Congress of Mobile Medical Professionals Publishes COVID-19 Vaccinations Guidance
The Congress of Mobile Medical Professionals, or CoMMP — a diverse collective comprising all facets of our diverse industry, including Fire, Emergency Medical Services, Community Paramedicine, legal, billing, technology, regulatory, and academia — announced today that it has published two documents, detailed below, that reflect a novel and nationwide perspective on key topics related to the practice of Mobile Medicine. Both papers can be downloaded via the organization’s website, www.CoMMP.org.
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Emergency Considerations in COVID-19 Vaccine AdministrationInternational Association of EMS Chiefs Release Pa...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus Source Type: news
911 Call: Sarasota (FL) Shark Bite Victim was ‘Bleeding to Death’
Laura Finaldi
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Fla.
(MCT)
Dec. 17—The victim of a Tuesday morning shark bite has been identified as a 39-year-old man whose arm and hand were bitten while he was swimming off of Siesta Key.
A female caller told a 911 operator that the victim was swimming off Siesta Key when he was bitten. He walked home afterward, but bled profusely in the house after he got back.
The caller told the dispatcher that the victim was alert but “bleeding to death.” The dispatcher explained to the caller and another person present how to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
The fema...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Communications & Dispatch Industry News Trauma Florida Stop the Bleed Source Type: news
Expert: Bismarck (ND) Air Medical Pilot Tried to ‘Save the Day’
Jack Dura
The Bismarck Tribune, N.D.
(MCT)
Dec. 14—Authorities might never know what all happened in the sky before a fatal Bismarck air ambulance crash in 2018, but one expert sees a few possible answers to some questions that remain.
The National Transportation Safety Board on Dec. 3 released its final report on the Bismarck Air Medical crash the night of Nov. 18, 2018. Bismarck Air Medical pilot Todd Lasky, Metro Area Ambulance paramedic Chris Iverson and CHI St. Alexius Health nurse Bonnie Cook died in the crash.
They were ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: News News Feed Air Ambulance Crash North Dakota Source Type: news
Queensbury (NY) Encouraged to Make Changes to EMS
Kathleen Moore
The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.
(MCT)
Dec. 17—QUEENSBURY — A long-awaited study of the town’s complex, three-agency emergency medical system has strongly advised the Town Board to merge all three agencies into one.
But the three agencies, which met with the Town Board on Monday on the issue, were unenthusiastic.
West Glens Falls and Bay Ridge EMS leaders said they were considering an adjustment to the boundary lines of their districts to equalize the number of calls each agency gets.
That was an alternative offered in the study.
North Queensbury EMS officials said they do not ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: News News Feed Operations EMS New York Source Type: news
Health Officials Track Safety as COVID-19 Vaccines Roll Out
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer
As COVID-19 vaccinations roll out to more and more people, health authorities are keeping close watch for any unexpected side effects.
On Tuesday, a health worker in Alaska suffered a severe allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She is in the hospital for another night under observation while another worker, vaccinated Wednesday, has recovered. Doctors already knew to be on the lookout after Britain reported two similar cases last week.
Related: Emergency Considerations in COVID-19 Vaccine Administration
In the U.S., vaccine recipients are supposed ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: AP News Coronavirus Source Type: news
Will Children Be Able to Get COVID-19 Vaccines?
Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?
Not until there’s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year.
The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there’s enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.
Related: COVID-19 in Kids — It’s Not a Small Problem
Depending on the results, younger children may be enrolled for study as well.
Moderna, which is expe...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: AP News Coronavirus Medicine Source Type: news
Leadership Mindset with an Emphasis in EMS, Part Three
Conclusion
“Half of what is taught in medical school is wrong, but nobody knows which half. –
Lucy Hornstein, MD.”15 The same could be said about leadership as well. Many leadership fads have been developed over time and may have had their place, but as times and trends change, so does leadership. As leaders in EMS, it’s crucial to adapt to the new generations of employees and identifying the best ways to work for and with them. The story of the blind men and the elephant is a good story to remember as leaders to say not all things that appear to be true necessarily are.
...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 17, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Administration and Leadership Exclusives Adminstration & Leadership EMS Source Type: news
Emergency Considerations in COVID-19 Vaccine Administration
Conclusion
The joint response of science and medicine to develop safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines has been brisk and productive. Distribution efforts will now be the next step in limiting the breadth of this pandemic. EMS agencies will play a key role in some areas in the administration of vaccinations for their communities.
The authors suggest that to better clarify the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, EMS systems must maintain a log of the type and incidence of adverse events following vaccine administration, EMS responses to the adverse events, as well as those patients’ outcomes from this management. ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus Exclusives EMS EMT Paramedic Source Type: news
The EMS Handoff Podcast: Medical Errors with Kevin Collopy
Get every episode by subscribing to The EMS Handoff podcast using Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
In this episode of the EMS Handoff Podcast, Eric, David and Bradley are joined by Kevin Collopy where they discuss clinical errors in EMS. Kevin is the clinical outcomes and compliance manager for NHRMC AirLink/VitaLink Critical Care Transport where he oversees the program’s research, education, risk management and quality assurance programs.
Kevin regularly speaks across the United States and has taught emergency and wilderness medicine on three continents. He’s an author of over 150 articles and...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Podcasts Source Type: news
Donations Help Buy Grave Marker for CO Paramedic
A retired Aurora (CO) firefighter/paramedic who volunteered to fight COVID-19 in New York City and lost his life to the virus now has a permanent memorial.
Paul Cary died within a month of arriving to the COVID hotspot. His body was carried back to Colorado in a large procession of ambulances to be laid to rest.
His grave was adorned with a plastic marker.
Cary’s friends and co-workers launched a GoFundMe campaign earlier this year, raising $6,000 for a proper headstone.
“Paul was a great person. He sacrificed his entire life from beginning to end for EMS and fire in this community, so he deserves to be...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus News Paramedic Source Type: news
Ambulances Wait for Six Hours in Los Angeles County (CA)
Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
With intensive care units in Southern California and the Central Valley lurching perilously close to full capacity Tuesday, officials are turning to increasingly desperate measures to prevent the state’s coronavirus surge from killing more patients.
Hospitalizations are continuing to rise at unprecedented levels, and officials have limited options for boosting capacity. Among the tools: Canceling scheduled surgeries; keeping critically ill patients in emergency rooms; sending ICU patients into step-down units earlier; training nurses...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus News News Feed Ambulance California Hospital Source Type: news
EMS Providers Face Fiscal Crisis During COVID-19 Pandemic
According to a report from Buffalo Business First, it’s not uncommon for emergency medical services (EMS) providers to respond to a calls that eventually become “treat-and-release,” with the patient declining to go to the hospital. However, these calls are also not billable, which means these financial losses must be subsidized by other emergency calls.
In the early days of the pandemic, people feared going to a hospital and dealing with possible risk exposure. Although recent call volumes have largely returned to prepandemic levels, EMS providers are still trying to catch up.
Tim Frost, regional direct...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus News Source Type: news
Off-Duty Paramedic Rescues Surfers Off San Francisco (CA)
Amy Graff
SFGate, San Francisco
(MCT)
The San Francisco Fire Department is calling a rescue two surfers performed Sunday night in the tumultuous waters off Fort Point heroic.
The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m., according to SFFD Lt. Jonathan Baxter, when a “body boarder ran into a large rock, becoming unconscious and submerged underwater.”
Two surfers, one of them an off-duty paramedic, spotted the body and immediately started CPR in the water as they brought him in through the surf zone onto shore.
Paramedics with the fire department continued life-saving measures on land,...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: News News Feed California Paramedic Rescue Source Type: news
Brick (NJ) EMTs Save Man Who Suffered Widowmaker Heart Attack
Amanda Oglesby
Asbury Park Press
(MCT)
BRICK – Joe Holler was mowing his lawn before noon on Halloween when he began to feel weak. Worried that he was having a heart attack, Holler took a baby aspirin and called 911.
Holler’s quick thinking and a 6-minute response from Brick EMTs Joseph Sharkey and Brian Schwarz averted what would otherwise have been a tragedy, police said in a news release.
Within minutes of their arrival, and that of Patrolman Daniel Fogarty, Holler’s pain worsened. Before the ambulance pulled away from his home, Holler slipped into unco...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Cardiac & Resuscitation News News Feed Patient Care Cardiac Arrest EMT New Jersey Source Type: news
IAFC Develops State-by-State Listing of Vaccine Priority for Fire, EMS
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has created a list that shows the priority level that firefighters and EMS personnel will be given the COVID-19 vaccine.
“All fire chiefs are encouraging to review their state’s plan and see how firefighters and EMS personnel in their state have been prioritized for access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” the group said on its website. “Based on this prioritization level, the IAFC also encourages all fire chiefs to urge their governor’s office and local public health department to ensure that all firefighters and EMS personnel are placed on Tier 1A for access to a C...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - December 16, 2020 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Coronavirus News EMS Firefighter IAFC Source Type: news
