back of a department vehicle. The child later died at the hospital.

EMS policy requires EMS to transport patients, so the city will review the response to this call as well as the related policy.

Industry News:

EMS Magazine Earns Coveted Neal Award from American Business Media

EMS Magazine, the No. 1 publication serving EMS providers, published a five-part series in 2007 entitled Coping With Violent People. Authors Thom Dick and Steve Rollert reviewed talk-down procedures used by EMS providers to de-escalate potentially violent situations, as well as solid restraint procedures that work on most patients. On March 14, EMS Magazine was honored for journalism excellence for this series by American Business Media at the 54th Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards. To access the series online, visit www.EMSResponder.com/violentpeople.

Featured Pocast

Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance

In the story "Infant Arrest and CISD," paramedic Christine Clemens shares her experience during and following the death of a 4-month-old patient.

Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com.

EMS Magazine Online Exclusive:

EMS Recruitment Best Practices

"No one in EMS has time or resources to waste. So for something as labor-intensive as recruiting can be, you'll want to target your efforts toward audiences likely to be receptive to your efforts and that can give you the kind of workforce your organization needs," writes EMS Magazine Associate Editor John Erich. Read his online supplement to the March issue for tips on finding the right people.

Featured Column:

Book Corner: April 2008

Longtime EMS book reviewer Norm Rooker reports on four items this month: the History Channel special entitled FRONTIER DOCTORS; a book by U.S. Army combat medics titled Not on My Watch, and two books about civilian EMS that he gives glowing reviews: Saving Troy and Rescuing Providence.

About Rescuing Providence Norm writes, "This is one very well written look at the provision of EMS at the street level - sharp, gritty and realistic without being overly smug, smarmy or condescending. This is one medic's tale that is well worth tracking down for the read."

Featured Job:

Education Program Manager - Ada County, ID

The Education Program Manager is responsible for the development and provision of training exercises, skills labs, courses (including a Paramedic course) and seminars needed to support quality patient care and meet the continuing medical education requirements of Ada County Paramedics field personnel.

The application period ends this week so act fast if interested.

Visit www.EMSResponder.com/jobs for additional listings including:

Featured Forum Thread:

Look! A fight!

A forum member invites good-natured debate over some controversial views in the EMS industry, including the ideas that: the notion of a private ambulance service is inherently evil; that volunteers are not "the same" as professionals; that short paramedic programs are not "the same" as college-based programs; and that if you're very heavy or very small, you don't belong in the field.

Click above to jump in to this discussion, or browse the forums at www.emsresponder.com/forums.

Poll Question:

Should EMS agencies strive to equip all ambulances with GPS?

Visit the poll on the EMSResponder.com homepage to participate, and view previous polls at www.EMSResponder.com/polls.

Do you have a poll question to ask? Whether it's for research or fun, send your ideas to Heather.Caspi@cygnusb2b.com.

Reminders:

We need your help: Take the 2008 EMSResponder.com Reader Survey

EMSResponder.com strives to protect and serve the EMS Community through real-time information. We are very interested in hearing what information we present -- from articles and forums to podcasts, Web casts and videos -- is most helpful and what you want to see more of as we move forward.

Thank you again for your support and time. We truly value what you have to say.

Nominations are being accepted for EMS Magazine's 23rd Annual Braun Industries/Monster Medic EMT/Paramedic of the Year Award. Nominations must be received by July 7, 2008.

Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:

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.