I can never remember the term when I need it, so I thought I would write a blog about the condition to try and correct that. Dextrocardia occurs when the heart is in the right side of the chest and the apex points to the right instead of the left. This condition was discovered in the [...]
As an industry we love to throw out numbers, the most repetitive being 500 mL. We hear that number several times over the course of our initial training courses. And I do not know about the other DistanceCME (DCME) faculty, but I feel like I mention 500 mL at least once a week, and usually more. [...]
In an interesting turn of events the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Jan. 13, late Friday afternoon, that it is looking into a link between the COVID-19 vaccination and ischemic strokes in the older adult population, those over the age of 65. This report comes as [...]
This year is quickly becoming the opioid/EMS negligence year. What happened to the good ol’ days of news involving emergency medical services (EMS) was always something positive? Where did we go off the rails? The latest story involves both fentanyl and negligence. Veronica MacArthur has filed a lawsuit against Hermon Volunteer Rescue & First Aid Squad [...]
It was announced by Emergent BioSolutions Inc. on Dec. 21, 2022, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is going to review the potential classification of Narcan spray as an over-the-counter medication making it widely available as early as March 29th. This is great news considering that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is reporting that [...]
Last week two emergency medical services (EMS) employees of Lifestar Ambulance Service in Springfield, Illinois, were charged with first-degree murder. Peter Cadigan and Pegy Finley, their certification levels were not disclosed in the article, were called by law enforcement to transport a man by the name if Earl Moore Jr., 35 years old, to St. Johns [...]
On January 2, 2023 like many of you, I was watching the Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals play on Monday Night Football (MNF). At 1755 hrs. PST Damar Hamlin made what seemed to be a routine tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. After the tackle Hamlin immediately stood up, but then fell to the ground [...]
EMS World recently posted a poll regarding first responders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The question asks if a first responder is suffering from PTSD, are they ‘built” for the job? You can access the poll by following this link to answer and view the results, EMS World - PTSD Poll. As per the Substance Abuse [...]
Ice Fishing Gone Wrong A group of fishermen 200 strong had to be rescued on Monday, Nov. 28, ’22 in northern Minnesota. The fishermen become trapped on the Upper Red Lake when a very large chunk of ice broke away from shore. By the time the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Department and the local first responders [...]
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common illness that infects almost every child by the age of 2. RSV presents with cold-like symptoms, runny nose, a cough, and fever and it is highly contagious and can spread very quickly through daycares, school settings, and long-term care facilities. Once a person is infected, they remain contagious [...]
