How we respond to disable persons

[Just Plain Ruff]

This article written by a firefighter who suffered a traumatic brain injury and overcame such an injury is really good. It seems like a plug for a program but the underlying theme is to get you to think of how your agency deals and rescues disabled people.

I've never thought of in the service area where I used to work we knew where most of our disabled people were, sequestered in nursing homes and extended care facilities, in homes with handicapped ramps and other assistive devices but in my coverage area it was not a surprise to respond to a home where the person was disabled and we did not know it until we got there.

How do you respond to them? Can you get a database built around this type of thing and provide better care by moving resources into play when a call comes into that disabled persons home. many times a 2 man crew(just like we used to run with) didn't cut it and we had to either wait for additional resources or get em out the best we could.

It would be a great boon to have a database where people were listed with what type of disability and what resources would be needed to respond to them. Those are my thoughts.

But kudos to this guy to come back from the injury.

Please read and discuss.

Link: http://tocmsspp.umm.edu/sites/CBTransformation/SitePages/Home.aspx?RootFolder=%2Fsites%2FCBTransformation%2FShared%20Documents%2F08%2E%20Testing%2FTest%5FScripts%2F1%2E%5FApplication%2DSystem%5FTest%2FASAP&FolderCTID=0x012000E47B3F314980664B9F03A0726A1A1517&View={283A74ED-A487-4239-9915-5BB6C824BB50}

Full text:

Now, About the 56.7 Million - Better Rescue of the Disabled

by Mike Kennedy

“According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), “People with mobility impairments represent a segment of the population with one of the highest risks of dying in a fire.” Based on recent U.S. Census Bureau information, this represents about 21.2 million Americans.”

“According to incident reports filed by local fire departments, physical disability was a factor in an average of 380, or 14%, of home fire deaths per year between 2004 and 2008.”

- National Fire Protection Association Fire Analysis and Research Division ₍₁₎

Had anyone asked me before November 1st 2013 to guess how many people in the United States were disabled, my answer probably would have been a vague “not very many” or “a very small percentage.” To me that answer is not surprising because before that day I wasn’t disabled and I submit that most of us tend to think that way. However, on 1 November, I suffered an accident that left me disabled. Before November 1st 2013, I would never have believed that in 2010 there were an estimated ₍₂₎ 56.7 million disabled Americans ₍₃₎. According to a U.S. Census Bureau report by Matthew W. Brault and issued in July 2012, 38.3 million have disabilities that are categorized as severe. The Census Bureau report categorizes severe disabilities into three categories; communicative, mental, and physical.

Severe communicative disabilities include:
1. Blindness or difficulty seeing.
2. Deafness or difficulty hearing.
3. Difficulty having their speech understood. (Also see in this issue, “Q&A with Tracy Wallace”, an article on Aphasia here)

Severe mental (cognitive) disabilities include:
1. Learning disability, intellectual disability, developmental disability or Alzheimer’s disease, senility, or dementia.
2. Some other mental or emotional condition that seriously interfered with everyday activities.

Severe physical (mobility) disabilities include:
1. Use a wheelchair, cane, crutches, or walker.
2. Have difficulty walking a quarter of a mile, climbing a flight of stairs, lifting something as heavy as a 10-pound bag of groceries, grasping objects, or getting in or out of bed.
3. Arthritis or rheumatism, back or spine problem, broken bone or fracture, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, epilepsy, head or spinal cord injury, heart trouble or atherosclerosis, hernia or
rupture, high blood pressure, kidney problems, lung or respiratory problem, missing limbs, paralysis, stiffness or deformity of limbs, stomach/digestive problems, stroke, thyroid problem, or tumor/cyst/growth as a condition contributing to a reported activity limitation.

How does your agency rescue and treat someone if they cannot see, hear, or whose speech is difficult to understand? How do you know that those needing rescue and/or treat have severe disabilities?

Train and Prepare to Respond to the Disabled

One program to assist responders and those with disabilities was developed by a partnership between Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital for catastrophic injuries in Atlanta, Georgia, and the DeKalb County Fire Department, DeKalb, GA., to create the RESCUE program. This is a community service program providing home alert labels and education for people with physical and or cognitive limitations who find themselves in emergency situations. The mission is to aide in quicker response times and creation of better emergency plans.

http://www.shepherd.org/resources/rescue

This program can be duplicated and implemented in your local community. The program resources include a sticker to be placed in a visible front window of a disabled person’s home, an information card, and a letter the disabled person can give to the local fire department. Shepherd Center can help your community start or implement a RESCUE program, regardless of where you are located.

For further information, additional stickers or to implement a program in your community, please email Tuwanyo Willis: rescue@shepherd.org.

Additional resources:
National Fire Protection Agency- www.nfpa.org/disabilities
A detailed Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning Checklist can be found at this website.

United States Fire Administration www.usfa.dhs.gov
This organization will mail complimentary pamphlets including “Fire Risks for the Mobility Impaired” and “Protecting Your Family from Fire.”

National Fire Protection Association www.nfpa.org
You can find a copy of the “Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning Checklist.”

American Red Cross www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/disability.html

Home Use Devices: How to Prepare and Handle Power Outages for Medical Devices that Require Electricity. A guide from Texas Governor Rick Perry's Committee on People with Disabilities and FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures...

[uglyEMT]

Good article. Even the program sounds good, thanks for letting me know about it.

I know for me when my father was paralyzed (quad) and finally came home the first thing I did was call the local ambulance, fire and PD to notify them of my father. I also notified them if they responded and received no answer at the door what to do. From time to time if something changes I will update them accordingly. Their community doesn't have a program in place. Thankfully the few times they were required the appropriate man power and resources arrived. Also during Sandy the local PD did welfare checks and even brought over 10 gallons of gas for the generator. (sorry for the side track there)

I think these kind of programs should be all over, I even like them including developmental disabilities to the list. I think it would benefit any agency that serves their community. I know a few years ago we helped get the Life Tube into our community and it has made a difference so I could see this helping as well.

Edited February 17, 2014 by uglyEMT

[Just Plain Ruff]

And to think, it sounds like the originator of the program, Shepherd Center will do whatever they can to help you get this implemented in your community. It may cost some money up front though.

I'm sure some knowledgeable grant writer can write up a grant proposal to get you money to start this from some federal agency.

Edited February 17, 2014 by Ruffmeister Paramedic