GM911

http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/ny...l#1231545504174 Video of the Hudson landing (fast forward to 2:00)

47, if youre from dobbs, just go to irvington vac. classes are being held all the time...

master classic II - everything just fits... from allheart.com

Hey all, time for another exciting round of.... TREAT THE PATIENT!!!! Today's victim: Eve S. Arration MOI: Well, knife in back. Keep in mind he needs to be immobilized... Would you remove the object to get him on a backboard? Backboard him prone? What if he needs to be bagged?? Looking forward to seeing you answers!!

how about using the trusty trauma shears and cutting the blade so that you can lay him on the board??

agreed with the above statements, but what if he was having difficulty breathing? not only would i imagine being prone on a board would restrict chest rise, but i imagine jaw thrust/bvm on this patient would be extrememly difficult on this pt as well

what a fool... if the scene wasn't "safe", she shouldn't have entered, right???? i hope this doesn't stop anybody from calling 911 in fear that they might get sued

Date: 05/02/2008 Time: 2130 hrs Location: The George Washington University, Washington DC: 2121 H Street NW Departments: DCFD, GWU EMeRG, GWU UPD Description: Working fire in second story of dormitory, apparently started by an overheated air conditioning unit. 172 people evacuated. No injuries reported. Links: http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/stora...l-3363182.shtml Writer: gm911

So I have a question/favor for everyone.... My college EMS squad is currently operating with a pretty old and crappy rig... It is not as small as a van, yet is not as big as some of the newer ones.... I'd classify it as type 2.5 It does not have a CPR seat, nor updated electronics or anything like the rigs back home. <---The George Washington University's ambulance I was wondering if there is any program/agency/group that can help us get a newer, granted still "old", ambulance to put in service, possibly from an agency who has just replaced its ambulance with a new one. As a student-run organization, we have an extremely small amount of money in our budget, which goes towards restocking, oxygen, gas, etc. so purchasing a new one is not an option. If anyone has any information on how we can acquire a new "old" ambulance for little or no money, that would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!!!

Hey all, thanks for your replies... The CPR seat, though not always used for cpr, is great for members to do assessments and/or vitals while the medic starts a line on the other side. On another note, the school just purchased this vehicle for us, so they want nothing to do with it anymore unfortunately. The corporate idea is actually a new one that I've never heard of before, I'll definitely pass that one on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you think that there is any agency (who recently purchased a new rig) who would be willing to donate an ambulance to us??

I'd like to add my two cents... Not sure what video this is, but in a moving ambulance, I usually hold onto the ceiling rails with one hand and compress the chest with the other so that I have some grounding if the truck hits a bump, turns, or stops. As for the hands only CPR... When we compress the chest, we are NOT doing it in order to compress the heart and act as the Left Ventrical contraction. The reason that we are taught to compress the chest is to create a vacuum inside the chest wall in order to suck the blood out of the heart through the blood vessels. What the research is showing is that it takes approximately 30 compressions in order to create that vacuum. Except we are taught that once we hit 30, we are supposed to stop in order to ventilate, thus ruining the vacuum and having to start all over. When we breathe, we breathe in 21% oxygen. When we exhale, we exhale about 16%. So unless someone has a BVM with 100% o2 with a full chamber, it is a very minimal amount of o2 we are giving the pt anyway, much less than is needed to sustain life. I'm sure that someday soon we will be making the switch to continuous CPR, just like we are supposed to be doing once an advanced airway is in. This stuff is very interesting, I'm looking forward to seeing what changes are in store for us.

Interesting timing... there is a lot of commotion down here regarding Mayor Fenty's secretive fare increases for ambulance transports. A quick summary, he increased fares from BLS: $268 to $530, ALS: $471 to $832, ALS2: $953. He also added an extra fee of $6.06 per mile. http://www.examiner.com/a-1311133~Fenty_qu...lance_fees.html

We bring the multilator, set it up outside the ambulance. If we need to then transport somebody, we'll leave one member with the multilator while we transport to the hospital. The real pain in the neck is moving the H cylinder into and out of the rig... now there's a reason to get the automated stretchers!!

If you have a local paper, how about getting the public involved and have some members of the community write some "letters to the editor" demanding new leadership in the department

NOt sure what you meant by this... I sure hope you aren't supporting having sex with underage children!!!

Here at The George Washington University, we have a pretty screwy system that I wish would change. If a University police officer sees someone who appears to be intoxicated on campus, they stop them and administer a field sobriety test, including breathylizer readings. If the individual either fails the sobriety test or if the second reading on the breathylizer is higher than the first reading, it's an automatic call to our student-run ambulance agency. Also, if someone is being assisted in walking by a friend, it's an automatic call as well. We do have medical amnesty, meaning that on the first time you are brought to the hospital, as long as you weren't doing any drugs as well, and were compliant with EMS and UPD, and you stay in the hospital until treated by a physician, there will not be a charge on your student judicial record. However, your parents will be called if under 21. The rule was supposed to encourage friends to call for help if their buddies were passed out, but it has turned into a game of cat and mouse, where University Police is on full patrol looking for intoxicated people to bust. I'm glad that there are several UPD officers who simply look the other way if there is someone who is obviously drunk, but obviously not a threat to anyone. Quick war story from last night.... got woken up at 3 am to the tones going off for an intoxicated student, when we got there it was a guy and his girlfriend who were fine except that they had been drinking within the hour, so their second breathylizer reading was higher than the first. Turns out they were celebrating their 1 year anniversary!! Too bad they spent the remainder of it in the hospital....

You have to be 21 in order to gamble anyplace where alcohol is served, including Quickdraw...

Possibly due to the fact that I am under 21, I think that the law should be changed to 18. But that's very unlikely to happen, so my practical opinion is to keep the drinking age 21, but also make it legal for military personnel under the age of 21 to drink with proof of military ID. A bunch of you are going to think I'm crazy for saying this, but I honestly think it's better to have drank at least a little bit in high school before going away to school. On my college EMS agency, the majority of alcohol poisonings we see are students who are away at a new place and consume alcohol for the first time. They do not know what their bodies can handle and do not have (dare I say...) experience in knowing what their limit is.

I wonder why they only chase cars in certain situations?? Is this departmental policy over here too? I would think that if somebody is doing something illegal, they should face the penalty... honestly, this artice is pretty much suggesting I drive over to PG and, as long as I don't hit anyone along the way, drive as fast as I want without any risk of getting in trouble. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I feel that cops should have every right to be in a high speed pursuit, under any and every circumstance!!

No offense taken, and no I don't think I'm too young. I grew up in a generation where we were taught to stand up for ourselves and to question authority...which I think is good. It's a pity that there are so many people who are scared to talk to police officers! I think that the whole "respect me by being scared of me" attitude is not fit for this generation. Nobody on here would EVER question or doubt all the incredible work cops put up with day after day. Everyday I work side by side some of the most intelligent, skilled, and caring people I have met, and am proud to say that they are great police officers. With all the violence and terror going on in the schools these days, I understand that even young children now pose a threat, but I still feel that this officer took things too far (threatening to "smack" the child because the 12 year old used the colloquialism "dude") Nearly all officers are outstanding, but as with any agency-EMS included- there will always be some bad apples. If there are no videos/checks to keep these few bad apples in check, what's to stop them from taking it another level? I'll say this- if there was no video, and a kid said that he was thrown to the ground by a cop, it would be extremely difficult to convince me to believe the kid...but these videos speak for those who can't speak up for themselves.

The problem with this site is that everyone on here is either a cop, or on great terms with POs and respect their authority because we are all on the same team. When I see this video, personally I am horrified. I have seen numerous, numerous instances of police officers abusing their power, yet when someone makes a complaint, there is no proof and nothing happens. Kids don't need to be scared, and whoever thinks that this kid is going to respect authority next time he sees a cop is just naive. There needs to be a way to keep a check on all civil servants. This way, citizens do not get abused and taken advantage of by THE FEW police officers who go overboard. Oneeyed, you seem to have a problem with VACs. That's fine. But attacking another member is definitely not what this open forum is about. People will have differences in opinions...lets accept that, explain your side in a rational manner. I believe it is our duty to defend those who cannot defend themselves. This video does just that. Age should not be a decider in respect. If Tony Hawk was riding his skateboard I'm sure this would have gone down much differently. Just because the kids are 12 does not give the cop permission to go on a verbal rampage like he did.

Hey guys, I have a problem that I need some help with.... My volunteer agency is stuck at a dead end. The members are an average age of 65, and there is no sign of new membership. Also, it seems as if nobody cares about what we do anymore. I have been told that since I am young, I "just don't get it", but to me, that is no excuse. I would like to know everyone's views on how I can get new members / increase membership morale. A huge problem in my corps is that simply nobody cares anymore; on call members don't get coverage when they go out of town, nobody shows up for meetings, and our PCRs look like they are written by 8 year olds. Most members act as if "Nobody else cares about the agency, why should I?" I am 20 years old and have a true passion for this field; I have been in EMS for 3 years now, much less than most of you guys, and I feel that you all may have some tips for me to share with my crew. We need help; what can I do to keep our agency functional (and not have to settle for paid EMT's)????

According to NYS DOH, regarding the EMT-I curriculum: "...It is estimated that the “average” program, with “average” students, will achieve “average” results in approximately 160-200 total hours of instruction (60-80 classroom/practical laboratory, 50-60 clinical, 50-60 field internship)..." http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/ems/pdf/emtioguide.pdf

Thanks everyone.... great, great advice. I especially like the brochure idea- getting a bunch made up and then putting them in the town's shops sounds like a simple yet effective measure. As for the youth membership, does anybody know if it is possible to get an EMT-B class added to the high school curriculum? I was thinking something along the lines of offering the class and at the end of the year, the students get both certification (upon passing) and also a school grade.

I'm just wondering, what's stopping the medics from having a friend call in sick? I mean on a slow day, having a buddy with a "bad stomachache" call 911 for a ride over to the hospital will bring you a quick $80 bucks... or better yet, make a close connection with PD and have them call you out for fenderbenders and the like. I just think payment per call leaves the agency very open to foul play