Response to Boston Marathon Bombings Puts Spotlight on Hub EMS
Ed's Note: Boston EMS Associate Medical Director Ricky Kue will present "The Boston Marathon Bombings: Lessons Learned from the EMS Response" at the World Trauma Symposium, September 9 in Las Vegas, NV, co-located with EMS World Expo.
June 08--Cities around the world are reaching out to Boston's Emergency Medical Services crews, hoping to learn more about the department's heroic response to the Boston Marathon bombings.
"They're saying, 'Hey, can you come out and be on a panel? That way, people in the audience can ask as many questions as they want,' " Boston EMS chief James Hooley told the Herald about the flood of invitations from New Jersey, California and even -Munich, Germany.
Boston's quick-thinking EMTs and paramedics landed in the international spotlight after taking just 18 minutes to get all the injured people out of the blast zone after the twin bombs went off April 15 near the Copley Square finish line.
The super-fast response was especially astounding because no one knew if other bombs were set to blow.
"They took a calculated risk," a proud Hooley told the Herald. "They knew they had to get those -patients out of there."
Immediately after the blasts, marathon organizers in Pittsburgh and London called Hooley, looking for advice.
Then other big-city crews arrived.
"Right after the bombings, groups from the Los Angeles Fire Department and the New York fire and emergency management crews came to Boston. They all asked, 'How do you prepare for these large public events?' " Hooley said.
Three people died in the bombings, and more than 260 were injured. Area trauma surgeons have said Boston EMS' aggressive, coordinated response is the reason the casualty count wasn't higher.
Hooley said his crews' plan was simple: Tell people who could walk by themselves to get to the nearby medical tent on their own.
That way, Hooley added, crews were free to treat the most critically injured.
The people in that group were all color coded, with red designating the most seriously injured.
Meanwhile, at police headquarters, dispatchers kept tabs on available hospital beds, to spread the injured as equitably as possible.
Boston officials aren't sure which conferences -- if any -- they'll attend, but one thing is certain: City taxpayers won't be paying for the travel.
"All costs would have to be borne by the sponsor, and the city will not accept speaking fees, either," Hooley said.
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