I-TEAM: EMS union concerned speed bumps hurt patients. An EMS union in Cleveland was concerned enough about a municipal plan to add more speed bumps to the city streets that they went to the city council to let them know that speed bumps cause harm to patients in pain. They said, while they appreciated the…
Month: August 2024
Supraglottic Airways for BLS
Connecticut recently added supraglottic airways to the BLS scope of practice. That means basic EMTs (emergency medical technicians with considerably less training than paramedics) with the approval of their sponsor hospital medical director, no longer have to rely on bag-valve-mask ventilation to breathe for patients in cardiac arrest. Bag valve mask ventilation for those not…
Honorable, but Broken: EMS in Crisis
There is a new documentary about EMS called Honorable but Broken that highlights the crisis in EMS of high stress, low pay and lack of financial support from society. The film aims to reach the general public who are largely unaware of what most of us in EMS know too well. A noble profession and…
Age
People ask me if I still work the road, and many are surprised when I say I still do, qualifying it with “just one day a week.” They shake their heads and smile and say, “good for you!” While I do generally work one day a week, I didn’t work at all in July due…