On February 21, 2013 I wrote the post In Praise of CEMSMAC, to celebrate the courage of Connecticut’s top EMS doctors to back the draft document on spinal boards proposed by the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP), and to use that document as a guideline to developing statewide guidelines limiting the use of long boards for spinal immobilization instead of backing the final watered down version of the NAEMSP/American College of Surgeons Joint Position Paper.
This week, after a year and a half of meetings and review by various state EMS committees, the state Department of Public Health released the final document that both enables BLS practioners to utilize selective spinal immobilization and radically changes the treatment for those who merit spinal restriction. The new document effectively eliminates the long board board for anything but assistance with extrication and movement.
Check it out here:
Connecticut Spinal Motion Restriction Guideline
