It’s
National EMS Week May 15 to May 21, 2016, time to show our appreciation for so
many who come to our aid when we need them. President Obama just signed this
year’s proclamation saying, “Every day
across our Nation, women and men sacrifice precious time with their loved ones,
working long and hard to provide emergency medical services (EMS) to people
they have never met before.”
We often
take for granted that EMS responders, police and firefighters will come for us when
we call 911 without fully understanding everything these selfless individuals do
every day for strangers and neighbors alike. First of all, the Emergency
Medical System includes more than the ambulance; it begins with dispatchers who
answer the 911 calls and direct instructions to the appropriate agencies, all
emergency responders (including firefighters and police) are part of the system,
ambulance crews consisting of medical professionals of EMTs and Paramedics, the
hospital receiving staff of nurses and doctors, and also EMS educators and government
oversight agencies. We should appreciate all of them.
Let’s talk
about the ambulance crews. There are more than 21,000 licensed local EMS
agencies in the United States more than half of which provide Basic Life
Support services (EMT Basic); the rest operate at EMT-Intermediate and Paramedic
level services. Approximately 40% of the EMS agencies in the US are
fire-department based. One-third of the states rely heavily on Volunteer EMS
agencies. The people who respond on the ambulance are highly skilled and trained
individuals who provide vital pre-hospital life-saving skills and often transportation
to hospitals and other medical facilities. The ability of a community to
survive and recover during and after a disaster depends heavily on the strength
of its first responders. While many agencies help to provide in-service training
and updates, much of the initial extensive training is taken on the individual’s
own time and expense.
EMTs are
taught to take and assess vital signs and do patient assessments. EMTs are
trained to handle cardiac and respiratory arrest, heart attacks, seizures,
diabetic emergencies, respiratory problems and other medical emergencies
including traumatic injuries and many sudden illnesses. Paramedics can perform
all of the skills performed by an EMT, plus advanced airway management such as
endotracheal intubation, electrocardiographs (ECGs), insertion of intravenous
lines, administration of numerous emergency medications, and assessment of ECG
tracings and defibrillation. Individual states differ as to whether EMTs and
Paramedics are state certified or licensed and there is a National standard of
minimum qualifications.
When the
patient of family member is in pain and scared, it is not always easy to see
the responders as vulnerable human beings who can get injured or sick as well.
Responders will come out at all hours and in all weather conditions; many times
when the public is advised to stay off of roadways, there are still ambulances
and other emergency vehicles heading to scenes where help is needed. Our health
providers come into contact with many communicable diseases and need to take
precautions to protect their own health as well as the health of their
families. There are also cases where a seemingly innocuous health emergency is
also combined with a potential for violence.
Between road hazards, violent
encounters, falls, communicable diseases, and emotional stresses, there is a
growing number of disabilities and even LODDs (Line of Duty Death) among both paid
and volunteer EMS providers. With more than 20-thousand injuries and illnesses
reported yearly (CDC 2013), more than half of these are attributed to EMS responders
under 35 years of age. It’s not a job done for the money as the American
average for the EMS provider salary begins below $20,000 with a minority as
high as $50,000; EMS providers usually begin their careers after deciding to
help people and make a difference, they care for their patients and push
themselves to act even sometimes when it compromises their own health and
well-being.
So let’s
take this week, and actually all year round, to say thank you to EMS providers
who show up at your door, to roadways and more so that they can help perfect
strangers, save lives and improve the quality of our lives.
~~~~~~~~
Would you like a chance to win a free book?
Comment below ON THIS
BLOG and you will be entered for a chance to win a FREE ebook copy of Hyphema,
one of my two EMS themed stories.
Just comment - if you
log in "Anonymously" (without the use of a social network site) pleas
be sure to leave your name in your comment.
I'll be announcing the
winner next Sunday, May 22!
Matt Garratti, a paramedic from New York, moves his wife and son to North Carolina to work at his dream job as a flight medic. Pakistani born Sudah, his wife, receives frosty stares and insensitive comments from their new neighbors. Before long, Matt wonders if he is pursuing his dream or bringing his family into a nightmare from which they may never wake.
