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This Week in EMS: A Recap for October 20-26, 2007
At least 52 firefighters and about 30 other people have been injured during this week's intense southern California wildfires. In addition, at least three people have been killed by flames, while seven others died of causes related to the evacuations.
The three who were burned had all been urged to evacuate. An additional four burned bodies were discovered by Border Patrol agents, but it was not immediately clear whether those deaths were related to the wildfires.
Despite this news, matters appeared to be improving Thursday as calmer winds and cooler temperatures prevailed, and mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for most residential areas of San Diego. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said an evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium, which had housed as many as 10,000 people, would be closed at noon on Friday.
To read more visit the following articles:
"Advertising with the glib phrase 'Got Narcan? Need a refill?' plastered on the side of its needle exchange vans, the Boston Public Health Commission is stuffing the pockets of Hub junkies with the powerful prescription drug in hopes of countering heroin overdoses," reports the Boston Herald.
The Public Health Commission reports that since it began distributing Narcan a year ago, the drug has saved 50 addicts from overdoses, and keeps addicts returning to the city for services and counseling.
However, EMS union officials argue that giving addicts the overdose remedy is a "stupid'' practice that encourages uninhibited drug use, and that unsupervised usage could endanger lives.
For more on this debate read the full article, Boston EMTS: Overdose Rx a Stupid Fix.
It was reported late last week that three recruits of DC Fire and EMS are being treated for a possible staph outbreak. Department Medical Director Doctor Michael Williams says he has confirmed one case of staph and two likely cases, but he did not know whether this is MRSA, the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
After the first case was reported, the training academy was decontaminated, but after the additional reports the department was considering a second round of cleaning.
Although staph has only recently taken the national spotlight, this is not the first such incidence. Last year at the Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland, nine recruits and three instructors were infected, and the class was given a two week break before it was brought under control.
To read more on the latest staph news visit:
If a dirty bomb goes off in a major downtown area, it could take years to test the thousands of potential victims for radiation exposure, according to a congressional report released Thursday.
The nation would not be able to quickly conduct the necessary tests because we have few capable labs, and the available tests only address six of the 13 radiological isotopes that would likely be used in a dirty bomb, according to the report.
"We are likely headed for a radiological Katrina if terrorists do succeed in detonating a dirty bomb in an American city," said Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., chairman of the subcommittee holding a hearing on the issue.
To read more visit US Short on Labs for Radiation Testing.
EMSResponder.com Featured Column
"They say in most basic writing and English classes, never open a letter, essay or column with the words 'I'm sorry,'" writes author Norm Rooker. "However, apologies for the long delay between August's Book Corner Column and this one. I experienced a bit of a medical 'speed bump' in late August that put my writing, among other things, on the back burner.
After participating in a mountain rescue/carryout that was seven hours from start to finish I had a series of medical events that led to the discovery that I had bladder cancer. Successful and aggressive surgical and medical intervention have changed that and I am now cancer free, back up to speed and have regained strength and stamina.
It also gave me time to catch up on some of my reading and research as you will see in this and next months Book Corner columns."
Click on Norm's column to read this month's book reviews, and to link to his personal account of being blind sided by bladder cancer.
Industry News
Call for Nominations: International Awards Honoring Flood and Swiftwater Rescue
The Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the National Association for Search and Rescue is seeking nominations for the 2008 Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater Rescue.
The awards honor civilian rescuer Earl Higgins, who lost his life in February of 1980 while attempting to save a child being swept away in the flood-swollen Los Angeles River, and firefighter/paramedic Jeffrey Langley of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who lost his life in a helicopter accident in March of 1993.
The deadline for submissions is January 1, 2008.
EMSResponder.com Featured Job
EMS Administrator, Adair County Ambulance District, MO
The Adair County Ambulance District located in Kirksville, Missouri is actively seeking candidates for the District Administrator. Under general direction of the Board of Directors, this position exercises independent judgment and is responsible for directing work activities in all areas of emergency medical service delivery in Adair County.
The salary for this position is $ 50,000 - $65,000. Requirements include a minimum of five years experience as a paramedic, and an Associate's or Bachelor's degree is preferred in a related field plus five years experience in managing and directing an EMS organization.
To be considered for this position, submit a cover letter and resume via mail or email to:
Mr. Bill Crnic, Vice President
Board of Directors
Adair County Ambulance District
P.O. Box 189
Kirksville, MO 63501
crnicwr@aol.com
Visit www.EMSResponder.com/jobs and our linked partner sites for additional EMS and related job listings. Also, watch for our expanded employment center coming soon on EMSResponder.com.
To submit an EMS related job listing e-mail Heather.Caspi@cygnusb2b.com.
EMSResponder.com Hot Topics
Our EMS forum pages have been redesigned for your convenience! Check out the streamlined registration process, expanded discussion categories and improved appearance. Stop by and join your colleagues in the premier online EMS community!
Check it out, read our FAQ and register at www.emsresponder.com/forums.
This week's hot topic:
A forum member writes, "I'm a new EMT and I sometimes have trouble hearing the blood pressures in the ambulance and hospital, does anyone have good advice on taking them? "
Click to read the advice from other EMS personnel.
Find additional discussions or start your own in the EMS Responder.com Forums.
EMSResponder.com Poll
Is your EMS agency taking extra precautions against spreading staph infections?
Visit the poll on the lower right side of EMSResponder.com to participate. To see the results of previous polls visit www.EMSResponder.com/polls.
What questions do you have for your fellow EMS responders? To submit a poll idea e-mail Heather.Caspi@cygnusb2b.com.
Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:
- Ambulance with Stricken Chicago Runner Got Lost
- Pa. EMS Responder Dances While Driving on YouTube
- $175,000 Awarded to Family of Dropped Oklahoma Patient
- WV Paramedic Turns Himself In for Allowing Child to Drive
- 91-Year-Old Washington Woman Rescued from Decaying Bed
- San Francisco Considers Injection Room
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.
