New Tac Med Team in Ohio

[Dustdevil]

http://www.ems1.com/tactical-ems/articles/...-Ohio-SWAT-team

Paramedics join Ohio SWAT team

By Suzanne Hoholik

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS, Ohio — These are not your typical paramedics.

These guys wear body armor and helmets and join SWAT teams during raids, shootings and hostage situations.

"We used to have Columbus EMS come to the command post (from a block away), but history shows us, across the country, that's too far away if an officer gets shot," said Lt. David Wood, who leads the Columbus police SWAT squad.

"It's key to have the medics up close to the situation."

Columbus created a 24-member tactical EMS team late last year. Two members go out with the SWAT team as needed.

The medics don''t carry guns. Same goes for Cleveland''s tactical medic team, founded last year.

"Now we can do immediate lifesaving interventions on the scene," said Mark DePhillips, a tactical paramedic with the Cleveland Fire Department.

Tactical medics, like those in war zones, learn how to better control bleeding and shock, said Capt. Shawn Koser, a member of the Columbus tactical EMS team.

Over the past decade, police agencies across the nation have trained paramedics to work with SWAT and narcotics teams. Some carry guns.

No one is sure how many tactical medic teams are in Ohio because no agency keeps track. Training and education also vary.

The Ohio EMS board, which oversees training and education of emergency medical workers and firefighters, wants to make sure there are uniform rules for tactical teams.

"You see a lot of SWAT teams putting tactical medics into their teams, but there really were no standards, no regulating authority that oversaw the development of this medical community," said Mark Resanovich, a board member and a tactical medic in Akron.

The board is considering an advanced-practice paramedic level that would include tactical teams, bomb squads, flight medics and dive teams. Creating this would require legislation.

"As we were starting to look at the time and resources of the board, we thought, ''Do we build this little thing and step back, or is there this advanced-practice medic component that would work for all of these?''" said William Vedra, executive director of Ohio Homeland Security and a state EMS board member.

[spenac]

Not carry a gun when entering the hot zone? Heck no that is just stupid. If things go bad you would be a sitting duck.

[matt202]

IMHO any medic that goes into a tactical situation without the ability to protect themselves is asking to get killed. To me whats even worse than that is they are asking another team member to put their life on the line to protect them.

[Dustdevil]

If those guys were so damn good at protecting themselves, they wouldn't need tac medics in the first place. Based on that reality alone, anyone stupid enough to go in with them unarmed is just that, stupid.

[Doczilla]

My feeling on this thread is that those of you who haven't spent 5 minutes on a SWAT team should probably keep your opinions to yourself.

Just my $0.02.

'zilla

[FireMedic65]

Opinion are what discussions are about. Talking about things, and people talking about how the feel about whatever the topic may be. Anyone going into a tactical situation without the means to protect themselves is plain silly. No matter what the situation is! That's why the police bring patients to us, that's why firefighters bring patients to us. They are trained and equipped to go into those situations. A SWAT Medic may be trained in it, but they aren't properly equipped in this case.

[Camulos]

My feeling on this thread is that those of you who haven't spent 5 minutes on a SWAT team should probably keep your opinions to yourself.

Just my $0.02.

'zilla

As the general consensus seems to be that it is dumb to go into potentially hostile situations unarmed, please educate us with your wisdom on why it is not dumb oh learned SWAT / Army / ER hero.

Just my $0.04 to add to this FORUM

Stay safe,

Camulos

Edited July 16, 2009 by Camulos

[Kiwiology]

Our SERT Paramedics that work with the Armed Offenders Squad are not armed.

[matt202]

I've spent 18 years working on the UK equivalent of a SWAT team and on that basis feel pretty qualified to add my $0.02 worth to this thread!!!

[chbare]

I am not really in a position to make definitive, intelligent comments. However, are these medics entering the hot zone? I did not read anything about the medics stacking up and making entry with the team. Are we reading more into this than we need? Having a medical provider close is not a bad idea.

Take care,

chbare.