The American College of Emergency Physicians, in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Emergency Medical Services for Children, as well as many other associated organizations have announced that the week of May 18-24 has been declared as National Emergency Medical Services Week.
This declaration is designed to "bring together local communities and medical personnel to help publicize safety and to honor the dedication of those who help provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of the medical 'front line.'"
This year's theme, "EMS: When It Matters Most," focuses on the commitment and dedication of the 750,000 EMS providers who provide an essential community service every day. America's EMS providers include EMTs, paramedics, first responders, firefighters and police officers.
The week is designed to help raise public awareness about health and safety issues, including injury prevention and what to do in a medical emergency.
The ACEP provides the following statistics regarding America's EMS providers:
- In 1999 there were 31,797 practicing emergency physicians.
- In 2001, there were 89,300 emergency nurses.
- In 2000, there were 4,148 certified emergency departments.
- In 2000, there were 106,937,286 visits to America's emergency departments, up from 103,784,425 the year before.
- There are 124 emergency department residency programs in the United States.
- There are 815,000 registered EMT-B, EMT-I, EMT-P, EMT-PS and first responders in the United States.
- There are 17,000 ambulance services in the United States.
- Between 1990 and 2000 there were about 500 hospital closings in the United States.
- From 1988-98 1,128 hospital emergency departments closed.
Those are some significant numbers.
The Council Bluffs Fire Department responded to some 4,100 EMS calls last year. That, too, is a significant number for our community. The vast majority of those calls were responded to in under five minutes and transported to one of our two community hospitals.
Add to those numbers the various area volunteer departments and you can see we are right in with the national averages.
What can you do to help? Know what to do in an emergency. And even more important, know what constitutes an emergency and what to do while you are waiting for help.
First, know that injury and illness prevention is the best cure. Get routine medical care, including preventative care, from your family physician. Stay current on all immunizations and treat all minor injuries so they do not become worse. These few steps can reduce the number of visits to the emergency department.
Learn how to recognize emergency warning signs. Signs include:
- Difficulty breathing.
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure.
- Fainting.
- Sudden dizziness.
- Weakness or change in vision.
- Confusion or change in mental status.
- Sudden severe pain.
- Bleeding that will not stop.
- Severe or persistent vomiting.
- Coughing up or vomiting blood.
- Suicidal or homicidal feelings.
Should any of these signs or symptoms appear immediately "Make the call" to 911. Remain on the telephone with the dispatcher and provide as much detail as you can about the patient, medical history, onset of the illness, etc. Also, it is helpful if you can provide the color of the house, the apartment number or any other information that may prove helpful to the dispatcher or responders.
Take the time before an emergency arises to learn CPR and basic first aid. Even if it has been years since you took a CPR or first aid class, the dispatcher can assist you with verbal instructions until help arrives. Most importantly, REMAIN CALM. The more information and help you can provide, the easier it is for the dispatcher and the responders.
It is also important to know what NOT to do. Do not move a patient who is unconscious or has struck their head or was injured in an automobile accident unless he or she is in immediate danger. If it is a poisoning emergency, do not induce vomiting unless instructed to do so by the dispatcher or poison control. When treating burns, don't use ice, butter or petroleum jelly. Instead, simply cover with a clean, dry cloth.
Once the EMS personnel have arrived, again relay as much information as you can, including what you have done and how the patient has changed. If you can provide a list of medications and physician's names, this information can be invaluable. Be available to answer questions, but please stay out of the way. The medics have a set protocol they follow and it is important for them to be able to do so. It is okay to ask questions, but please do not ask the person who is actually attending the patient, ask one of the other responders and they will be able to provide needed information.
In some cases, you may be allowed to accompany the patient to the hospital in the ambulance. If the EMS crew will not allow this, please understand and simply meet them at the hospital. Once at the hospital, provide the admitting personnel with as much information as you can, even if it seems you are repeating what you told the medics. It could be several minutes before the information can be relayed from the medics to the admitting staff.
Now is the time to make any necessary telephone calls to family and friends. It will be a while before the patient can be stabilized and this a good way for you to wait, by staying busy.
Everyone involved has the best interest of the patient in mind and will do their best to serve the patient needs.
Oh, by the way, I know from personal experience that it does SEEM like it took a long time for the ambulance to arrive, but in reality it wasn't that long and every response is treated as an emergency.
Thank you for allowing us to be your EMS provider. We are all in this together.
As always, I welcome your comments, questions and criticisms. I can be reached at; Jeff Hutcheson, Council Bluffs Fire Department, 200 S. Fourth St., Council Bluffs, IA 51503, telephone (712) 328-4671 or via e-mail at [email protected].
- Jeff Hutcheson is an assistant chief with the Council Bluffs Fire Department
