Ga-Lin

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Posts posted by Ga-Lin

  1. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    I just read an interesting article in Emergency Management magazine by Colin Wood regarding Colorado's STATE WIDE interoperability training program. Thought the community might be interested. Image, all emergency responders trained in radio operations the same way, using the same language & terminology, What a concept! You can hit the link or go to the emergencymgmt.com home page & read a digital version of the Nov./Dec. art. (It contains a few paragraphs of additional remarks. However the link contains more details about the program content itself.

    http://www.emergencymgmt.com/training/Unique-Radio-Standards-Training-Colorado.html

  4. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    I recently came across another "fine" video on another site of a training session gone bad (for lack of better terms I really want to use). Unfortunately it is of a department that is in the coverage area of this site.

    Just like the title says, what were you thinking?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

    As a certified instructor you all should be givin' a swift kick on the backside, this was not funny, this could have been even potentially worse outcome. And why even post it?????

    I don't care if I get reprimanded or suspended from the site for posting this. Everyone involved should be suspended by their officer / chief. Morons!!!!!

    Obviously no one believes in safety anymore.

    (Seth and mods, if you take this down, please me know by a PM. Thank you.)

    I think that's the problem....no one was thinking. Looks like something you would see on Jacka** the movie. This is also a good argument on Depts. having a policy preventing members posting or participating in anything showing or ID'ing the dept.(the name is on the vid) prior to approval.

    IzzyEng4 likes this

  5. Posted

    One reason I can think of for NOT wearing an illuminated vest; a felony traffic stop. If you have to approach a vehicle with your weapon drawn, at least one other officer doing the same, why "light" yourselves up for a potential perp; making yourself an easier target?

    Traffic accidents? Yeah, I'd wear one.

    I'm in total agreement with you as far as traffic stops but not being an LEO, could you explain what is a felony traffic stop? The reason I ask is living in Orange Cty, you could not image the drug busts NYSP make on both the Rt17 & Thruway corridor. Many result from "routine" stops for headlights, Registration etc. in addition to speeding. Most purps are either high, packing weapons or both. My friend told me that many Troopers want to be transfered to Troop F because of the high rate of BIG drug busts they get to make, & therefore it looks good for promotion.

  6. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    After speaking briefly with one of the moderators I have decided to go ahead and start this thread. This was a thought I have been contemplating for quite some time. I travel the TSP everyday to work and often ask myself as I pass a trooper on a traffic stop, "Why don't these guys wear the safety vests?"

    DOT requires that emergency personnel operating on roadways wear an ANSI approved traffic safety vest. My thought is, If we wear them with FD and EMS, than why dont LEO's wear them? I understand the tactical aspect of the job may be inhibited by the vest but as far as a traffic stop or detail, why not have it on?

    Thanks for the input folks and as always, Stay Safe out there!

    Two words: complacency & laziness. I'm not sure if laziness is the right word to use here, but I can't think of another one at the moment, nor do I intend any disrespect to our fellow emer responder LEO's. However, we all are guilty of these at one time or another. For years we've had vests in our ambulances right next to the flares, with a layer of dust on them from non-use. Never seen them used ( this was pre currently mandatory regs). This was not unusual at the time, so when we decided on new uniforms for everyone we incorparated reflective safety stripes into/onto the duty uniform. I suspect that vests are keep in the trunk of the cars which entails another step to perform prior to engaging in operations. As I've told my EMT students over the Yrs, if you think that you may need back-up or additional help upon arrivial, call for it prior to begining Pt. care because it requires alot of disipline to disengage from care to do it otherwise, same thing here. After begining operations at the scene almost no one is going to go back to put a vest on, unless a trip back to the car is needed for another reason, or if operations become extended & you think about it. As for "routine" traffic stops I understand the reason for not wearing a bright vest as you approach a car. I have seen them used for DWI, inspection & registration check points, but almost never at other emergency/accident scenes. Finally, the same also goes for most EMS responders that I see operating at accident scenes.

  7. Posted

    Easy there. I'm not defending that kind of delay. Far too often regular civilians and yes even the family that had to wait those extra 20 minutes are later praising all of the responders(volunteer ambulance included). You may very well be the only one laying blame on the system rather than making up excuses for the delay.

    Come on, you've got to kidding. You've got a captive audience, anyway what do you expect them to say? Many are probably afraid that the next time you wouldn't show up at all. And I do get tired trying to make excuses for a 20 or sometimes longer (if MA is used)response time. I also feel abused when disp to a minor BLS call simply "to stop the clock" & then, after arriving on the scene, asked over the radio (in front of the family, Pt., & loved ones) that the agency has a driver but no EMT & could I ride it in. Other then me looking bad, I'm going to have to wait even longer for that MA Amb. Sending a single medic flycar to a call like this is an abuse of the system by the agencies themselves, & maybe the reason other Municipalities don't want to contribute for a 4th or 5th unit.

  8. Posted

    It's not bad for Norwalk to get to Vista, as all they have to do is shoot up Route 123 to get into Vista. As long as a Vista ambulance has already rolled, the Vista ambulance can usually intercept with a Norwalk medic along route 123 in New Canaan. Now, if you're using Norwalk's medic as a transport unit, requiring them to actually get on scene, that may take a bit more time. However, Norwalk's response times are great and they tend to get into or near Vista within a few minutes. As for Wilton's medic, they wouldn't likely be called, as they have to cover Wilton, Weston, and parts of Georgetown and Redding. New Canaan's medic has been called before to respond into Vista, and Norwalk will then bring an ambulance to the New Canaan line or into New Canaan to backup their town. Wilton and Weston Medics are Norwalk Hospital Paramedics operating in town-owned flycars. At the end of the day, if Vista needs help and New Canaan and/or Norwalk are available, they are guaranteed to be merely minutes away. Norwalk has 24/7 ALS units and New Canaan has a 24/7 medic and at least one BLS ambulance (often more) fully staffed by volunteers in-house at all times.

    Is Norwalk even certified to operate in NYS?

  11. Posted

    As a former WEMS medic I remember times that I would be dispatched to calls in Vista and Pound rRdge and when I arrive at the seen they would of left the scene and forget to cancell the medic or it was a BLS call and they just wanted additional help or an evaluation. Good BLS is the first line. 3 medics is enough in the area

    3 medics might be good on paper except for other traffic on the road esp. during the morning & eve. commutes. And lets face it we all know that there are some really stupid people out there. The real issue is when one unit goes out. Then, you are really dividing the area into North & South. Thats a alot of area to cover effectively. I would think that Supervisors or transport units would not be put into the system until 2 or all of the regular units are engaged, which again,still, leaves a large area to cover. There will always be a time when exsisting schudled resources are not enough & are over extended, when it becomes an everyday occurance its time to reevaluate the system.

  12. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    As I understand it, the original proposal included 4 medic units. Mt. Pleasant pulled out & the remainding muncipalities did not want to pony-up for the lost $ opting instead for allowing a longer response time. What should be discussed is Ambu availability. Most of the time, mainly during the daytime Hrs., the medic units arrive well before any local resources & then must sometimes wait while a crew is found from somewhere. Usually this is not a problem for the "HOT" jobs like confirmed rollovers & severe trauma or cardiac arrests, but its incrediblly hard to get people to respond for the average "sick" call, or injury secondary to a fall. This is & will continue to be a universal problem in all communities that are served by volunteer agencies.(no I am not bashing the volunteers)

  13. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    I can finish a paper ACR/PCR in the time it takes to watch the video, and if I lose the paperwork or my pen, I'm only out 75 cents... I'm narrative heavy on all my documentation so all of those neat little features about assessment and treatment do nothing but waste time.

    Its the wave of the future, resistance is futile.

    Me to (narrative heavy) & having to type with just a couple of fingers tends to slow one down. Steve was wrong when he said the pen (styles) was dead & a useless way to input data. You're also right about the way of the future though, we're going to have to adapt & go along with whatever tech is thrown at us. Resistance is futile.
    comical115 likes this

  14. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    The vid (from a phone) is of a motorcycle race fatality. While being carried off the track was dropped by racing staff. If you look carefully (in full screen) you can see the Pt's. leg hanging off the scoop, its hard to tell if the fall was caused by a slip on the grass while running or tripping over the dangling leg.(also from a still that I saw it appears that the scoop might have split.) Only one of those caring the scoop is Amb crew, others are track officials. But the crew (rightfully so) gets the bad press. Motto: never rush & always use your own people (or other emergency responders) who will listen to directions. (There is alwasy someone with a camara phone) This did not occur in the good old U.S. of A.

    ny10570 and PEMO3 like this

  15. Posted

    I've been doing this for alot of yrs. & I gotta tell you that most call audits are a waste of time. We get very little out of it (except how to or how not to document). Most of the time the medic of the call is not there, the presenters, including the doc's are unprepared, that is to say they haven't seen the PCRs prior to walking in the room,(or have looked at them just prior to walking into the Rm)or they've done no follow-up on the call & unless the have first hand knowledge of the patient have nothing extra to contribute, except what they infer while trying to read off the PCR. They (the PCRs) are hard, if not impossible to read. On top of this they have always been hard to get, you see most of the Docs (if they're honest) don't like doing them either & some must be begged or blackmailed by their attending to give them. If I had my way I would: 1) cut the total # of Hrs in half. 2) Give them in one central place that could hold a fair # of people. 3) Have them presented by a select few which would include a medic level inst. &/or sr. field medic who is currently riding, & a select # of docs who could rotate the duty. 4) Increase the # of session hrs.(1 hr is a waste of the shift, & I wouldn't mind coming in for 3 hrs if I got something out of it.) 5) Repeat the same topic on different days and shifts (allowing you to attend only one.)so that people can get their Hrs in. 6) Have pre-registration (in defense of the Docs, they HATE coming in & finding no one or just one person there.) Finally, maybe even have the medic of the call present the topic. Certainly not all audits or presenters are a waste, unfortunatly the good ones are far to few. (No offense intended ;) )

  17. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    Hi all,

    I'm a new EMT-B and was wondering if anybody could recommend any pocket / field guide for BLS? I am looking for a way to do a quick refresh en route to a call, since I am still 'green' and don't have much EMS experience beyond my EMT cert course and a few months with my VAC (and calls on my shifts have been few and far between, so not seeing a lot of action). I don't want to have to review the entire course text if there's a good guide out there that I can carry with (I'm looking specifically for something that can help with e.g. what the SAMPLE question variations should be for various calls, and other info that normally can only be learned through time in-service). I've seen a couple of standard field guides but wondering if they are worth the $30 or so...

    Any / all thoughts (including whether this is a bad idea) are appreciated -

    Stay safe

    -willdog

    Chris???,

    Glad to hear you finally got in & started at PVAC. As others have already posted, what you're feeling is nothing new, time & experience will solve it. I'm not a big fan of "cramming" for the "big exam" enroute to the call but reviewing, practicing with your peers at base or at home prior is a better way to go. Believe it or not, riding the "second seat" beside the driver is enough work, working radios, looking at maps & helping look out for hazards along the way. You won't have time nor will you remember much.

    There is no substitute for a concise & consistent plan for gathering info. Rule #1 You control the interview don't let yourself get sidetracked with info before Y0U are ready for it. Most new providers ( both basic & advanced) have difficulty remembering all of the info gathered (time & experience also helps with this). In the meantime I frequently suggest to people (and organizations) to make up a pt. assessment clipboard. Go to Staples, purchase a see thru clipboard. With a permanent marker list your OPQRST & SAMPLE down one edge. Along the top list Time/ P/R /BP /spo2 /Temp& block out 3-4 lines below each to record. Cover entire board with a sheet of clear acetate that can be flipped up when you need to record something, which you will do with an erasable marker or grease pen. This will help you to stay on track & will help when you need to complete your PCR after the call. On the backside you can make-up 3x5 index cards with other symptom specific questions such as

    ABD Pain

    Nausea /vomiting-------Yes---No

    color/consistantcy

    Black--Red--Green--Yellow/Thin--Clumpy

    Last Bowel Movement

    color/consistantcy

    You get the idea

    Laminate each card to protect & somewhat preserve it. Review & update as needed (as you experience & learn more)

    You can then attach a flip type chart of your cards on the back for quick & easy reference. Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me or give me a call & we can talk more. Good Luck! PS I'm still looking for that movie. That new one that just came out looks just as scary "Contagion" I need to see it although the cause is different some things, like the breakdown of society is similar.

    One last suggestion. Find a mentor. Another EMT who is knowledgeable & caring &whom you respect. Unfortunately suchpeople (who are both capable & willing) arehard to come by. See you around.

  20. Posted · Edited by Ga-Lin

    What is everyones feelings on "full PPE".

    I have always followed, if the equipment has been designed and issued, its more than likely made to protect you.

    We have a guy at our house who changes like the weather. He is like a real A$$ when it comes to telling him "your doing it wrong";

    i.e., no nomex hood when in a taxpayer live burn, or no nomex during car fires, not clasping helmet (and losing it coming down a ladder.

    And yet he is the first one to fight with everyone, if someone besides him does it.

    We use differant tools for differant jobs, firefighting, EMS, HAZMAT, CS, etc.

    But when it comesto PPE it can be life or death.

    Thank you and be safe.

    http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/firefighter-unfazed-by-explosion/20tvn0sc?q=firefighter&rel=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=msnrll&gt1=42010%20rel=nofollow

    Chief, the original video on u-tube (no longer available) showed the firefighter who would handle the hose donning his hood & helmet, as is the firefighter to his right & slightly below him in the video. This video reminded me of another incident that I attended. It was a hot Aug. day, a "minor" brush fire, the individual (their chief or asst chief) was walking around in his boots wearing shorts & a t-shirt, I guess he thought he was endowded with powers far above the ordinary mortal firefighter. An aerosol can exploded at his feet. Singed him pretty good,(actually blew his shorts off) and scared the hell out of him. I've seen o2 bottles thrown away in dumpsters by (probably) relatives of deceased family members who (hopefully) didn't know any better. Years ago a number of ff's were killed while approching an unmarked van fire when the large (5ft) tanks of compressed gas it was illegally caring blew through the rear doors. I'm sure we've all seen similar events. Years ago (during the Nam era) a buddy told me that when you're in country you're in indian territory & that no one is your friend, except the guy next to you in the same uniform, no one, no matter how friendly, harmless looking, young or innocent looking, & that you will not be truely safe until you're out of the country & back in the states. I think fire is alot like that, always unforgiving, treacherous & unpredictable. While I'm not a FF myself, the one thing I've learned over my many years of service is that there is no such thing as a "routine" call. Please make my job easier, wear your PPE & stay safe.

  21. Posted

    The above is true. However, if you are enrolled in, and taking a refresher/challenge course, and during that time your EMT-B lapses, NYS DoH will still recognize your EMT-B as valid, as you have made a "timely application for re-certification":

    http://www.health.ny.gov/nysdoh/ems/certification/certification.htm

    http://www.health.ny.gov/nysdoh/ems/emtbr.htm

    http://www.health.ny.gov/nysdoh/ems/pdf/refmod1.pdf

    This is only true if you have taken your State exam & you expire before getting the results. your cert remains valid until the results come in. Just being in a course doesn't do this. If you expire while in a course you may not function as an EMT & will not be able to until you pass your State exam.

  23. Posted

    sorry if this is a repeat

    what states can NY emt cert be transfered to, i know CT u can get a cert from them for free with not classes

    thank you

    I'm not sure but, if you're thinking of moving, you can increase your chances if you are a NREMT which entails passing a written & practical exam.