March 2005 EMS Wire Service

Defibrillator Pioneer Pantridge Dead at 88

James Francis “Frank” Pantridge, an Irish cardiologist called “the foreigner who had the greatest influence on the development of [EMS] in the United States,” died on the day after Christmas. He was 88.

Pantridge developed both the portable defibrillator and the mobile coronary care unit. When scientists realized in the early 1960s that effective treatment of ventricular fibrillation required a defibrillator, Pan-tridge was the first to propose performing the process when and where the fibrillation occurred. In 1965, he developed a portable defibrillator that weighed 150 lbs. and ran off two 12-volt car batteries, and installed it in an ambulance, creating the first MCCU. This was so successful over the next 15 months that the concept was brought to the U.S. by the late William J. Grace, MD.

Pantridge was among the first to posit that defibrillation could be done by anyone capable of performing CPR, and that defibrillators, with safeguards to prevent inappropriate shocks, should be widely available. By 1969, he had developed a defibrillator for NASA that weighed just six pounds.

He later chaired the Department of Cardiology at Royal Victoria Hospital and served as professor of cardiology at Queen’s University in Belfast until retiring in 1982. Dr. Pantridge was a member of EMS Magazine’s editorial advisory board from 1972–1995.

—National Center for Early Defibrillation

DHS Unveils National Response Plan

With the new year came the release of the Department of Homeland Security’s long-awaited National Response Plan (NRP).

The document “establishes a unified and standardized approach…for protecting citizens and managing homeland security incidents.” All federal departments and agencies will use it in their responses to major natural disasters and acts of terrorism.

The NRP uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to establish standardized training, organization and communications procedures for multijurisdictional responses, and spells out authority and leadership responsibilities. It also provides a framework for private and nonprofit institutions to plan and integrate their own preparedness and response activities.

The plan supersedes all previous re-sponse plans, including the Initial National Response Plan, the Federal Response Plan and the Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan.

The DHS is also offering an online course that introduces emergency management personnel to the NRP; see www.fema. gov/nims.

—Department of Homeland Security

College Offers EMT-B Training in Two Weeks

With two weeks of 12-hour days, Unitek College offers an EMT-Basic program that it says guarantees graduates will receive their National Registry certification.

Unitek, a private institution in Fremont, CA, that offers training in the health fields, created the course by condensing its six-week EMT program into a two-week “boot camp” that covers the same 166 hours of classroom and clinical time. Classes consist of lectures and labs, with eight hours each of hospital ED observation and ambulance ride-along time. The program has been approved by Alameda County EMS.

The fee for taking the NREMT’s EMT-B exam is included in the course costs, and Unitek guarantees a 100% pass rate for it. Students who cannot pass the exam within 14 days of finishing the course can attend a future course at no cost.

All classes are currently held in California. The cost, including the NREMT fee and meals, is $2,995. Scholarships are available, and Unitek pays round-trip airfare for out-of-state students.

—MERGINET.com

EMS, Fire “Heroes” Can Win Grand Cherokees

“Everyday heroes” recognized under a new program from Jeep could win new Grand Cherokees.

The brand’s Jeep Heroes Nomination Program is intended to reward EMS, fire, police and military personnel who “deliver exemplary, unique and heroic service to improve the quality of life” in communities across America.

Each month during the promotion, deserving nominees will be recognized on the Web and entered for a chance to win one of four new Grand Cherokees. A total of 12 honorees will be chosen, three from each category. One grand prize winner from each category will be selected on November 10, 2005. Winners will be chosen by an advisory committee that includes representatives from each service, public officials and other advocates.

Nominators will be asked to explain why, in 200 words or less, their nominee deserves to be honored. For more information or to nominate someone, go to www.jeep.com/nominate.

—Clear Blue Communications

USAR Teams Sent to Indonesia, Sri Lanka

USAR teams from Virginia and California traveled to Asia following the devastating December tsunamis that killed more than 150,000. At the behest of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, six-member delegations from Fairfax County, VA, and Los Angeles County, CA, were sent to assess the damage and determine how to help survivors. The L.A. providers went to Sri Lanka, while the Virginia personnel went to Indonesia. The California providers, according to the Los Angeles Times, worked to build an emergency operations center, setting up computers, fax machines and phone networks, and helping identify areas of need.

—IAFF, Los Angeles Times

New Leaders Named By National Organizations

A pair of national emergency response advocacy organizations named new leaders over the winter.

The National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) tabbed Lou Romig, MD, FAAEP, FACEP, as national medical director for its Pediatric Prehospital Care (PPC) program. Romig is a specialist in pediatric emergency medicine at Miami Children’s Hospital, an associate medical advisor with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and medical director for the South Florida Disaster Medical Assistance Team (FL-5 DMAT).

Meanwhile, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) elected Dewayne West, CEM, as its new president. West is emergency services director for Johnston County, NC. Marg Verbeek, CEM, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is the organization’s new president-elect.

—NAEMT, IAEM