ALS Intercept

[BAYAMedic]

As several of you know, I am about 6 months into my dream job. I am the sole Paramedic& EMS Battalion Chief of a very rural agency. The closest ER is a PA staffed Level 4 critical access hospital, at 45 miles and a physician staffed level 3 with no Cath lab. The closest Cath lab is 100 Miles away This agency receives 300ish calls per year, Due to a generous annual donation by a hydroelectric dam in the coverage area, this agency has one paramedic on staff and a volunteer BLS support staff. We cover 750 square miles of mountainous terrain in the extreme NE of Washington state.

"The Paramedic" (weird to have it be a title rather than level of training), has traditionally had a Fly car for ALS Rendezvous/Fire Command. Looking through the old records it has been a variety of vehicles including: a Aerostar van, K5 Blazer, a 1990 Suburban, a 2001 Dodge Durango, 2004 Chevy Tahoe, 2009 Expedition, 2005 F-250 (with slip-in fire tank/pump). We serve a fair amount of forest service land with seasonal access and support several Search and rescue missions per year.

The problem I have ran into over the last 6 months, is that our two Primary Ambulances are beautiful Type 1 Ford F350 BraunNW Northstar Ambulances, with 167" wheel base, and 75" floor to Ceiling in the back. While they have been providing excellent transport capabilities, with the nature of our very mountainous terrain, there have been problems getting to some of the patients and the boxes have thus far gotten away with only minor damage.

I say all this to set the stage for my question. I currently have been approved to purchase a replacement vehicle, that has patient transport capabilities, Odyssey has a cabinet system designed for SUV patient transport and I like it so far, but have only seen a handful of pictures, and haven't had a chance to talk to anyone actually using them. The vehicle I am looking at is a 2015 Ford Police Interceptor Utility and that cabinet system has been installed and utilized by one agency, but again, I haven't been able to contact them.

I ask this question to all of you: If you were to design your Dream Fly car with patient transport capabilities, what would you choose, how would you lay it out, and lastly what color would you paint it and how would you stripe and sticker it?

http://www.odysseyauto.com/cabinets/ems-40-60-t1r.html

Fireman1037 AKA BAYAMedic and newly dubbed "Command Medic 203"

chappaqua pics.pdf

[island emt]

congrats on the dream job working out.

Is this future vehicle purchase to be your primary response vehicle along with being used to haul pt's out of places you don't want to take the traditional ambulances due to size?

Once you are out of the woods you will transfer to the full ambulance?

How does the state of Washington view this use of vehicle?

Here in Maine the flycar is required to have all the same equipment with the exception of a stretcher for transporting as a regular licensed ambulance.

Have used odyssey cabinets before in a flycar fleet. They are well built ,stay together well , but have a fuzzy fabric covering on them. Might not work well for transporting pt's that might be leaking fluids.

Another question is how much length from back hatch to the driver seat back. Sure a backboard fits, but what about the pt who's 6'4"

[Just Plain Ruff]

and what about the coding patients, can you work a code in that confined space?

[island emt]

back with a few more thoughts:

As far as paint scheme, highest visibility is when the dayglow battenburg design is used such as is popular in Europe. That might not fly with your employers , so the color should go with their primary paint scheme. use of fluorescent contrast striping to make it obvious it is an emergency vehicle is a must.

Maximum visibility is important , especially when responding code 3 to a scene , so plenty of LED's front & rear along with side intersection clearing lights. Are you required to follow NFPA guidelines?

Easy access to your most needed supplies is important as well as having everything well secured in case of an accident. Don't want anything flying around in the passenger compartment.

Another company to look at is PL Custom also in NJ. they build command vehicles and flycar interceptors using all aluminum cabinetry for the rear.

They had several command vehicles on the line last time i was at their factory to pick up a new ambulance.

what you are looking for is a unique design as most vehicles in that class are not designed to transport pt's.