Pre Arrival Instructions

[ems-buff 81]

Are Pre Arrival Instructions a New thing to Westchester County? Like For Example: When I was just a Baby I went into respiratory arrest. It was cause by me having phlem cought in my thoat. When I ask my Mom if I if the people on the other line gave Pre Arrival Instructions (i.e. CPR, Hemlich, or even Hemmorage Control) she said no. Keep in mind this happen in 1986 So things have had to change by now. I'm just wondering how long it has been in place for.

[roeems87 0]

I believe it has been relatively recently (within the last few years) that all dispatchers at 60-control are EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching). That's the system you are talking about that they give instructions to people who need them to care for the patient before help arrives. The benefits of it also allow the dispatcher to assess in a more detailed fashion what is actually going on. In the case of an "unresponsive," that can be quickly determined about whether or not the patient is breathing, what the cause may be (i.e. stroke, diabetic related, etc.), and whatever other information they can gain. This the the very first step (and crucial) in eliminating discrepancies in dispatching and what you are actually going to encounter. Take the "my son is having trouble breathing and says his chest hurts." Original thought is that your patient is a child... when the EMD is completed, you find out that the caller is 75 years old, her son is actually 53 and having an MI, not a small asthma attack likely in the child scenario.

In any event, the one negative is clear as well... There are only 4 dispatchers (I believe, sometimes 5? sometimes 3?) on at a time, and one very large county... EMD in the middle of a storm may prove incredibly taxing on the other 3 dispatchers...

All in all, awesome system that is growing across the country to be somewhat universal. It's been in place for a few years (e.g. not in 1986) I believe in westchester, though one of the DES guys can probably be more specific.

[WAS967 97]

And in a true EMD system you don't send medics to every single call that gets dispatched.

[roeems87 0]

It's true... Medics and other resources as well... Let's the dispatcher know whether or not first response FD is necessary, or whether or not the "fall" needs a lift assist or an ambulance. Let's them know if the unresponsive has a pulse and just happens to not be answering questions (because he's mad at his wife) or is simply not breathing...

It lets everyone know better what they're in for and what resources are best needed to send to the scene.

[mikeinet 37]

Pre-Arrival Success Story:

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/...40.xml?syrnemad

Choking woman is saved

Sunday, November 27, 2005

A Chittenango woman is alive because a 911 dispatcher talked her husband through performing the Heimlich maneuver.

About 4:56 p.m. Saturday, 911 dispatcher Kent Eggleston received a call from Robert Ezzo of 161 W. Genesee St., Chittenango. Ezzo was calling because his 45-year-old wife, Laura, was choking on a full-size jumbo shrimp, said Chittenango police Officer Rod Carr.

Eggleston told Robert Ezzo how to perform the Heimlich maneuver as he alerted Chittenango police and Rural/Metro ambulance to the emergency, Carr said. As Carr pulled into the driveway, a dispatcher told him the object had been dislodged.

"She was still laying on the floor, white as can be, gasping for breath," Carr said. "I don't think she'd be around had it not been for him."

Eggleston, 45, of Oriskany Falls, remained modest Saturday night. "I was just going through what we learned in training," Eggleston said. "I give more credit to the husband. He did all the work."

- Staff writer Diana LaMattina

[Remember585 815]

Pre-Arrival Success Story:

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/...40.xml?syrnemad

←

And yet, dozens of EMS agencies in Westchester County still get dispatched by local Police without the training.

I was not a fan of EMD at first. It was first offered to me when I was a Somers FD dispatcher about 6 1/2 years ago. I avoided it like the plague. It wasn't because I didn't want to do it, I just felt that 1 dispatcher couldn't effectively EMD something while answering additional phones and radios.

Now where I work (60) I have been certified for nearly 4 years. It is a great thing to use. We get more information that can help responding resources with their responses. We also can modify which units get dispatched - for example - certian Departments / EMS agencies will not have a FD AND EMS response, just EMS. Hopefully, down the road, we can cut back ALS abuse and keep them available for the calls they are really needed for. Down here at 60 our minimum staffing is 4. There is 5 squads of 5 operators, with 6 assigned to day tours. Take into consideration that we don't dispatch everyone in Westchester - and that those we do serve (primarily) have this benefit. I personally have used it to give CPR instructions, to control bleeding and deliver babies. As skeptical as I was at first, I am now an EMD fan.

I believe Empress EMS has this training too in addition to the Somers FD dispatchers.

[WAS967 97]

I believe Empress EMS has this training too in addition to the Somers FD dispatchers.

Unfortunatly, EMD is not the standard at Somers FD. If they have it, it's from training they recieved elsewhere. (Unless this changed recently and I don't know about it). I don't know why EMD isn't used there. I even asked if there was going to be EMD training and the answer (under the old director) was flat out "No".

[Remember585 815]

Unfortunatly, EMD is not the standard at Somers FD. If they have it, it's from training they recieved elsewhere. (Unless this changed recently and I don't know about it). I don't know why EMD isn't used there. I even asked if there was going to be EMD training and the answer (under the old director) was flat out "No".

←

Wow - I thought they still had it. Thanks for the info.

[mikeinet 37]

EMD is not a cheap tool... training for each dispatcher is $275-$350. Where i'm a dispatcher... I personally was put through the class, but for budget reasons, a large part of our dispatchers were not... we have our own internal training program that teaches the EMD cards and how to use them and they're used everyday in emergency call taking.

[Guest skubasam]

Unfortunately, none of us Somers FD dispatchers have EMD training. Would be a valuable tool to have and use. Bear in mind Somers contracts their dispatch service so don't go pointing fingers at them! (I am one of them)

[Guest skubasam]

EMD is not a cheap tool... training for each dispatcher is $275-$350. Where i'm a dispatcher... I personally was put through the class, but for budget reasons, a large part of our dispatchers were not... we have our own internal training program that teaches the EMD cards and how to use them and they're used everyday in emergency call taking.

←

Kudos for taking the initiative but IMHO, if you're going to EMD, the agency should pay for the certified training from an OUTSIDE individual.....not some internal staffer with forty other things on his/her plate. (Is that my ax grinding again?!?)

[Guest]

Back when I was working for the Somers Fire District as a dispatcher, when we switched over to being contracted with Westchester EMS to do the dispatching, we were told we be given the EMD training. But that kept on getting pushed back. I guess it was cancelled now?

[WAS967 97]

Who knows. Maybe the new director will get it done. IT makes no sense to not have EMD.