CBEMT

You've never had anybody refuse treatment because of the cost? The article was in a hardcopy of a trade magazine. I don't have membership access for the stories on the website.

FWIW, I've been reading that there's a trend of people actually hiding and/or actually running away from SAR teams on the incorrect assumption that they were going to be charged for their rescue.

Something I saw on another BB today in regards: Suspend disbelief for a second, and think about it.

Just remember- a clean background check doesn't mean you're not a scumbag.

Bet I could boggle it again. At my first job as an ALS provider, I had neither pain relief nor the ability to stop a seizure. The justification from the owner was "if they (the contract nursing home patient) need that stuff, then they (the contract nursing home staff) should've called 911." I also did not have the ability to intubate anyone smaller than a 7.0. "Assorted sizes" apparently meant 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 according to the state. No glucometers, and whether or not you had SPO2 capability depended on what your assigned truck was that day. No bag to carry anything in- get called for the unresponsive, I had to jump in the back after arriving and load up the back end of the stretcher with a BVM, ET kit, the little clear plastic box the OPAs come in, and the monitor. The Plano box was just too big and bulky, it stayed behind. Trucks staffed by two EMT-Bs did not carry AEDs until about 3 years ago. The license carried by all our ambulances allowed the stocking of ALS equpment, like the LP10s that we had, under the provision that ALS personnel to use it might not always be on board. Management's rational was that our ALS-level supervisor's could "intercept" with any unit needing defibrillation- ignoring the fact that since the supervisors never left the main office, it was a 99% certainty that the BLS crew could make an ED before the supervisor could get anywhere near them. I am curious, though how the rest of the world ended up using nitrous, which I don't think can be found on any American ambulance, yet some of those same systems can't even, say, cardiovert an unstable VT.

And even Playmobile knows that EMS and Fire are two separate things!

The other thing to keep in mind is that many of the suspensions issued by MAOEMS were for only 45 days. If this broad caught a 9-month rip, clearly someone at the state (Commonwealth, sorry ) thinks she did something extra-special bad. Which she conveniently does not mention.

By the looks of things it was pretty much an even split between privates and FDs, slight "advantage" to the privates, possibly because one of the rogue instructors in question was a private company employee- but he was ALSO a firefighter. His license and one or two others were permanently revoked. There is an appeals process, it remains to be seen what the ultimate outcome is and how much of the punishments stick.

I'm kind of curious how the fire department ends up on a nursing home to nursing home job myself.

BGL? Not that it's probably going to make a difference, but if it does, well, there you go. NPA, if he takes that, try an oral. I doubt he'll take that, but it's a thought. If he takes that, intubate. Large bore IV, wide open. Second if we have time. Careful Narcan trial. Consider, if you have the option and the time, an NG tube for administration of activated charcoal. Rapid transport.

Little hint? If you're the first one onscene (and realistically, even if you're not), it's not safe. Just sayin.

How often does THAT happen around here?

Before you go out and risk your life on a maybe and hearsay again, I highly recommend checking that out from the source. As in, actually read the law yourself. So, I give you this for thought: you walk out your front door tomorrow, and a submarine falls on your head. It's about as likely.

No, I think he was pretty clear what he meant:

That was pretty much the inference behind my post, just for the record. Perhaps my sarcasm did not translate.

I'd love to know what technology you think the police have that can see through the headrest of a driver's seat so the officer can see what race the driver is- especially at night.

I'm kind of curious what an acceptable number would be, as opposed to "too many."

For us, it's department policy. Right, wrong, or indifferent, that's the rule. And by state law we are not afforded emergency vehicle privileges unless both are activated. So at 3am when I don't use them rolling down a sleepy side street looking for the house number, or on the highway because I'm outrunning the siren anyway, I'm breaking the law. Or at least, have no legal recourse if suddenly a car materialized in front of me and I hit it. The only agencies around here that don't transport emergent are the privates, unless they have something they think warrants it. The peg tubes, Foley replacements, most transfers from urgent care centers, etc are hauled normal traffic. But none of them are doing 911 calls, so its not that big of a percentage.

Whether I have the same license as my partner or nor isn't really material. If I drive and my partner (Basic for the sake of argument) techs, and on the way to the hospital he performs a thoracotomy, that's on him. Many people drive trucks that they can't even see their partners in during transport- not that they should be taking their eyes off the road/mirrors anyway. But since we're talking about paperwork- everybody's name goes onto ours a matter of record, EMT numbers on the bubble side that goes to the state, but mine's the only signature, or my partner's, or whoever (if we happen to be running with a 3rd that day). If I teched and my partner drove, there's probably 2-3 sets of vitals and whatever treatments I provide to document, that my partner had zero to do with. And vice versa if the roles were reversed. If I ignore protocol and throw the patient a nitro with a BP of 80, my driver/partner is no more responsible for that than the hospital janitor.

Jeez. And people call ME Type A........

I don't get it. Why would she need to sign the runsheet? She's not doing the paperwork.

(skip to 1:35) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDHGvIdr1Bo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS3Joy1rd3o&feature=related

You don't think the Department of Health has a verifiable database? Read the article again. Anyone verifying certification with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (they're not NREMT) would have found valid certifications issued by the Commonwealth. They didn't fake the fact that they had certs. They (are alleged to have) faked their participation in a recert class. The paperwork was submitted, and their certification was re-issued as normal. There's no mechanism anywhere that I know of for employers to look at somebody's recert class paperwork. They either have a certification issued by the state or they don't, and that's all anybody needs. These people did. Did they obtain these RE-certifications improperly? Remains to be proven, but it certainly seems that way. But again, it wasn't like the case in RI a month or so again where the kid was practicing after handing his employer a fake license that he made himself, and a simple web search would have proven it. Completely different.

Defending one's life always makes sense. Anything else and you're already a victim in your own mind, it just hasn't come to fruition yet.

As far as I know, it only has to pass KKK once- when it's built. Otherwise, half the trucks on the road would have been pulled off already. Whatever you have is fine. Relax.