Where is the Reeves?

What patient transport device would you use for the following situation? 22-year-old female c/o extreme pain to left shin, ankle, and foot following a fall. Pt is unable to bear weight on foot. Patient is located on a steep, wet, grassy hill, and is 200 feet from a concrete walkway. After reaching the walkway there is a large staircase down to the ground level. Stair chair is useless because of the lawn and the patients need to have their left leg extended. No other trauma is suspected.

In my opinion, this is a great time to deploy the Reeves. It works perfectly in this situation, allowing the EMT’s to safely transport the women off the grass and down the stairs safely and quickly. Now, I know that I have already lost you RI trained EMT’s who have no idea what I am talking about. I consider this to be a gross miscarriage of the EMT-B scope of practice. So, let this article serve as notice, to all of the uninitiated, of the great importance of the Reeves brand flexible stretcher.  It is so important to us New Jerseyans that it is a mandatory piece of equipment.

8:40-6.8 Patient transport devices

(a) Each BLS ambulance shall be equipped with:

…

2. A portable stretcher for the safe transport of stretcher-bound patients up and down flights of stairs. Reeves®-type stretchers are required on BLS ambulances utilized to provide emergency response;

It is basically a soft stretcher with embedded wooden slats for rigidity. It is used to move unconscious patients or otherwise supine patients who don’t require a board and collar. It works perfectly for patients who are supine and unconscious because it can be rolled up next to the patient, and then the patient can be rolled on top of the Reeves. Its 3 buckles are then secured. There is no imbalance or danger of tipping, such as seen when transporting patients on a board or scoop. The lift handles are above the patient’s center of mass instead of below it. It is also more comfortable for patients as they are in a rubberized cocoon instead of on a slab of plastic (see previous article on backboards).

The often-mocked “Cranston Device” is basically an old military style pole stretcher. I see it used all the time at RIH, especially with elderly patients. The Reeves is basically the modern and far more convenient version of a pole stretcher.

I think for around $350, a Reeves-type, stretcher would be perfect for Brown EMS. We are often called on to extract very drunk, sometimes unconscious, students from dorms. As it stands now, one of us lugs up the stair chair, and we play a balancing game of keeping the student in the chair as we slowly make our way down and out of the building. Instead we could use the Reeves. We place the patient in it…and off we go.