Long Transport Times?

[jeremy1322]

Any of you guys have to deal with long trips to the local hospital?

We have a long haul, usually 20-45 minutes.

We have time to asses. Then re-asses. Then assess again. Taking vitals every 5. Etc. Etc.

Anybody else?

[canadianmedic]

i work in a rural setting our local hospital closes the ER at 2000 hrs so after that our next closest hospital is 20 - 25 minutes away which seems like forever with critical patients

[jeremy1322]

Absolutely, nothing like spending a half an hour solo in the back of the box with a critical pt.

Or doing the CPR/shock routine for a full 30 minutes while enroute to the ER because there was no medics to be found anywhere.

[Ztenec]

The only time our transport times are that long are when we intercept someone out in the county. However if they are that messed up we will just launch our lifeflight helo to pick them up.

[THE_DITCH_DOCTOR]

Back when I was a paid EMT-I, our average transport time anywhere from 15 minutes on the eastern side of the county to 45 minutes if you got down in the backwoods of the southern part of the county (the roads wouldn't allow you to go more than 25 MPH, they were so poorly maintained).

Oh, and most of the time, no medics until the last 5-10 minutes of the transport (boy that makes so much difference :roll: )

[VillageEMT]

We are right in the middle nowhere. Any hospital is 20 min. plus and even a helo takes 10-15 min to get here for a pick-up. If we are out in the hills it could be 10-20 min. more and no helo if the weather is bad. That's why we usually run with a AEMT-CC and two or more EMT-Ds.

ER?, we are the ER for the first half hour at least. There's nothing like having four in the back for CPR or major trauma. Luckily, at the end of the run there are two good trauma centers waiting for us. If we get them there with a pulse they have a really good chance.

[Alcomedicism]

Around here in Yell Couty, AR it avg. response time is something like 7-15mins if it is local and if we have to go WAAAAY out in Aly it is a 20min drive out there running lights and sirens. We have a big county with a lot of ground to cover. Right now there are talks of adding at least two more stations in the next 5-10yrs. to cut down on response time.

Also the main reason for me wanting to be a volly medic for my local VFD is so that maybe I can begin pt. care until YCEMS arrives and let them take over and I can help where needed once they are on scene. The sooner pt. care is started the better the pt. outcome is going to be in most cases.

-Dixie

[THE_DITCH_DOCTOR]

It takes 20 minutes flight time just to get the helicopter to the hospital we normally go to (not counting the time it takes to get the bird off the ground). If they were to come to the scene it would take them another 15 to get there. That coupled with the fact that helicopters have been proved to have no effect on survival rates in unbiased studies, we don't bother with the helicopter except in the most extreme of circumstances (and you can guarantee that our medical director will rake us over the coals for calling for the helicopter even then.)

Of course now we have this crappy medevac service a couple of counties over that is selling subscriptions to everyone and their brother, but we've been explicitly banned by our medical director from calling them EVER. Their quality of care and safety record is so poor that our MD said that if we have to call for a bird, that it had better be from Indy or Urbana or we should just hand over our certs as soon as we get to the ER cause if we call for the "other service" (not naming names) he'll nail us to the wall for violating protocol.

[Ztenec]

Ouch

[bandaidpatrol]

(from the station to the hospital)

35 minutes to a small local ER w/ minimal capabilities

60 minutes to a larger hospital w/ all kinds of special capabilities but with a lousy record for patient care (and survival)

90+ minutes to the nearest trauma center

15-20 minute ETA for the closest medevac to get into our area

Some areas of our coverage are as far as 25 miles from the station, so transport times can be up to an hour to the closest, and 3 hours for the farthest; depending on weather and rural road conditions.

Nearest ALS service is 27 miles away, we have a contract w/ them so 1 medic is always available for our calls. That costs 15K/year. It would cost 10K/month to have them stage in station, and with the low population, low tax base - there is no way on earth we could afford our 80K/year operating expenses and pay the 120K for in house ALS. We'd go out of business in a couple months. Of course, if we had to charge more for service, nobody would call 9-1-1.