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.
Continue reading ‘Where is the Reeves?’
When I went through EMT – B training, the idea of using a tourniquet was frowned upon. In fact, the answer they usually gave was something along the lines of “only as a last resort to save someone’s life…and even then be careful.” We learned that using a tourniquet was a dangerous last-ditch procedure that often did more harm then good. It made sense to me at the time, “if an EMT cut off the blood supply to a limb, the limb would quickly die.” It would be a bad day if I killed a patient’s arm just because I didn’t give my pressure dressing another few minutes to form a clot.
What we didn’t know at the time was that the instructors didn’t have any hard evidence that tourniquets were bad; they were just repeating things that they had been told. More importantly, patients have died during those “few minutes” that EMT’s have waited for the dressings to clot.
Continue reading ‘The rise of the tourniquet, or… a lot of EMS is based on myth and assumption.’
Every year, on an unsuspecting day in August, a plague descends upon the shores of New Jersey. Those who speak of it in hushed tones refer to it as…. Beatstock. The music (mostly techno) is barely acceptable. The fans are beyond obnoxious. The feeling that the EMTs get from working this (very busy) concert is priceless not worth the money.
Beatstock is taking place tomorrow, August 15th, and despite my many valiant efforts, there is no way of getting out of it. So, in preparation for the big day, I thought I’d share some pictures (and related links) from Beatstock 2007:
Continue reading ‘Latest Dispatch: Beatstock part I’
These past few weeks have been excellent ones for New Jersey. Out of concern that people in the other 49 were running out of reasons to make fun of New Jersey, we went and got an astounding number of public officials arrested. It was a national news scandal, to be sure. The icing on the cake was the realization that the New Jersey Attorney General’s office is so corrupt that the FBI had to conduct the investigation instead. For those of you wondering, the answer is yes, political affairs in New Jersey are more of a Charlie Foxtrot than in Rhode Island. Astonishing, yet true. Continue reading ‘Scene Safety: the importance of police in EMS’
Beep beep beep. July has been a wonderful month in the Garden State. The sun has shone at last, and my bruises have finally healed. (See Rascal Flatts.) So I think now is as good a time as any to share stories of the wonderful drunks who visit the fine town of Holmdel to see concerts:
Continue reading ‘Garden State Concertgoers’
