This Week in EMS: H1N1 Report...D.C. EMS Director Resigns...Town Bars EMS Squad
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Learning from the H1N1 Outbreak
A new report outlines recommendations for dealing with the H1N1 pandemic and future national disease outbreaks.
Head of D.C. EMS to Resign at Year's End
James Augustine, who was brought in to rescue the District's beleaguered ambulance service, will resign at the end of the year, authorities announced Tuesday.
Probation for New Milford Ambulance Over 911 Mishap
The state Department of Public Health has placed New Milford Community Ambulance on 36 months of probation for a 2008 incident in which a woman waited more than an hour for an ambulance after suffering a stroke.
Pa. Town Bars EMS Squad from Emergencies
In a move to resolve a long-simmering feud between the township's rescue squad and its fire company, township committee members voted unanimously last week to make the fire company the sole provider of emergency services in this Hunterdon County municipality. The rescue squad--Quakertown Volunteer EMS--is no longer permitted to respond to 911 calls in the municipality.
Featured Article
Have you ever noticed how some caregivers have an almost magical ability to gain trust and establish a rapport with their patients and colleagues? What gives some EMTs that innate ability to calm tense situations and convince people to cooperate? The elements of influence are actually not mysterious or difficult to learn.
Point of View
Why Being Nice Is Part of Patient Care
"I've been in EMS for almost a decade and have seen all manner of cool toys, tricks, technology and tools to help providers give state-of-the-art safe and effective patient care; yet, in all that time, one simple and possibly the most important part of patient care seems to be overlooked: the patient," says author Patrick Pianezza, MHA, NREMT-P.
Training & Resources
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a lesser-known cause of sudden cardiac arrest that affects nearly 1 in 2,500 of the healthy population; however, it is not commonly taught in most EMS curricula and may be overlooked. An increasing number of sudden cardiac arrests with previously unknown etiology are being attributed to LQTS, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome
Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome is a potentially lethal abnormality within the heart's conduction system that affects about 0.2% of the general population. About 70% of those with WPW have no history of cardiac disease. WPW is more common in men, and is most often diagnosed in children and young adults after they present to the ED with an arrhythmic event.
EMS Field Instruction: Part 4--How to Get the Most Out of Your Training Program
Although your field instruction program is designed to train you, learning is, in large part, up to you. A desire to learn will be your best tool for absorbing all the information that will be presented to you.
Continuing Education
EMS Care of the Schizophrenic Patient
Schizophrenia is a common psychiatric condition encountered by EMS professionals that is characterized by disturbances in the patient's perceptions, thoughts, behaviors and affect that last for more than six months. Because schizophrenia is commonly mistaken for various other psychiatric conditions, it is important for EMS providers to know what it is and how to assess and manage patients who have or display signs and symptoms associated with this condition.
This CE activity is approved by EMS Magazine, an organization accredited by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS), for 1.5 CEUs.
Industry News
ZOLL Medical Receives 2009 Frost & Sullivan North American Healthcare Innovation Award
"ZOLL is driving innovation to accelerate a new level of care in the diagnosis, treatment and management of cardiac arrest, which results in better clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients," said Gary Burk, Frost & Sullivan analyst. "Being acutely aware of the critical care space and overall healthcare trends, ZOLL continuously delivers integrated solutions that encompass all facets of lifesaving resuscitation."
Featured Job
EMS Resource Educator, North Memorial Ambulance Service, MN
The Resource Educator is an education and training expert in activities designed to develop or maintain employee competence in assigned areas. Activities include orientation and ongoing staff development and organization/implementation of specialized training for ground and air critical care transports.
Click above for details and visit www.EMSResponder.com/jobs for additional listings.
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Featured Forum Thread
lifevsdeathuk says: NBC Nightly News profiled an EMS squad the other night.It was all volunteer, funded by donations and staffed by well trained EMTs. All of them were still in high school. Darien, Connecticut, was a unique showcase of EMS done well on national television.
Follow the link to read more, or browse other topics at www.emsresponder.com/forums.
Poll Question
This week we ask our readers: Is your EMS labor force organized?
Grant Information
Have you recently written a successful grant proposal? Then we would like to hear from you for an article we are preparing on grantwriting best practices. Please e-mail your experiences to Nancy Perry, Editorial Director.
Also, be sure to check out the latest resource from EMSResponder--our EMS Grants page--which offers a variety of resources for grant-writing and fundraising.
Noticeboard
The December issue of EMS Magazine is now online and features articles on communicating with patients, canine scene safety challenges, accident reconstruction, vehicle navigation, shift scheduling, improving SCA survival and EMS care of the schizophrenic patient.
Follow EMSResponder on Twitter
Stay in touch 24/7 with breaking news and industry developments by following EMSResponder.com on Twitter and get daily EMS news headlines delivered to your Twitter account.
Social Media Responder Contest Nomination Period Now Open
PIOSocialMediaTraining.com co-founders David Konig and Greg Friese have announced the first Social Media Responder of the Year contest. One of the missions at PIOSocialMediaTraining.com is to highlight emergency response agencies already effectively using social media to reach their goals and provide information for other agencies as to how they can to start using social media to connect with their communities. The contest nomination period starts on December 1 and continues until midnight on December 10, 2009.
Call for Nominations: Higgins & Langley Memorial Awards for Swiftwater Rescue
The Higgins & Langley Memorial and Education Fund, working in conjunction with the Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), is seeking nominations for the 2010 Higgins & Langley Memorial Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater Rescue. Nominations are due February 19, 2010.
Upcoming Events
Visit our Events Calendar to see what educational opportunities are in your area, plus post your own listings. Here are a selection of EMS upcoming training events:
- January 7-9: NAEMSP Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ
- February 28-March 4: Firehouse World/EMS Expo, San Diego, CA
- February 26-28: 17th Annual National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conference, Baltimore, MD
Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com
- Pickup and Ambulance Collide in Florida Killing Two Teens
- OSHA Document Addresses PPE for Emergency Medical Responders
- Delgado, La., Paramedic Students Train With Med Students
- After Falling Outside, Disabled Woman Waits Two Hours for Ambulance
- Fewer Than Expected Opt Out of Ambulance Service Fee
- Medic: Girl Had No Vital Signs After Smothering
- Impatient Patient Drives Ambulance Home
- Five Killed in Ambulance Crash in India
We Want to Hear From You
If you have a news lead or story idea you would like to submit to EMSResponder.com, please e-mail Nancy.Perry@cygnusb2b.com.
