This Post can also be found at the First Few Moments website.  I will be doing some writing for Kyle David Bates and the rest of the FFM team, so those posts will be featured on both sites. While I have always been aware that ambulance accidents were occurring, my involvement with First Few Moments over the last eight months have really brought the issue into the spotlight for me.  It often feels like I can’t go a day or two without seeing yet another article about an ambulance crash, and they seem to be occurring more and more frequently. We’ve tackled this topic so many times on the show, and have come up with many different approaches to how reduce ambulance crashes.  We’ve talked about using simulators, the concept of sterile cockpits, increasing training time and frequency, and the effects of being overtired on drivers.  Above all of those though, there is one more topic I think we need to focus on more: Shut them off! I am of course, talking about our lights and sirens.  Why is there still such a desire to “run hot” to every call both to the scene and away from it?  How many actual complaints really warrant that lights and sirens response?  Priority Dispatch has done a good job of defining them, but in so many systems, we still insist on pushing the envelope and meeting what end up being unreasonable response times based on the staffing levels that most systems have. And what about transporting to the hospital with lights and sirens active?  What’s the point of all of our training if we are just going to treat each and every patient with a “diesel bolus?”  Very few patient dispositions are time sensitive.  I’d even go as far to argue that the only patients out there who would require “hot” transports to the hospital are those requiring emergency surgery, whether that be due to trauma or otherwise, those having a cerebrovascular accident, and those having an ST elevation MI.  The only other one that I would put a “maybe” on would be the failed airway, but that would depend on the degree and severity of the...

Welcome to the “reboot” of EMS in the New Decade.  Call it, EMS in the New Decade 2.0.  As you can see, the Blog has been moved to a new address, and has a completely new, different, updated look.  I hope you enjoy perusing it as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together. I’m sure you’ll notice the new Picture Interface at the top of the page.  Here, you will find some of my most viewed, and most popular posts.  I will be rotating them every week or so, allowing you to get a good feel for everything that I write about.  Just because a post might slip down the list a bit due to it being written six months or a year ago, that doesn’t mean its any less relevant. Down on the lower left of the Home Page, you’ll be able to see each of my posts, newest at the top, as they get posted.  Notifications will still be going out on Twitter, and shortly, those notifications will be moving over to Facebook as well.  Get the word out, share, and feel free to comment on what you read. Finally, in the lower right hand part of the page, you’ll be able to see what I am chatting about on Twitter.  We get in some great discussions there, not only about EMS, but about life, and friendships, both from a serious and a not-so-serious standpoint. None of this would have been possible without Ted Setla and the entire team from the First Responders Network.  We had talked about the idea of a Blog Network back in Baltimore, and it seemed like I blinked, and the opportunity was here.  It’s an honor for me to be associated with this group of people.  They’re some great providers, and motivated advocates for EMS. This Blog has come a long way in the last thirteen months that I’ve been writing it.  Thanks to everyone who comes back and regularly reads what one Paramedic thinks about what is going on around him. Now, sit back, take a look around, and enjoy the new look of EMS in the New...

In less than a month, it will be time for the second annual EMS on the Hill Day, an event sponsored by NAEMT to help bring us together in a unified voice about issues and challenges we face everyday. I went down to Washington DC last year, but sadly due to my work schedule, I was unable to participate in the event itself. I was so excited by the turnout and the work that was done though that I decided to set aside the time to attend and participate this year. The event itself is on the 4th and 5th of May, and registration for the even closes on the 31st of March. To sign up and participate, head on over to the EMS on the Hill portion of the NAEMT Website. Then, come join me down in Washington DC for a chance to create a little Thunder, and make some positive changes in EMS. Hurry though! Registration closes on March...

Okay, so I know uttering the word “quiet” in EMS is like taboo. You just don’t do it. Don’t upset the peace, don’t disturb the EMS Gods when they’re sleeping. Thankfully, I’m not on a truck right now. I’m no where even near work! I just wanted to briefly share with you all why things have slowed down a bit here at EMS in the New Decade over the last week or two. There are big things coming in the next couple of weeks to my blog. I don’t want to “officially” announce it until everything is in place. Domains need to be setup, pages need to be laid out, and then I’ll be ready to say more. That’s right, EMS in the New Decade is moving up in the world! Couple that with a short vacation next week to Florida to visit my parents who are amateur snow birds this year, and you’ve got the makings of a little time away from the Blogging World. Rest assured though, everything is well. Actually, everything is better than...

Technology is progressing around us and EMS is no exception. Last week at EMS Today in Baltimore, MD, I had a chance to spend a decent amount of time on the exhibit hall floor. Everywhere I turned I saw laptops, tablets, and new software that can track and quantify almost every aspect of the job. As manufacturers of Cardiac Monitors and AED’s, Phillips, Zoll and Physio Control have to each try and be on the cutting edge just to compete with one another. I took a walk through each of their respective booths at EMS Today, and had a couple of products catch my eye. 1. Phillips — On the second day that we were there, Chris Kaiser from Life Under the Lights told me I “had to go check out Phillips’ new monitor.” I went over to their booth and found their MP2 model. It is an incredibly sleek, compact and portable monitor that I can see a number of uses for, but as Chris pointed out, it certainly has its limitations. Mainly, the monitor itself has no way to print out or transmit an EKG. While it would be great at simply monitoring a patient or doing a quick assessment (at… say… a special event or by a first responding bike team) transferring the information to another caretaker might prove difficult. With time and a little bit of polishing (and maybe some feedback from a paramedic or two) I think Phillips will have a great piece of equipment on their hands with an extremely practical pre-hospital use. 2. Zoll — I spent a lot of time at the Zoll booth this year. I don’t have a ton of experience with their products, but boy what a company. I think one of the things that continues to impress me about them is how receptive they are to the pre-hospital provider. They’re extremely supportive of us, and their products show it. This year at EMS Today, they helped unveil the new iPCR, a revolutionary new take on computerized charting. It was only a matter of time before someone took the Tablet PC concept to the iPAD, and while the new device can run many...