The EMT course is being instructed by Brian Coffman, Paramedic/Supervisor with NARMC EMS, Brian Unruh, Paramedic/EMS Director with NARMC EMS and Telicia Wade-Perry, Paramedic with Flippin Fire Department. These instructors have many years of classroom training and have an almost perfect pass ratio of the students they have trained over the past years.

The important feature to this class is that there are no costs to the students in order to receive this training. North Ark EMS has agreed to provide the EMT training to the Marion County First Responders at no cost in order to ensure that they can assist their neighbors in need; which is a savings to the students of over $1000. The students are providing the educational materials for the class. The students also provide their own uniforms required to do the clinical portions of the class involving working and delivering patient care in an emergency room for 24 hours and on a paramedic level ambulance for 24 hours.

Keith Katcher, Chief of the Flippin Fire Department, has agreed to provide the location for the course at the Flippin Fire Department. The students are meeting every Monday and Wednesday night for 4 hours each night in order to receive the classroom education needed.

“This is a great service to the residents of Marion County.” stated Keith Edmonds, President of the Arkansas EMT Association. “We are grateful to North Ark EMS and Flippin Fire Department for assisting the fire departments and the students that are attending this course. I look forward to working side by side with each student and assisting them in any way that I can while they grow and learn the importance of their decision. It is with efforts like this that show the concern for the communities in Marion County and the ability to assist the neighbors in need.”
NARMC EMS received the recognition of the Arkansas Advanced Service of the Year presented at the annual EMS Conference this year for their dedication in serving the communities they provide ambulance response for, as well as educating those providing care to their neighbors prior to the arrival of an ambulance.

Upon passing the written and practical skills examination in April, the students will become Arkansas Licensed and National Registered Emergency Medical Technicians.

Shift Captain Rob Douthit shows Madison County EMS’ two new notebook computers.

A recent grant has given Madison County EMS an opportunity to upgrade its technology. The service recently received a regional trauma grant from the Arkansas Department of Health. Part of the grant money was used to purchase two refurbished Panasonic Toughbook notebook computers. The notebooks are used in the field to gather patient information and to create patient reports for the hospitals and for the state. The Toughbooks also have a unique feature which allows signatures to be written on the screen and captured in memory for reports.

In addition to reports, Madison County EMS plans to use the notebooks as a reference library. Programs for emergency procedures, medication information, medical protocols, and hazardous materials will soon be added.

The same grant is also benefiting Madion County’s EMS responders. Emergency Medical Responders, or EMRs for short, respond to emergencies in their community and provide basic emergency medical care until the ambulance arrives. Through the grant MCEMS has purchased immobilization equipment for use by the responders. The equipment is used by the EMRs to treat car wreck patients and trauma victims. The used equipment is swapped for a new set by the responding ambulance. MCEMS is hosting a training class on the new immobilization equipment in February.

Click here for more information about the Gayla Gregory EMS Memorial Scholarship.

By Jamie Thompson
EMS1 Senior Editor

BALTIMORE — Transport is the most dangerous thing EMS providers do — but the full extent of the hazards involved have always been tough to prove.

The risk of occupational death is two-and-a-half fold higher for EMS workers, while EMS response is also statistically more dangerous than police or fire.

A session at EMS Today in Baltimore was told how a recent study on the forces that are applied to EMS providers during transport not only highlights the risks to responders but to patients as well.

Continue reading at ems1.com

By Jamie Thompson
EMS1 senior editor

BALTIMORE — A department’s firing of a firefighter-medic over a video he posted on Facebook was extreme but likely legally safe, a session at EMS Today was told on Friday.

Jason Brown created the three-minute clip — featuring a responder and a doctor — on an animation program before posting it on the social networking Web site.

Continue reading at ems1.com

The Jonesboro Air Evac Life Team landed at Medic One to recognize them for their excellence in emergency medical services.

Read the rest and watch the video at http://www.kait8.com/global/story.asp?s=12014409

Participation in capital punishment is inconsistent with the ethical precepts and goals of the EMS profession. NAEMT strongly opposes all forms of EMS participation in executions, by whatever means, whether under civil or military legal authority. EMTs and paramedics should refrain from participation in capital punishment and not take part in assessment, supervision or monitoring of the procedure or the prisoner; procuring, prescribing or preparing medications or solutions; inserting the intravenous catheter; injecting the lethal solution; and/or attending or witnessing the execution as an EMT or paramedic. The fact that capital punishment is currently supported in many segments of society does not override the obligation of EMTs and paramedics to uphold the ethical mandates of the profession.

NAEMT recognizes that endorsement of the death penalty remains a personal decision and that individual EMTs and paramedics may have views that differ from the official position of the profession. Regardless of the personal opinion of the EMT or paramedic on the appropriateness of capital punishment, it is a breach of the foundational precepts of emergency medical services, and a violation of the EMT Oath, to participate in taking the life of any person. Although we cannot forbid an EMT from participating in capital punishment, we voice our concern that the participation violates the medical ethic of beneficence.

“NAEMT was approached by one of our state affiliates to look at the issue of EMT involvement in capital punishment because they felt new legislation in their state may force them to participate,” says Connie Meyer, NAEMT President-Elect. “Although NAEMT believes each EMS practitioner has the right to personal views on capital punishment, we also believe that for an EMT or paramedic to participate would violate the EMT Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics states: A fundamental responsibility of the Emergency Medical Technician is to conserve life, to alleviate suffering, to promote health, to do no harm, and to encourage the quality and equal availability of emergency medical care.”

To view the full position statement, please go to the NAEMT Positions page in the Advocacy section of www.naemt.org.

About NAEMT

Formed in 1975 and today more than 30,000 members strong, NAEMT is the nation’s only association representing the professional interests of all EMS practitioners, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, first responders and other professionals working in pre-hospital emergency medicine. NAEMT members work in all sectors of EMS, including government service agencies, fire departments, hospital-based ambulance services, private companies, industrial and special operations settings, and in the military.

Top goals for this event are to:

• Include representation from EMS organizations in all sectors of the EMS community.
• Provide a consistent message to Congress on the key issues affecting EMS and EMS practitioners.
• Encourage and promote participation by EMS practitioners from across the nation.

The Hotel Palomar in Washington , D.C. has been selected as the official event hotel. Our Hill Day program will run as follows:

• May 3, 2010 (evening) – A pre-Hill Visit briefing will prepare participants for visiting their congressional leaders. All participants will receive Hill Visit Kits and appointment schedules. Appointment schedules will be organized by state.
• May 4, 2010 (morning-afternoon) – Participants will visit the offices of congressional leaders in their state to advocate for key EMS issues.
• May 4, 2010 (evening) – NAEMT will host a reception for all EMS on the Hill Day participants, congressional leaders and staff, and federal agency staff.

The success of the first EMS on the Hill Day will depend on participation from the leaders of the EMS community. We ask that you commit to sending as many leaders from Arkansas EMT Association as you can to Washington and agree to promote EMS on the Hill Day to your members through your website and newsletter. We only ask that participants be responsible for their travel costs (transportation, hotel, and meals). There will be no registration fee to attend. Here is a link to our online registration form:

http://www.naemt.org/advocacy/EMSontheHillDay/EMS_on_the_Hill_Registration.aspx

Example of Chemical Suicide Note

The Office of Fire Prevention and Control has recently assisted local authorities in two communities with suicides involving chemicals. This method of suicide, sometimes called detergent suicide, if frequently used in Japan and is being seen more frequently in this country. The process involves mixing common household chemicals to create hydrogen sulfide in a small space. Instructions to do this are readily available on the internet and most encourage anyone planning to use this method to provide appropriate warnings to people who might encounter or respond to their situation about the presence of the deadly gas. One incident in Japan took place in the bathroom of an apartment. Over seventy people in neighboring apartments were sickened by the fumes. In Arizona one individual manufactured hydrogen cyanide instead of hydrogen sulfide. This is the only instance of hydrogen cyanide I’ve been able to discover and suspect it’s rare because the chemicals needed for the reaction are not as readily available as those used to make hydrogen sulfide.

Our concern is that anyone who enters the space without proper protection may quickly become a victim themselves. Both recent incidents in New York involved suicides inside a vehicle. One vehicle had very clear and obvious warning signs taped to the window (as in Fig. 1 and 2), the other had signs that were less noticeable laid on the dashboard. In both instances responders were able to recognize the situation and take appropriate protective actions.

It is anticipated that the number of these incidents will rise as more people become aware of the process. The Office of Fire Prevention and Control has developed guidelines to deal with these incidents that I believe local responders will find useful in the event of a chemical suicide in their community.

The attached information is intended to serve as a model protocol. Local agencies may choose to alter these, or implement different policies, based on local training, resources and policies. The important point is that we should be prepared to respond safely to events of this nature. Please distribute this information to the responders in your community.

David Taylor

The Arkansas EMS Foundation has established a scholarship fund in memory of David Taylor, Sr. who passed away suddenly on Nov. 5, 2009.

Please click here to learn more about the David Taylor, Sr. Scholarship fund.