Ky. Agency Highlights Gaps in Coverage

July 02--GLASGOW -- A long, yellow rope formed a circle on the garage floor of the Barren-Metcalfe County Emergency Medical Services headquarters early Friday morning.

Adjacent to the rope, there was a manikin lying on its back which is used to practice responding to someone in cardiac arrest.

Garland Gilliam, training supervisor for the BMCEMS, had set up for the morning's training exercise and he spoke with the Glasgow Daily Times before it began.

"Everybody stands around the rope and holds it," Gilliam said. "The rope symbolizes Barren County and the coverage of the ambulances.

"One at a time, we'll pull the crews to do things. So one of them will work a cardiac arrest.

"As each crew member steps off, the other crews have to spread out to keep the rope from touching the ground.

"In doing that, that symbolizes the gaps in the coverage in Barren County when the trucks are busy. Eventually we'll get to the point where only two people are holding the rope, which symbolizes one ambulance covering every bit of Barren County.

"The bad thing is, that happens every day in Barren County, and then at that point, they will actually have to break away and the rope hits the ground, and that symbolizes that everybody's busy."

Gilliam said that this exercise helps his crew understand the importance of their availability and sense of urgency.

"If you're doing paperwork or taking your time, you've got to be able to be available because one person is holding the rope," he said. "The rope's not as bad when we have eight people holding it, but then when it starts breaking down, you get sags in it and everybody's trying to keep it from hitting the ground."

When all the crew members arrived, they gathered around the rope and began the exercise.

Gilliam advised one of the crews to drop the rope and attend to the manikin that was in cardiac arrest.

As they slipped away from the circle, the remaining crew members had to slide around and adjust how they held the rope.

Gilliam held a touch-screen remote that could manipulate the manikin.

"I can make it better or worse depending on what they're doing to make it more realistic," he said.

On Gilliam's command, the manikin can speak, make moaning sounds as well as make the sound of someone getting sick. It also simulates breathing with its chest moving up and down.

Gilliam said his crew can set up an actual IV on the manikin instead of just verbalizing it. They can also defibrillate it, sending electricity through the manikin.

During the training exercise, two crews had to leave to respond to real calls in the county.

Four crew members remained with two ambulances available.

"People don't realize, these four people right here and two ambulances is all that is covering Barren County for the next 30-40 minutes," Gilliam said. "If one of those leaves, you have one truck covering all of Barren County.

"That's the battle we're dealing with."

Gilliam said that Metcalfe County has its own ambulance, but if that one is busy then they would require one from Barren County if available.

"They kind of take care of themselves until they get busy," he said. "We're used to whatever we're doing, having to do it quick because we gotta' make another run."

When crew members are busy, the others have no choice but to pick up the slack.

Copyright 2016 - Glasgow Daily Times, Ky.