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This Week in EMS: A Recap for November 20 - 26, 2010
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Florida City Could Save Millions by Pulling Out of Countywide EMS System
St. Petersburg, FL, could bring in millions of extra dollars if it pulled out of the countywide emergency services system and let firefighters take patients to the hospital, concludes a city-sponsored study.
Calif. EMT Probed for Allegedly Releasing Patient Info.
The leaders of the city's police and firefighter unions, both involved in labor disputes with the city, are under investigation by their respective departments for alleged misconduct.
Ambulance Flips, Traps Crew in Pa.
Icy roads caused an ambulance to overturn and trap two crew members inside in Fayette County on Saturday morning, emergency responders said.
EMS Training Center
Therapeutic Hypothermia: A New Potential for Post-Cardiac Arrest Care
Annually, around 300,000 adults in the United States experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. These patients have a variety of treatment regimens available. However, according to the University of Pennsylvania's Raina M. Merchant, MD, "Therapeutic hypothermia is the only post-resuscitation therapy shown to improve both survival and reduce disability after cardiac arrest."
The Corner Office
Healthcare Law Updates for EMS Managers
The ruling is in: CMS will begin to pay ambulance claims based on fractional mileage. This rule was supposed to go into effect January 1, 2010, however, due to numerous comments on the burden of this requirement on ambulance suppliers, CMS postponed the effective date. Now CMS has published its response to those comments and stated that the burden is not significant in the face of the $45 million CMS believes this change will save Medicare.
EMS Revisited
Paradise City EMS: Looking for Life Among the Ruins
"Green-clad medics are set to charge forth and rove, looking for God only knows what. But, green is good; it's better to look like a garbage man than a cop," wrote Carl Post in an essay about EMS life in New York that was published in the September 1989 issue of EMS Magazine. "People don't usually shoot the sanitation workers; they don't usually off the medics. Some wear Teflon body armor, but the bosses aren't into it. The older folks figure that wearing protection leads to the need to have it."
Featured EMS World Magazine Article: November 2010
If you are looking for a unique holiday gift for that special person in your life who just can't get enough EMS, then check out these entertaining tomes not yet available at a bookstore near you.
Podcasts
Open Airways: Spiromightajesus
"Our patients are not familiar with our medical terms. And so when we talk to them it's important for us to use language that they can understand." In this podcast, EMS director Ginny O'Brien explains the important distinctions between the type of language you may use with your patients in the field, and the type of language that is appropriate to use with the doctors and nurses at the hospital.
Continuing Education
Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of accidental poisoning death in the United States. It contributes to a minimum of 40,000 emergency department visits and 500 unintentional deaths annually. There are an additional 4,500-5,000 intentional (suicide) carbon monoxide poisoning deaths each year. As the symptoms are often vague and attributed to other ailments such as the flu, many experts believe that an additional 11,000 cases per year are undetected or misdiagnosed.
This CE activity is approved by EMS World Magazine, an organization accredited by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS), for 1.5 CEUs. After reading the article, download the test that accompanies this article or take the CE test online atwww.rapidce.com.
Product News
PHI Air Medical Equips Air Ambulances with ZOLL Propaq MD
ZOLL Medical Corporation has announced that PHI Air Medical of Phoenix, AZ, is the first major installation for the new ZOLL Propaq® MD Monitor/Defibrillator in North America. The Propaq MD is an ultra-lightweight compact device with highly sophisticated, advanced capabilities that combine the well-accepted and proven features of Propaq monitors with the clinically superior therapeutic capabilities of ZOLL defibrillation and non-invasive pacing technologies.
Featured Video
Fit Responder: Fitness Band Training
Thanksgiving may be over, but the effects of all that delicious food are still being felt by many of us. Don't wait until January to start a fitness plan. Check out this video from EMS fitness expert Bryan Fass.
Noticeboard
EMS World Webcasts: New AHA Guidelines
Register now for upcoming free webcasts from EMS World: Insights and Explanations of the New AHA Guidelines - Part 1: Basic Life Support, scheduled for December 7 at 2 p.m. EST, and Insights and Explanations of the New AHA Guidelines - Part 2: Adult and Pediatric Advanced Life Support, scheduled for December 16 at 2 p.m. EST. Presenter Cindy Tait, EMT-P, RN, MPH, is a resuscitation expert and AHA regional faculty. She is on the faculty at Loma Linda (CA) University's Cardiopulmonary Sciences department, specializing in resuscitation medicine, and frequently lectures in LLU Medical Center's paramedic bachelor's program.
EMS Week happens the third week in May to not only celebrate the men and women of EMS, but to help educate the public about issues of safety, readiness and the role of the EMS practitioner. Please answer this brief survey to help guide the development of materials for EMS Week and to share information about how your agency participates. Win a free registration to EMS World Expo in Las Vegas, NV, August 31–September 2! Tell us how you celebrate EMS Week. If you're selected to be profiled, you'll get a free three-day core program registration.
EMS United has been designed exclusively for EMS professionals. This is your place to connect with your peers quickly and easily online. Ask questions, share tips & tricks, discuss business challenges & solutions, & much more. Become part of EMS United today!
Featured Job
Emergency Systems Inter-Facility Liaison, Business Development, Lehigh Valley Health Network, PA
Responsible for relationship building that leads to growth in the Emergency Systems service line encompassing Adult/Pediatric Trauma and Burn, Emergency Medicine and MedEvac. Will be part of the Physician Network Development liaison team and will have a secondary reporting relationship to the Emergency Systems Vice President.
Click above for details and visit EMSWorld.com/jobs for additional listings.
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Reader Poll: Protective Pets
This week we ask: Two protective dogs in Kansas kept EMS personnel away from their owner, who needed medical attention. Have you ever been prevented from doing your job by aggressive or protective pets? Click here to let us know your thoughts.
Upcoming Events
Visit our Events Calendar to see what educational opportunities are in your area, plus post your own listings. Here are a selection of EMS upcoming training events:
- December 8-11: ECCU, San Diego, CA
- January 10-12: Advanced Hazmat Life Support Provider/Instructor Course, Burlington, KY
- February 25-27: 18th Annual National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conference, Philadelphia, PA
Other top headlines this week on EMSWorld.com
- New Medical Helicopter Put in Service in Missouri
- Robots Tested for Rescuing Wounded Soldiers in Battle
- Idaho City Rethinks Sending Fire Crews to Help Ambulances
- Number of Fla. Trauma Centers Raises Questions
- Tenn. Professor Saved by Hands-Only CPR After Collapsing
- Air Passenger Lands in Miami with Cholera Symptoms
- W.Va County Considers Building its Own EMS Campus
- Fake Doctor Shadowed N.C. Emergency Workers
- Spice Sends Four Wash. Students to Hospital
- N.H. Emergency Scene Photographer Arrested, Charged
- Family Suing West Virginia Agency for Negligence
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We Want to Hear From You
If you have a news lead or story idea you would like to submit to EMSWorld.com, please e-mail Nancy.Perry@EMSWorld.com.
