This Week in EMS: A Recap for July 21 - 27, 2007

Three Ohio EMTs and two patients were killed last Friday night in one of the worst ground ambulance accidents in U.S. history.

EMSResponder.com's Susan Nicol Kyle reports that the crew from Antwerp EMS was transporting the two patients from a previous wreck when their ambulance collided with a commercial truck. Upon impact, the rig's fuel tank was ruptured and the emergency vehicle burst into flames. The ambulance is unrecognizable in an incident photo provided by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The EMTs killed were Sammy R. Smith, 64, Heidi McDougall, 31, and Kelly J. Rager, 25. The patients were Robert R. Wells, 64, and Armelda Wells, 60, of Hicksville.

Another EMT, Matt McDougall, 31, and the truck driver, Gerald D. Chapman Jr., 54, of Bryant, Ind., were injured and transported to the hospital. McDougall is also the chief of Antwerp EMS.

For Susan's original report visit Ohio Ambulance Crash Kills Three EMTs, Two Civilians.

For an update including memorial details and photos of the three rescuers, visit Memorial Service Set for Ohio EMS Crew. Click on each rescuer's name in the photo caption to read more about them and to leave condolences at the funeral home's website.

Look for more on this tragedy in the September issue of EMS Magazine.

In lighter news this week, the personnel at Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department Station 12 are starting to get a reputation as deer rescuers after saving two fawns in incidents just six weeks apart.

Most recently, they set a fawn's broken leg at the request of volunteer Kimberley Sisco of the local Wildlife Rescue League. The deer was scheduled for surgery in several days, but was unable to secure any emergency care until the rescue crew agreed to assist. The crew knew Sisco well because they had called on her during their first deer rescue, when they found a fawn during a training session on the Potomac River.

Additional fawn rescue photos and news video are available along with the full article by public safety reporter Dave Statter of WUSA9, Virginia Rescuers Set Fawn's Broken Leg.

If you've ever been on the verge of burnout you may take heart in a feature article this week about a top Philharmonic cellist who is giving up her high profile, six-figure gig to take on her real dream job -- paramedic. The changeover is reminiscent of a similar move by rocker David Lee Roth in 2004, although he later returned to celebrity status as a radio personality and performer.

In any case, it's a reminder that despite any issues that may make personnel feel undervalued in EMS, the job remains right up there, in the hearts and minds of many, as a top career aspiration.

Nancy Donaruma says her physical skill as a cellist - manual dexterity and quick, supple fingers - "is good for starting IVs and feeling pulses." She says other overlapping qualities are the ability "to be very focused and do something in an immediate fashion - and not to make any mistakes."

Read more about Nancy's transition in Philharmonic Cellist Answers Call as Paramedic.

In another animal article this week, it has been reported that a Providence, Rhode Island cat that lives in a nursing home is able to predict when patients are going to die, and curls up next to them during their final hours.

Oscar makes his own rounds like the doctors and nurses, sniffing and observing patients, but it is unclear how he chooses who to sit beside. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone because it usually means they have less than four hours to live.

Although this is not an emergency medical story, it seems fitting to share here because Oscar has much in common with EMS personnel in needing to come to terms with death on a regular basis, and to simply provide comfort for all those present.

To read more visit Rhode Island Hospice Cat Predicts Patients' Deaths.

Finally, in an EMS mistake reported this week, a Florida cardiac victim was denied access to an ER just 200 feet away because it is part of a VA hospital, and he was not a veteran.

EMS and hospital officials both say that the patient should have been taken there, but the policy was unclear to the paramedics and hospital staff involved in making the decision that day. Due to this lack of knowledge and miscommunication, the patient was transported to a different hospital, and he did not survive.

For more on this incident and the resulting investigation, visit Confusion Bars Florida Cardiac Victim from VA Hospital.

5th Annual EMS Systems Survey

EMS Magazine is proud to offer the 5th annual comprehensive survey of EMS systems in the United States. Make sure your agency is represented in this important resource. Survey results will be published in the December 2007 Gold Book/Buyer's Guide and are designed to provide an overview of the EMS industry as it exists today across the spectrum of EMS delivery systems. To learn more and respond, visit the 5th Annual EMS Systems Survey page on EMSResponder.com.

Scholarship Reminder

NAEMT Offers Scholarships to Members

The National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) is now offering a scholarship program to its active dues-paying members. Scholarships are available for the following categories:

• First Responders (to become EMT-Basic): Four scholarships each in the amount of $500
• EMT-Basic (to become EMT-Paramedic): Three scholarships each in the amount of $5,000
• Paramedics (to advance their education in the realm of EMS): Four scholarships each in the amount of $2,000

Applications are now being accepted for the Spring semester. Application deadline is October 1, 2007. Visit www.naemt.org/joinNAEMT/scholarshipinfo.htm for application information and more details.

EMSResponder.com Poll

The latest poll asks for your input on EMS personnel responding to animals.

Visit the poll on the lower right side of EMSResponder.com to participate.

Other top headlines this week on EMSResponder.com:

• Florida Dispatcher Faces Suspension Over Response
• 'Code Reds' Becoming More Common in Ontario City
• Chicago Trucker Trapped Under Rolled Over Rig
• New England AMR Employees Vote to Strike
• No Charges for Doctor in Katrina Case
• Alabama Department Pioneers Rescue Protocol

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.