I don’t know that there is anything that gives me an insta-aneurysm more than the casual educational cliché “yea – that’s the way we teach it in here, but when you’re out there, it’s totally different”. Pardon me, but…really?! Statements like that belong nowhere, and I mean NO WHERE near critical care transport (or any other [...]
We all know that the opioid addiction in this country has become an epidemic. The number of opioid prescriptions has quadrupled since 1999 and is responsible for 14,000 deaths per year in the United States with up to 1,000 people per day being seen in our emergency rooms. The problem is so bad that the Federal [...]
Man Allegedly Steals Ambulance in Dallas, TX. Someone please explain something to me; how in blue heck in this day and age does someone steal an ambulance? How many times do we have to be told to secure our ambulance? This past Tuesday a man in Dallas, Texas reportedly took an ambulance from University of Texas [...]
It was just 16 years ago that measles was declared eradicated in the US and now we are having regular outbreaks because of ongoing, and unfounded, fear that the MMR vaccination causes autism, thanks “Dr.” Andrew Wakefield. Because of the lingering fear, anti-Vaxxers have pushed their agenda and the disease is spreading. The 2015 Disneyland outbreak [...]
So far this year there have been 12 child deaths in U.S. from having been left in a car. How is this still happening? 12!!! How are we so distracted that we forget that there is a child in the back seat? We are not even to the high point of the summer yet. West County [...]
WSB TV Atlanta reported on two private ambulance EMTs who got into a fight yesterday after dropping off a patient in a residential neighborhood. Seriously? A fight? Witnesses stated that the two EMTs started fighting when it escalated to the point that EMT Kyle Lathon allegedly pulled a knife on his partner and then jumped into [...]
A majority of “EMS Dinosaurs” that have been in emergency medical services (EMS) for over <cough> 20 years <cough> or more got into the industry after having been inspired by watching Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto on the show Emergency! Those of you that did not have the pleasure of watching the show have probably heard [...]
Someone please remind me, why do we take patients with an altered mental status (AMS) to the hospital, even if we think that person may just be intoxicated. The answer is because AMS can be caused by numerous medical conditions. Remember that whole AEIOU-TIPS thing? Not to mention some of those issues cannot be truly ruled [...]
Dr. Henry Heimlich, renowned thoracic surgeon, who is created with inventing the life-saving choking maneuver with his namesake, recently used it to save an 80-year old choking victim. Heimlich introduced the maneuver in 1974, but it was not until last month that he finally was able to use the maneuver. The now 96-year old retired thoracic [...]