EMS In Fitness Centers.

[Fex404 0]

I was recently asked a question at my place of work - whether or not an EMT could be hired to be in the building and tend to injuries and other medical emegencies untill the ambulance got there. Does anyone know about liability issues? Any other information or ideas would be great ---- Thanks in advance!!!

[Guest]

To operate as an EMT your going to have to find a medical director to operate under...otherwise your going to be severely limited in what you can and cannot do from a legal standpoint. IE: your not going to be able to give O2, Glucose, Albuterol, assist with Epinephrine, or preform semi-invasive airway management. doesnt really sound practical to me. Best thing to do is place AEDs every few feet, make sure all your staff is trained in CPR/AED and First Aid and post those AHA/Red Cross choking and CPR placards all over the place.

Edited December 13, 2006 by 66Alpha1

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Or if you operate with an agency, see if they will sign a letter saying they have no problem with you operating in that capacity, if you really feel you need to cover yourself. I don't totally agree with alpha 1's assessment.

You can even go as far, with minimal effort if management of the gym will assist to get an operating certificate as a BLS FR agency with the gym's name as the agency name. In fact, many gyms are used by doctors and if you are in an agency and know whom the medical director is, you can contact him/her with management and explain what you would like to do. Its a little leg work but its really not that difficult.

Additionally, nothign would really come about if you stay within protocol if you are going to fill that capacity. Albuterol no. Epi pen and nitro, most person will know when they need it. If you had to assist and you had all good intentions, very difficult to be sued nor would you be investigated. Negligence in EMS is, especially on an BLS level hard to prove and hard to occur. Everything else you could provide. Is it really any different then stopping at an MVA not in your district? Or acting anywhere else when an incident occurs?

[nycemt728 49]

This is an interesting issue. Basically as alsfirefighter said , EMTs operating on their own w/o an ambulance are funtioning as a sort of quick/first response service. (an existing level of response in many states) Whether or not an EMT takes the necessary steps to form such an organization in order to take per-diem jobs like this is another story. I know many EMTs who chose to work side jobs like this at sporting events, school events etc... Many of them carry their own personal EMT liability insurance. I think the most important things to remember here are 1. Document everything just as you would on a regular ambulance call (you can't use a PCR since those have to be submitted) but, medical accident reports are available at sporitng goods stores. 2. Operate w/in your local protocls w/ proper supplies (obviously controlled substances are out including meds because you are not certified to possess then independent of a ambulance service) 3. When in doubt, or meds or ALS are needed, call for an ambulance immediatly!

[helicopper 1,050]

This is an interesting issue. Basically as alsfirefighter said , EMTs operating on their own w/o an ambulance are funtioning as a sort of quick/first response service. (an existing level of response in many states) Whether or not an EMT takes the necessary steps to form such an organization in order to take per-diem jobs like this is another story. I know many EMTs who chose to work side jobs like this at sporting events, school events etc... Many of them carry their own personal EMT liability insurance. I think the most important things to remember here are 1. Document everything just as you would on a regular ambulance call (you can't use a PCR since those have to be submitted) but, medical accident reports are available at sporitng goods stores. 2. Operate w/in your local protocls w/ proper supplies (obviously controlled substances are out including meds because you are not certified to possess then independent of a ambulance service) 3. When in doubt, or meds or ALS are needed, call for an ambulance immediatly!

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This is an interesting issue and I think it raises some rather important issues.

CFR/EMT/Paramedics in NY are certified not licensed and operate under the license of the medical director of the EMS system they are working in (whether BLS or ALS). If the EMS provider is working outside the EMS system in a non-traditional first responder capacity (at a fitness center/sporting event/etc.) under whose authority are they operating?

Short of CPR and AED which has been pushed out to the community at large, can an EMS provider - operating outside an EMS agency/system - perform skills or administer oxygen/glucose/etc.? I don't mean simple things that are "first aid" like bandaging.

What local protocols will you be operating under if you're not working as part of an EMS system? The NYS BLS protocols? Do they apply to individual EMS providers or are they system oriented?

Who oversees the EMS provider in this setting? What QI/QA program do they work with to insure that they are performing as they should?

Hope someone can shed some more light on our "authority" as certified (or in some cases certifiable) providers!