Richard B the EMT

Here in NYC, buildings constructed after a certain year are supposed to have elevators, if they go higher than 5 storys tall. Then, I have a friend now living in an 8 story high building that is not even open for a full 2 years, and it seems she is always complaining that she has to walk up or down to her 6th floor apartment, as the elevator is out of order again. Worse, it has stalled with her IN THE ELEVATOR CAR, and she's a known cardiac patient with HBP. Ever walk up 12 storys with the equipment, and then back down with the equipment and the patient in the carry chair, during a blackout? Did that (with the power returning about 5 minutes after effecting the carrydown assist with the Paramedics). Remember that I am used to working in a big municipality, and await commentary from those in a more unpopulated area, where, obviously, experiences will be different.

Sounds good to me. Just don't be the tech who uses the phrase "A-B-C=Ambulate Before Carrying" excessively. As for babies and young children, Mom or Dad can carry, unless the illness/injury falls under those I just quoted from Vorenus. Then, they ride the chair or gurney.

With the "3 going into a bar" scenario bein g the lead-in to soi many jokes, it would seem to be yet another joke. However, on the TV News this evening,and on a serious note, they are reporting on a guy who threw several "Molotov Coctails", with more as spares, at a Shul (Jewish House of Worship), where the Rabbi and his family were living in the building, and were home at the time. The Mo-Fo is using the "excuse" for doing the deed, as being simply, "I hate Jews".

The linked article states she was the only female in the class, and in line to become the department's first female. 1) Has she reapplied? 2) Will she reapply? 3) Have any other female candidates in a later class been identified?

Begs the question, Which is less expensive,nitrates or day rates?

How are you dealing with all that? Or lack of all that? LOL I worked within New York City. Speaking other languages can be an advantage, as long as one is conversant in the country's language. I also ask what your first language is, Ana, as mine, regrettably, will remain NYC dialect English, with just enough Spanish to ask, and understand the answer, ?Que Hora es? (What time is it?)

Pursuant to my previous postings, did I mention the establishment of local hospital's participation as primary/secondary/tertiary receiving hospital(s) to the event? One of them best be a Trauma Center, and all on your list should be involved in the pre planning. No, I hadn't mentioned it before, so it is a good thing I just did! The generalized suggestion of contacting the state DoH for what, if anything, they require for "Event Medical Coverage" is good, and I wish I'd mentioned it first.

Oh, just as a mention on this, Last summer, I attended a free Aretha Franklin Concert at the Coney Island Amusement Area, next door to the Municipal Credit Union Ball Park (Home of the Brooklyn Cyclones), and the Midwood Ambulance Service supplied 4 BLS ambulances. The concert series normally has 3 assigned to the event. It would take me and lady J, normally, about 10 minutes to get out of the area following the concerts, this time took over an hour, due to the number of concert attendees. Coney Island is a limited access area, there's only 4 ways by road in or out, or come in illegally by boat (no docks).

I must have mentioned this on other strings, but here I go again... In New York State, for each specified number of participants and/or spectators, an ambulance and crew must be staged at the event. Over a certain number, a "MASH" or equivalent tent(s), with full medical staff(s) must be assigned, and access/egress routes to and from must be established and secured open from several hours prior to opening, to a determined number of hours afterwards.. If big enough, a temporary heli-pad area should be secured. And all of this, following a musical exhibition at a Mr. Yasgur's Farm in New York, in 1969, called Woodstock!

In a joint statement, the offices of the United States, New York, and New Jersey Attorney Generals announced that yesterday, at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, an individual, later discovered to be a Public School teacher, was arrested while trying to board a flight to Washington DC, while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, and a calculator. The Attorney Generals offices expressed the belief that the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement, and is being charged with carrying weapons of math instruction. Al-Gebra is a fearsome cult, that desires average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes goes off on a tangent in a search of absolute value. They consist of shadowy figures, with names like “X” or “Y”, and, although they are referred to as “unknowns”, we know they really belong to a common denominator, and are part of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the great Greek philanderer, Isoseles, used to say, there are three sides to every angle, and if God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes. I am grateful our government has given us a cosine of intent on protracting us from these math-dogs, who are willing to disintegrate us with calculus disregard. These statistic bastards love to inflict plane on every sphere of influence. Under the circumference, it is time we differentiated their root, made our point, and drew the line. These weapons of math instruction have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a scalene never before seen, unless we become exponents of a higher power, and begin to factor in random facts of vertex. As the first President George Bush used to say, “Read my ellipse”. Here is one principal he is uncertainty of – Although they continue to multiply, their days are numbered, and the hypotenuse will tighten around their necks!

And then, there's "World Laughter Day"... http://www.laughteryoga.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=703:world-laughter-day-japan-tokyo&catid=125:latest-&Itemid=275

More a dent type impression. WTH wazzat?

I'm going to ask my former girlfriend, Yvette, who lived on the kibbutz in Israel, what they did there, that made a kibbutz successful. Also, she was a NY State EMT, back in the 1970s. As to whether Yvette will answer the question(s), no clue. I'll give her my usual disclosure that I intend to publish what she writes me. (10 minutes later) OK, E-Mail sent, worded as follows... Hi, Yvette. In some of my previous contacts with you, I'm sure that I mentioned that I was a frequent contributor to the EMT City web site (www.EMTCity.com), under the name "Richard B, the EMT". One of the strings I am on is "Reading suggestions regarding communal philosophy". Some of the "city" members feel that communal living is doomed to failure, and cite the former USSR, and Cuba as examples. I mentioned the apparently successful, and continuing Kibbutz "systems" (for my lack of a better term) in Israel. Could you advise of a few items of Kibbutz living that might tell how they succeed, and, if you want, how they might need improvement? It will be my intent to put this information on the web site, and on that string, after removing anything, aside from your first name, that might be traced back to you, for your personal security. Thank you in advance for this help. Richard B.

On the subject of hair... (Cowsills version, link @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ZBX6bVO3s&feature=related Or George Carlin on his longer hair... I'm aware some stare at my hair. In fact, to be fair, Some really despair of my hair. But I don't care, Cause they're not aware, Nor are they devonaire. In fact, they're just square. They see hair down to there, Say, "Beware" and go off on a tear! I say, "No fair!" A head that's bare is really nowhere. So be like a bear, be fair with your hair! Show it you care. Wear it to there. Or to there. Or to there, if you dare! My wife bought some hair at a fair, to use as a spare. Did I care? Au contraire! Spare hair is fair! In fact, hair can be rare. Fred Astair got no hair, Nor does a chair, Nor nor a chocolate eclair, And where is the hair on a pear? Nowhere, mon frere! So now that I've shared this affair of the hair, I'm going to repair to my lair and use Nair, do you care? Youtube Link @

In NY State, the EMT-B and EMT-P tests are in English, period. However, if one has the ability to speak other languages while dealing with the patients, more power to them, and hopefully, better pay to act as translators within the EMS community. In no particular order, just within the district I served, while in FDNY EMS employ, one needed speakers of Spanish, Farsi, German, Italian, French, Hatian variety French (called Creole by some), 3 dialects of Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Rumanian, Croatian, Urdu, Portugese, Polish, Yiddish, or Hebrew, in addition to American variety English, Noo Yawk division. Just from my personal background, in addition to English, I should, but don't speak, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Russian and/or Polish. (My detractors say I don't speak English that well, either.)

Possibly, and probably, very true. While I know of nobody who would eat any food in the patient compartment, I had one Lieutenant who was insistant that we not eat in the ambulances, even in the cab. For reasons of both NYC costs, and portion control, I'd "brown bag" my meal, with my lunch bag stored inside my book bag, behind the cab seat. This particular Lieutenant even objected to that. However, he never wrote anybody up for "violating" this "policy", hence, I doubt there really was such policy. The station Captain, and the division Chiefs never mentioned it to us.

NY State DoH EMT application has a space to check and fill out, if guilty of any conviction, and will be considered on a case by case evaluation.

Go to the link Scouting.org for more information. Hey, it is a start.

OK, I now have a better knowledge of CPAP, but no answer as to the terminology "Off Label" being applicable to either or both meds and/or devices. By the way, the American Sleep Apnea Association link is http://www.sleepapnea.org/

Some of what is now being described, sounds a bit like an "Assisted Living" facility

Acute Sleep Apnea is enough of a problem that I might have needed hospitalization for it. I'd been on C-PAP for treating it (ASA) for well over a decade, when I started hearing about C-PAP being used for Pneumonia, CHF, COPD, or other such uses. That is why, from the viewpoint of an ASA sufferer, I might see the other uses as being "Off Lable". Again, as Science develops and refines, the "Off Lable" uses of any product or medicine will possibly, and probably, become the "ON Lable" uses. Rogain was a failure for whatever it was originally intended, now it's primary use is to grow hair, to make one example.

There used to be a commune in the Bronx, NY, operating a Volunteer Ambulance Service, called "Plenty Volunteer Ambulance". They were an outpost of the "Parent" commune in Tennessee. I haven't heard anything about them in some years, personally, but there were several "Hits" on a Goggle search I just completed.

So call the collective/commune what it's called in Israel: a Kibbutz. Old girlfriend used to live on one, old co-worker still does. (I've never made the pilgrimage to that country)

Unfortunately, for the purposes of this discussion, I enter from left field to mention that a CPAP, humidified or not, is also used to treat Acute Sleep Apnea. I admit I suffer ASA, and use a CPAP now set to an airflow of 9MM, and am about to get a 5 year re-evaluation to possibly up that. Is either use "off lable? No clue.

Seth, sometimes we get into "flaming" sessions with others on this site, myself included, but not (so far) with you. A point that I try to make with all newbies (new-jacks, n00bs, boot recruits, earthworms and ground grippers), and the established members of both the EMS community, and the EMT City Community, is, try to keep any criticism to a minimum, and if you feel that an answer is incorrect, say so, but followed with a reason why. That reason why, whatever it is, best not be along the lines of "You're wrong because you're some variant of the south end of a northbound horse", better along the lines of "Unless my previous sources were incorrect, you're wrong, due to the following items from that previous source," and list them. No, you don't have to be that formal, either. Due to my longevity in EMS (from 1973), some feel I practically wrote the book on EMS. Due to constant changes in trainings and protocols, I will tell you flat out that I did not, and can not. When I first took EMT training, it was a 40 hour long course, with 20 hours for refresher, mandatory every 3 years. The last full class I heard about was over 150 hours, and for the mandatory 3 year program, at least 45 hours for the refresher, prior to the startup of a new "5 Year Refresher Pilot" program, consisting of "X" number of hours of Continuing Medical Education, broken down by specific subjects, call reviews, and other topics within the field, per year, during those 5 years. (That reminds me, I'm going to need a separate "Rescuer CPR" class soon) While the line of "You don't know what you don't know" is quite accurate, I know where there are certain holes in my training, hense, I ask questions here, too. Others ask me, to help them fill their holes. If I don't know, I admit it. EMS training is one field where you cannot always dazzle them with your brilliance, and definately cannot attempt to baffle them with your BS. Seth, I don't really know you, and many here have a well calibrated "BS Meter", way better than mine. If, and I emphasize IF, you are attempting to BS them, you will be found out, and called on it. My personal opinion is currently, admittedly, "the jury is still out". To all on this string, let's try to keep it civil.