One small step....

Score one for the little people! Our EMS director is on permanent administrative leave until his retirement in 90 days.

Hopefully the rampant discrimination and hostile environment that he has created over the past umpteen years will end. The crews deserve better than intimidation, retaliation, and illegal firings.

If you're the praying kind, we could all use them tonight. There are a ton of hurdles to overcome and I hope that the hurt feelings many have pass soon.

One lost is one too many

People, PLEASE!!!! You must watch out for yourself and your partner's safety...No one else will do it for you. Your family expects you to come home at the end of the shift. One more life lost is one more too many--

Fatal Ambulance Crash in Delaware

Gotta love those early morning phone calls

So, my phone blared the "Law and Order" theme song this morning at 0345. I almost didn't answer it, because who the heck calls at o' dark thirty?

It was my part time job, wanting to know why I didn't show up at 0300 for my shift.

HUH?!?!?!? Excuse me?

Yes, well it seems as though I was put on the schedule for today from 0300 to 1700, a 14 hour shift. Unfortunately, it also appears as if the scheduling person forgot to CALL me to tell me that I was being scheduled.

Damn. I really need the money, too.

"But it's so near my brain..."

A young adult called 911 for a pimple on his face.

Why?

Because it was "so close to my brain".

He got transferred to triage when we got him to the hospital. The doctor was dumbfounded that he had called 911 for a zit.

Sometimes things just aren't what they seem to be...

I pride myself on being a fairly educated provider. I'm not the smartest and I don't know everything. I can always learn more. It's not often that I am rendered totally speechless while on a call.

I distinctly remember my first time....

My partner and I were dispatched to a "sick child". As we drove to the scene, my mind was racing about what the possibilities could be. It could be anything, I decided. An asthma attack, mental eval, traumatic injury, etc.

I was not prepared for what we found when we got there, however.

My partner and I walked into the house with our pedi bag and cardiac monitor. Mom was there and didn't speak any english. Dispatch had advised us that a third party was en route to the scene to translate for us.

I asked Mom where the child was and she pointed to the floor where there was a wadded up bedspread lying there. I leaned down and gingerly (with 2 fingers) pulled back the cover slightly.

A baby. Covered in blood.

My mind wasn't computing what I was seeing. I pulled back the cover a bit more and was dumbfounded to see an umbilical cord still attached to the infant. The baby had the most beautiful liquid brown eyes and just started up at me. It wasn't crying or fussing or anything.

Dread filled the pit of my stomach as I fully exposed the infant. I followed the umbilical cord all the way to the end....it was still attached to the placenta.

OH MY LORD! My partner and I looked at each other. He picked up the radio and asked for help. Dispatch wanted an update. "We have a-uhm-live birth here". My partner ran out to the truck to get the OB kit and we got mom seated on the cot. I picked up the infant and dried it off. I clamped and cut the cord and tried to stimulate the baby to cry. It seemed pretty content to just hang out, no crying or anything. We got the baby bundled up and handed it to Mom.

Turns out that Mom was young and she was afraid to tell anyone that she was pregnant. She didn't receive any prenatal care. She went into labor and managed to wait until her older sister left that morning before delivering the baby.

I still scratch my head when I think about that call.

The next shift I followed up on the baby and was told that it was doing well, despite some issues regulating the body temp.

It was my first "delivery" and the first birth certificate that I signed. And the first time that I was speechless throughout most of the call.

Things that make you go hmmmmmm

While randomly surfing today, I happened upon this article:


The Associated Press

HAYDEN, Idaho --

A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast" used a circular saw to cut off one hand, then he cooked it in the microwave and called 911, authorities said.

The man, in his mid-20s, was calm when Kootenai County sheriff's deputies arrived Saturday in this northern Idaho town. He was in protective custody in the mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center.

"It had been somewhat cooked by the time the deputy arrived," sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said. "He put a tourniquet on his arm before, so he didn't bleed to death. That kind of mental illness is just sad."

It was not immediately clear whether the man has a history of mental illness. Hospital spokeswoman Lisa Johnson would not say whether an attempt was made to reattach the hand, citing patient confidentiality.


Hmmmmmmm. Makes you wonder doesn't it?

Living in Harmony

So there is a long-standing history of discord between dispatchers and field crews throughout emergency services. Sometimes the rivalry is well deserved but most of the time, I think that the frustration comes from not understanding the other's job.

Those that aren't cross trained for both jobs don't understand what the other is doing. A dispatcher is responsible for answering 911 and non emergency calls, dispatching trucks and helping them get to the scene, calling for mutual aid, dealing with urgent problems that might arise with a crew, and maintaining a calm and professional disposition on the radio and on the phones. Field personnel are required to respond to a scene in a timely fashion, providing appropriate patient care, manage large scenes, deal with family members and bystanders, transport the patient to the hospital, and complete appropriate paperwork.

Seems easy right? Anyone can do it?

Well the problem arises when one side doesn't truly know and appreciate all that the other must do and deal with. I've never been a full time dispatcher. I have filled in a little bit and helped out when they've been busy. I also used to date the person who is now the communications lieutenant. I've spent many hours in the dispatch/communications center. I have an idea of what they do and what they go through. I have enormous respect for those who choose to spend their hours stuck behind a computer screen (or screens). A calm voice on the other end of the radio can help when things are going south on a scene.

It really depends on the place that you work. Some services have great training programs and require their new employees to spend time observing the other's duties. Most that I've worked at don't do that. It's a shame really because most misunderstandings could be avoided if each party tried to place themselves in the other's shoes.

A wonderful dispatcher will save your ass if you get lost trying to get to a scene--AND they won't give you any flack for getting lost. Good field personnel will make a CONCERTED effort to read a map and learn their zone or first due and won't ask for directions simply because they are too lazy to pick up the map book.

A good dispatcher will anticipate what resources you might need on a particular scene and get them en route for you without having to ask. Good field personnel won't ask for 14 additional units, 2 helicopters, law enforcement, highway patrol, the shift captain, and 4 fire departments unless they REALLY need them. Don't ask for the calvary if you are planning on canceling them right away. Take 2 minutes and do a quick scene size up before requesting more resources.

A good dispatcher will know when you need a few extra minutes to pull yourself together after a particularly bad call and will give you that time. Good field personnel won't take advantage of that and stay out of service on purpose.

Great dispatchers will try to get as much information about the call and your patient(s) as they can AND will relay that information to you whenever possible. Great field crews won't constantly pepper their dispatchers with a million questions, especially if dispatch is busy or the information requested is not all that important.

Good dispatchers will ask to ride with the crews (if allowed) to see what they go through on the other end of the radio. Good field crews will sit in the comm center and watch what the dispatchers go through (again, if allowed).

Everyone thinks that their job is the most important. And it is important....If we didn't have dispatchers, there wouldn't be anyone to answer the phones and dispatch the units. If we didn't have the field crews, there wouldn't be anyone to respond to the calls or tell where to go.

All it takes is a little observation and a lot of understanding. We can all get along--we are all in this business for the same thing, after all, aren't we?