Let it go, this too shall pass
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Words that can get you fired. Others include,
She said she was fine;
His lead II was unremarkable and has had heartburn in the past;
Your anxiety can come from nowhere and leave you tachy, lady of 55 who’s mother died of an MI recently;
Damage like this happens all the time, that bruise is normal;
A little smoke inhalation won’t kill you, look at me;
Asthma is not going to kill you, go find your inhaler;
The Doc signed off on the AMA so I’m golden;
Babies sleep all the time;
The snow was too heavy;
It was too hot;
I was tired;
I read in a blog that doing that was alright;
Have you seen this funny youtube cartoon?
Point being that there are a lot of rumors, stories and opinions flying about what happens in our business and it can be very hard to find the truth in a situation with 3 correct versions, one wrong version and 15,000 who have parts right.
I have been known to join the fray when it comes to EMS and Fire Departments who do something I like (Tip of the Helmet) and things I don’t (Letter in the File) but drawing conclusions from a single source is a bad idea.
Have an issue with a story you read part of on facebook? Before you lay it on thick you may want to finish reading the story, then seek out at least 2 more sources to confirm the facts. If you can not get the facts, use the google to find out who to call to get the facts.
If they call you back, great. If not, then you have to go with what you have, but the impulse to post something you may regret will have passed.
If you are the one facing termination for doing something you knew in the moment was wrong, see ya. If you find yourself on job 21 in 24 hours and know that not writing a chart will get you home sooner, keep in mind that not writing the chart could get you home a lot. As in unemployed.
If just yelling at the guy to wake up instead of checking his blood sugar and other vital signs to confirm it’s just Reuben again after another $3 bottle of wine, you yourself could be the one budgeting for the cheap stuff while on unemployment.
Backed the ambulance into another car near end of shift and drove away? Might as well keep driving into the sunset.
We all make mistakes. I make them all the time, but I make sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing for my patients based on the information I have and how that information fits within the laws, protocols and policies I have sworn to uphold. Have I not charted patients? Of course, when it is not indicated. Have I omitted vital signs on my charts? Yes, it happens when you get back and can’t recall the BP, so instead of lying I write nothing.
Being able to defend your actions or inactions with cited policy and protocols in front of you goes a long way to easing stress and the impact on your employment status.
In the end we all need to take a deep breath and find the facts about stories we read, especially in the internet age, when opinion can be mistaken as fact on a regular basis.
“Mr Happy Medic is there a reason you did not awaken the man lying in the street who was later found to be in cardiac arrest?”
“He looked OK to me…”
I’d be fired for sure, and for good reason.
In a number of emails I have been asked for an outline or “thesis” about what EMS 2.0 is. There was talk awhile back about a national EMS 2.0 organization to begin lobbying for the changes we all want to see. Others asked me for my suggested education requirements and how I expected a volunteer Paramedic already working two jobs to go back to school to keep doing what they want to do.
I have no answers to those questions.
Sometimes when asked I reply that I have all the answers, I just haven’t sorted out what questions they go to yet.
I used the phrase EMS 2.0, and I think Mr Chris Kaiser did as well, because it brings up the image of a reboot, or upgrade.
Many of the Windows 7 features I got are neat, but most of it is based on the same things I liked about Windows 3.1, sure it is full of random errors and can be frustrating, but the system is slowly updating itself.
A few years ago I had had it with my operating system and all the limitations I saw in it and jumped into Linux.
I was under the impression I was savvy enough to make code changes to effect the entire operating capacity of the system. And since I had only a basic understanding of the features I so desperately wanted, I was unable to have the comfortable computing experience I expected. The adventure ended months later with a partitioned hard drive and having to choose an operating system each time it started. Drove me nuts. But those who know how to make it work love it and it works fine.
So when I speak of EMS 2.0, I am indeed aware of the pros and cons of an “upgrade.”
Another list of questions I get is about the comparison to Web 2.0, the movement that led to the communities and user submitted content we call the internet today. I recall the early days of FTP file searching by tree late into the night in college, having the entire internet text based as a few html sites began to sprout up. I compare searching roots and file trees then and the “Web 2.0″ experience we have now and realize that it is the inter-activity of the internet that has made it a community rather than just a marketplace.
There is an element there I can identify with when it comes to EMS. One of the Medical Directors who came by the booth in Baltimore asked me how he could use blogs to get his Paramedics to accept changing their protocols. I told him he should listen to what the patients his Paramedics encounter need and let that guide protocol changes. Then I asked if his medics had any way of approaching him about changes and he looked as if no one had ever suggested a medic could ever suggest a policy change, let alone present evidence in support.
“An open door and an honest opinion goes a long way in folks feeling like you care about what they’re doing,” I told him.
“No, I need them to do what I say.” he replied and I couldn’t speak against that because I am not an MD, nor in his system, understanding his troubles and challenges.
So where does this all fit into the EMS 2.0 landscape?
I dunno.
We need change, we need a new re-thinking of EMS, what it is, what we’re doing and why, how, where, everything needs to be re-examined and reformed based on new research, response models, patient presentations and care taker abilities.
How that can happen on a National level all at once is something I would love to see happen, but we all know here are far too many feifdoms, unions, politicians, companies and providers who will fight tooth and nail to maintain the status quo, regardless of the benefits.
There are those who will not move forward no matter what they are shown or told. And not all of them are the old salt medics. Some of the new kids on the EMS block feel they have made it and will just sleep through their refresher every two years and keep drawing the pay check.
Departments will fight to keep licensing requirements low so as not to have to pay their people to seek out education, possibly because the higher educated can draw a premium at the next service over.
From my lofty perch here with my education and high paying EMS job you may think me a dreamer with all this CoEMS and EMS 2.0 talk and you’d be right.
But the Chronicles was a dream a year ago and now we’re set to travel the world doing exactly what we want to do, explore what EMS means.
So I’m going to keep dreaming about EMS 2.0 and hope one day I can meet a crew from a department somewhere who both have an advanced education and operate under protocols or guidelines that give them the flexibility to treat, transport or transfer citizens, clients and patients based on what they need, not what they or some future lawsuit want.
I think we can all agree on that.
But how do we get there? We all get there in different ways at different times, hence the trouble in explaining EMS 2.0 to people at different levels of different systems.
There can’t really be an EMS 2.0 “thesis” or guide, but more of a mission statement, and that I am thinking about.
So far three main principles come to mind and how to expand on them will be up to you. They will certainly mean different things to different people, and that is one of the things I love about it.
My EMS 2.0 is based on three main concepts.
Technology
Teaching
Trust
Using technology to improve our ability to assess and treat,
Advancing our educational levels to not only learn more about our patients and communities, but teach them what we can and can’t do.
We have to earn the trust of those who give us the power to do what we do in order to do more.
In short I need some expensive gear, a pricey college education and then let me go do what I’ve learned and proven competent to do. Exactly what that is will depend on your community.
The future is coming and we as a Profession have a chance to not only make ourselves a respected part of the health care system, but excel in providing care in an innovative manner that can release the burdens the current system is collapsing under.
It is a dream. But it had to start somewhere and if that is all it is for now, I’ll take it, but something is happening out there and I want to be ready if my Chief asks my, “What do you think we should do?”
What are the three concepts your EMS 2.0 platform would fight for? Let me know.
I apologize in advance for the formatting on this post, I worte it on the plane and wordpress’s HTML coding sucks so in the interest of spending more time with my now 4 year old, I give it to you raw.
“Have you met UK Paramedic Mark Glencorse?”
“Have you met Ted Setla?”
I have never before tried so hard to talk to people about something other than getting in the ambulance. It’s not easy to be a barker at these conventions.
Paul, who’s last name I am either forgetting or omitting for my own safety, from Zoll was the leader of the demonstration of the Zoll Rescue net system, who’s presentation was before Mark’s and my own.
He had great one liners and provoking questions that made passersby stop and wonder what the guy in the blue shirt was talking about. That was nice.
Just wandering the aisles at a trade show can seem awkward I’ve learned. As you wander, the folks from all the booths seem to come at you, quickly reading your name badge and asking you some strange question you’d rather not answer.
“What C-Collar does your system use?”
“Well, shoot, it seems to change all the time, why?” and they’ve got you. And they’re good at it, that’s why they’re there.
At EMS Today Baltimore, the Chronicles of EMS team was invited by Zoll to speak about the reality series and where the movement might go.
Charlotte, our Zoll contact, had arranged for a large amount of T-Shirts to be available to conference goers and they were a big draw. Trouble was we didn’t have a space in the booth, or any booth for that matter. Not sure exactly what we were, how we were to interact or what to do, we did what all Paramedics do, improvise and adapt.
A false wall curtain moved, literature stored and a quick ironing of a half dozen shirts up on hangers and POOF! Chronicles of EMS “booth.”
We were in front of the previously hidden storage room for the Zoll folks and they were constantly coming in to get more handouts and materials as they were quite popular.
So Mark and I took position in front of the 5′ wide gap in Zoll products and readied ourselves for the storm.
And this is where the really great part of social media comes in.
As faces approached we tried not to look at the name badges, but just introduce ourselves with a simple “Have you seen the Chronicles of EMS, the new EMS reality series?”
Surprisingly, most folks who wandered by said they had heard of it, or seen something about it, and not in that “Oh, sure I’d LOVE to see pictures of your great grand children” way, but in a “Finally someone can explain this to me” way.
So right there in the booth Mark Glencorse had wrangled a power source and extra monitor to show the episode on a loop. And folks took a look and asked more about it.
A 17 year old EMT student from New York State saw it.
His father, a retired Firefighter and social media skeptic saw it.
And they both wanted to learn more about it.
That is huge.
What else was huge, in my book at least, was the number of bloggers who made the travels to gather in Baltimore for the largest Fire and EMS Blogger meet up in the history of man.
At one point a familiar face wandered over and extended a hand and I shook it. The voice that came with it was none other than Ambulance Driver. Before I had a chance to express my joy in meeting a true beacon in EMS blogging he stepped aside and introduced me to another beacon, Too Old to Work, Too Young To Retire (TOTWTYTR or TOTW). My jaw was on the floor. Having my face all over the show makes me rather easy to spot, but some of the most closely kept secret identities in blogging came forward and said hello. It was amazing.
Even more amazing though was how they stepped back when folks would approach Mark and I and say “I read all the blogs and meeting you guys is so cool.” Mark and I shared an inside glance, then looked 10 feet back and wanted to say “Do you know who is standing right behind you? TOTW and Ambo Driver! Look quick!”
On the morning of the second day I was hurrying through the lobby of the hotel on my way to meet Mark to head for a full day of wrangling folks into the “booth” and share Chronicles. Coming my way through the throngs of high school students gathering for the Model UN Conference was the internet’s Red Headed EMS Stepchild, Chris Kaiser. As I said hello to him an oddly familiar face appeared behind him.
And something happened that would happen over and over again that day:
The second introduction.
You see, we really do live double lives. As I looked to the beautiful (and tall) woman I suddenly realized I was introducing myself to an old friend, Epijunky from PinkWarmandDry. We shared a smile and a hug as if we had not seen each other in years even though we had never met.
Friendships were not made here, they were experienced on a different level.
I offered a hand to a fellow approaching the booth with purpose, another man close behind. It was Fire Critic and Fire Daily, themselves having only met face to face after months of co-hosting a radio show together.
NateEMTB from twitter stopped by to say hello, as did MyrtLife and literally dozens of others who introduced themselves first with their names, then their identities. The names got a polite smiles, the identities a welcoming embrace.
Yes Mrs999 and MrsHappy, we did a lot of hugging. It comes with the territory.
But then there were the other folks stopping by the spot we carved out of the convention floor, a space not even big enough for 3 people to stand, so we stood in the aisle.
It was in this aisle that I had the first of many “Are you freaking kidding me?” moments.
“Hi Justin, Hi Mark. I really like what you guys are doing” said the brown haired man in the striped shirt.
“I’m Bryan Bledsoe.”
I’ve said it in this forum a good deal of times, but this truly was a
blink…blink…
moment.
And I was a fanboy all week. Dr Bledsoe wandered by a number of times during our stay and always had a smile and a handshake to say hello.
It may be a bit late, but if you hate name dropping and fanboyism, you should go read Motorcop because I am about to go 14 year old on you.
I carried my Firegeezer mug on the plane so the baggage handlers wouldn’t damage it. I carried it and a red permanent pen each and everyday on the off chance I would bump into Mike Ward or the Fire Geezer himself to get it autographed. And I did. Both of them. Yup, I’m THAT kind of fan.
Throughout the show, we met people involved in all aspects of EMS and each level seemed interested in what we were doing, both in the show, with the blogs, EMS 2.0 and just saying hello and talking to folks.
I can not select a single moment that was my favorite but I have collected a few that stand out from EMS Today in Baltimore:
Meeting the inventor of the KED, over a beer.
Introducing myself to the Chief of EMS for FDNY who replies, “Yeah I know you guys.”
Talking systems allocation theory with an 18 year old EMT student from New Jersey (I forgot your name but if you read this email me, our talk is not over!)
Being interviewed by THE Dave Statter of Statter911.com who refuses to put me on channel 9.
When a twitter friend, 2 of them actually, accompanied other new friends to an Irish bar in the cold night air near closing time and then not letting me buy them a drink (I owe you squirrel and NJ)
Watching vendors realize the power social media has.
I can’t wait until Denver in April.
HM
I have finally had the opportunity to become one of the folks I mentioned in the trailer of Chronicles of EMS. I am now one of the lucky ones who can travel across the country to visit other providers at a trade show.
As I’ve been reminding you, Zoll invited Mark and I out to EMSToday in Baltimore, Maryland.
And oh boy did we almost not make it on time.
When I was growing up we always got to the airport early. Always. Sometimes by hours. So that just became my normal plan. Get there early.
With two little ones and a just over one hour commute home from work, then turning around and racing to the airport I got there 1 hour ahead of the flight, a nail biter in my world.
Mr Setla was relaxing after a calm lunch and I was frazzled to find our flight not only delayed, but now not even arriving at our destination.
The airline, for whatever reason, saw fit to take the same plane we were on before and reroute it. Not through a different connection, since the same plane continued on to Baltimore, but to send us an hour out of the way to DC.
Despite multiple questions as to the reasoning we were no longer able to land at our purchased airport, we were assured the two airports were not far away from one another at all.
I should have known better.
6 hours later we gather our luggage in DC’s Reagan Airport and ask the locals the best route to Baltimore. Their suggested Super Shuttle was a moderately priced hassle, requiring us to sign in, buy a ticket and wait 20 minutes before getting in one of the half dozen waiting vans.
We were 2 hours later than expected and now an hour away from our hotel. It’s 1130 PM and we’re tired and hungry.
A taxi trip will run us almost $100, but get us there quickly.
Knowing a trip from Baltimore airport to the hotel runs about $40 (Thanks FireDaily for the heads up) our chosen method of transport made perfect sense.
Jay’s Sedan Service is a family run business in the NY/DC/VA/MD area operating just a handful of cars driven by the owners and the care and attention to detail shows. We’ve all been in a leased car vs an owned car and the difference was clear.
Our driver, Jay, made us a deal over the phone and was curbside in less than 5 minutes. En route we started with idle chit chat until we learned Jay is on Facebook and Twitter (@jayssedansvc) with his business and we had to have fun with it.
Next thing you know Ted is ustreaming live video from the back of the Lincoln Town Car while Jay is laughing along with us.
After a touch of traffic we finally arrived at my hotel just after 1 AM local time. I say mine because Ted had been booked by a different group at a different hotel nearby.
Thank goodness for free late night food delivery.
So skip ahead to what my body thinks is 430 AM when my alarm goes off and I open the window to the beautiful brownstone Baltimore clock tower.
I can’t wait to dive in to everything this weekend could create for me, my friends and EMS in general.
We moved into this house about 2 years ago and have been finding little problems here and there as most homeowners do.
Aside from mystery sprinklers (don’t get me started), with recent storms I’ve found limitations on the capacity of my gutter system.
Sure it carries the water from the roof along the gutter to the downspout. Sure it ties into an underground system that drains into the sewers, but there’s all sorts of non water stuff getting in there.
At our old house we got new gutters installed and had a chance to install a really great, but expensive, product that blocks non water items from getting into the gutters. With 2 large pepper trees overhead it made the next rainy season far easier to cope with.
But here we have a different problem and a different system. It would appear that the underground drainage system that ties into the sewer has either failed or become clogged with debris, roots, small woodland creatures, something other than water for sure.
During one of our recent storms I spent hours out in the driving rain trying to flush what I thought was a simple clog only to find it was systemic on that one side of the house.
One side no problems at all, the other hopelessly clogged.
With water backing up against the foundation of the house I had to stop the immediate damage and climbed back up and clogged the downspout. That sent the water in that gutter over to the other downspout near the front of the house. My problem was not solved, only no longer an immediate problem. But now water was backing up at another location, just not right against the foundation and in plain sight.
With the family driving the wife nuts inside (toddlers hate rainy days) and my hands cold I came inside hoping to tackle the problem another day.
When that day came I could only install a patch of the same system that was in place before, a tube running from the downspout off the side of the house towards the neighbor’s yard. (He’s never home, he won’t notice.) I unclogged the downspout and water rushed into the pipe I dug a trench for and away the water went.
Problem kinda dealt with but still not solved. The other spout on that side of the house has o elevation where I can make a trench without digging up most of the yard. Plus, now it’s a huge mud puddle.
I’m not sure what the solution to my problems are, but I know what I have isn’t working as well as it should on one side. And I don’t think breaking out the concrete on the other side of the house to improve a working system is a good idea either.
I’m researching other ways other folks are handling similar problems and hope to learn a little something that can help me with my troubles.
I just hope I can come up with something before the next storm rattles in and makes more trouble for me.
Thanks for letting me change gears,
HM
It’s been awhile since I had to fire up the typewriter and find carbon paper for these letters, but something very close to home has happened and we need to nip this all in the bud.
First letter in the file-
Jason Brown, Colleton County Firefighter Paramedic, was released from duty last week after posting a cartoon video to his facebook page which featured harsh language and an exchange between a firefighter character and a doctor character. We all remember Fireman Mike’s suggestions about when to call 911, and the language in that video wasn’t PG, but it lacked the confrontation shown in Jason’s video. In a perfect world we would all watch this cartoon and laugh because I have had a similar conversation 100s of times in clinics and medical offices wondering just where these folks went to medical school.
But the end of the video is the only part I have an issue with – “We’re going to pretend this conversation never happened…” this implies that the fireman cartoon in the video is going to ignore the complaint and leave. THAT is the reason this letter is going in your file, for a questionable ending to a cartoon video on the internet.
Second letter should not need to be written, but your knee jerked so hard so fast it went right up and kicked you in the face.
Colleton County Fire-Rescue Director Barry McRoy. In your termination letter to FF/PM Brown you mention “This video has created an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on you and Colleton County.”
No, Sir, you and your Department made this an embarrassing situation for the department. Ask Brown to remove the video and make a training film if so inclined to make movies keeps this in house and solves all the problems.
I can only assume your fear of the rest of the country finding out the working relationships your service might really have has scared you into firing anyone who tries to express themselves.
Was it the video, the characters or the fact the world saw it on his facebook page? I can only assume he is like me on facebook, friends, family and coworkers following along. When he posts the video maybe 100-200 people see it, maybe half that amount watch it. That is how social media works. It isn’t put up on every single fire and EMS website for all to see…
…until you fired him for it. You took an easily fixable in house “choice of words” situation and exploded it into a National example of a public safety agency afraid of social media. Because of the way you handled this situation I and now my readers are reading about Colleton, whereas last week I did not even know the agency existed.
In my book, you Sir, are the one who should be fired for creating “…an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on … Colleton County.” Sound familiar?
Both of you need to sit down and TALK about this, face to face. If the offended Doctor who likely asked you to fire Brown wants to join in, all the better. Have a talk about the proper way to use social media to move the agency, EMS and medicine forward.
This is a sticky spot to be in for sure. I’m sure if you look hard enough into my musings there is a reason Colleton would fire me too, and every other EMS and Fire blogger.
But think of it this way:
What if Brown had drawn his video cartoon and had it published in a national EMS magazine instead? Perhaps a single panel cartoon showing a Paramedic and an MD disagreeing in an entertaining manner for all to enjoy?
Should Brown be fired? I say no. Reprimanded…perhaps, spoken to for sure, but firing him first thing shows fear.
That is not all.
Editor’s note: No the link to the video is not broken, it is not here. Best part of all this is that you can find it all over the internet now, I don’t need to link to it here.
I can only assume everyone played this game as a kid, but as rescuers, we play it everyday.
For those not familiar, you and your friends sit in a circle and one person whispers a sentence to the person to their right and so on and so on. The gist of the game is to see how much the sentence changes from person to person either by forgetting the exact words, or rewording it for whatever reason.
Funny thing is, I get to see each step of the game as it goes. This was brought to mind one morning when I got another one of my blog starting runs when I asked, “You called 911…for this?”
The game started when the client (See Glossary of Terms) had a sore throat and went to the doctor yesterday. Our story should end there, but this is managed care, so of course there is more.
This morning, 10 hours after starting the course of antibiotics, our citizen phones the expensive private health care nursing advice line. According to her, she told the nurse, “My throat still hurts, can I use a throat spray to eat? It hurts to swallow.”
The nurse told her to “…hang up, call 911 and tell them you need an ambulance.”
Our client calls 911 and, in clear words, tells the call taker she needs an ambulance for a sore throat.
Call taker follows instructions coding the call as a 26A25, Non-emergent sore throat. It worries me the 911 system even recognizes this, but…
The dispatcher changed the call to a 11D2, choking with difficulty breathing.
The notes on the MDT state she is unable to swallow.
As we arrive code 3 as instructed, we are met by a young woman with a diagnosed and medicated case of strep throat.
“Did you call your doctor today?” I ask after checking all vitals without disturbing findings.
“No, the office said he was too busy, they had me call the nurse line.” She hands me the card.
“What did the nurse say?” I can’t wait to hear this.
“To call 911 for an ambulance.” She says with a small laugh.
After a small conversation I discovered she didn’t feel different, just wanted advice on a throat spray so she could have breakfast. Her throat hurt, but no more than yesterday.
We went full circle in the telephone game this time, where the sentence was the same at the beginning and end, but it was all the junk in the middle that got messed up.
Maybe folks should be able to call us directly in the ambulance for advice since the dial-a-nurse seems to default to us most of the time anyways.
You have never seen anything cuter than THIS.
And if you have, just keep it to yourself.
You’re the boss on the ladder company today and have decided to run the troops through their paces. The large extension ladder is raised in front of the firehouse.
You’ve sent the young guy up to practice working off the side and locking in when a woman with a clip board casually strolls up and begins to talk to you.
Even though all your member are in their PPE with helmets in place, she refuses to stand back as she makes notes on a sheet on her clip board.
“I notice your ladder is not secured at the top,” she tells you.
“Well No, Ma’am, it’s not, we’re practicing a situation where that doesn’t happen, that’s why this fellow here is holding the ladder,” you tell her while pointing to your foot man holding the ladder as he always does.
She presents credentials from the local occupational safety department and orders your member off the ladder. She then demands to speak to your supervisor for a violation of safety laws.
What do you tell her? You make the call.
Got a message from my Paramedic mentor a little while back about the title of this post. He was asking what makes a call critical?
The definitions include “at or of a point at which a property or phenomenon suffers an abrupt change especially having enough mass to sustain a chain reaction; characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; urgently needed; absolutely necessary; forming or having the nature of a turning point or crisis; being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency;”
But what does it mean to an EMT or Medic in the street he wonders.
Is it the presentation?
The required interventions?
Is it a feeling we get either before or after?
Well?
What makes a “critical call” in our book?
It’s being billed as
The Largest Fire/EMS Blog meet up of all time
and it is in Baltimore March 5th, 8pm.
Bloggers from the FireEMSBlogs network will be there and not just Mark and myself.
If you are a blogger and will be there, leave your info in the comments and I’ll add you to my list.
All are welcome, bloggers, readers, fans, stalkers, ex-wives (only odd numbered ones), industry reps (if you’re buying), Chiefs in uniform (so we can drink in front of you), small woodland creatures (so cute), #TeamHappy, anyone from the 1996 Eden Prarie Varsity Lacrosse Team, Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs, conference goers, Instructors, Destructors (OK, not really destructors), my Mom (Hi MA!), retired members, volunteers, paid, paid/call…
…if I left you out you’re invited.
Uno Pizzeria Harborplace- Pratt Street Pavilion, 2nd Floor
201 East Pratt Street
Harborplace
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-625-5900
Sponsored by George Washington University, JEMS and FireEMSBlogs.com
Special thanks to Chris Kaiser
I had no idea that walking patients to the ambulance was such a risque thing to do.
Since the debut of Chronicles of EMS I have been seeing posts and getting emails about how folks are glad they saw me walking patients to the ambulance because it proves I’m willing to show the cameras what’s really happening.
Well, news flash – I walk patients to the ambulance all the time.
When their condition permits, of course.
But when Bubba Fishbiscuit calls because he is out of “brain pills” again, or sprains his wrist guess what folks, he walks if he wants to.
I have even been known to walk patients INTO the ER! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!
My question to you is, why aren’t you?
If your patient doesn’t need the cot, or want it, why are you “required” to use it? And the stair chair too?
I dug through my County Guidelines, Department Protocols and even Department rules and regulations and found nothign about folks not being able to use their good legs when they want to.
Forcing people to make you carry them is insulting.
“No Ma’am, we have to for liability reasons” is the exact opposite of what you’re doing. By letting them walk they are responsible for their actions. When you carry and drop them, well, that was your call.
So why is it that so many Paramedics and EMTs were taken aback when I allowed people who were walking around when they called me and walking still when I arrived to walk into the ambulance?
Is it billing?
Is it?
Is the ability to be reimbursed for the transport more important than the patient? If you are required to carry or cot everyone no matter what, then yes.
Ask your Medical Director about walking patients to the rig who have non life threatening injuries or who are stable per their history and protocols and request to walk on their own, watch what they say.
Now go ask your billing department how hard it is to get Medicare to reimburse when you start your narrative with “Pt ambulated without assistance to Medic99.” Watch their eyes catch fire.
Your protocols should outweigh your policies because your policies cover you and your protocols your patients and we’ve covered more than once in this forum that this thing isn’t about us, it’s about them.
If Bubba’s had a few too many, he gets carried. If he’s going to reach out on the stairwell and twist in the chair causing my knee to go out, who’s fault is that? Bubba’s for reaching out or mine for not helping him down the stairs in the first place.
Have a serious talk with your system administrators if you are not permitted to let your patients walk to the ambulance. Show them the Chronicles episode and show them that I do it all the time and, gasp, no one dies.
But, and I hate that I have to add this, follow your established policies and protocols until otherwise advised by those who have the power to change things.
In my opinion the most important person on a hoseline is the layout man.
Some departments staff 3 to an engine, meaning there is no layout man unless the Officer goes back down the line to make things right.
Not mine.
We run 4 to an engine and for good reason: You need 4 people to mount an effective primary fire attack.
Driver/Engineer: Operates fire apparatus, engages and monitors pump and water supply. Good so far, we have a way of getting water into the hoses, that’s a plus.
Officer: In command of the team. Calls for type, length of hose and where it is to be deployed.
Nozzleman: Operates the valve at the end of the hose, points it at the fire. Really more complicated then that, I know, but than again, so is…
Layout: Ensure the hose is properly deployed from the apparatus and unkinked entering the building. Follow the attack team around corners, untangling and advancing line as needed. Block open doors and move furniture so that when the line is charged it isn’t trapped under something. Stay back from the firefight to pull line back so the nozzle team can redeploy to another location without standing on a load of spaghetti in the hallway. And, possibly THE most important role of the layout position is to slow additional responding companies if conditions are unsafe ahead of you.
Even though the Officer has a good view of the seat of the fire, and a good officer knows the conditions around them, they can’t see what the layout person sees. From a safe distance, possibly at a corner, ready to pull hose while the nozzle gets the “glory,” the layout can scout conditions in other rooms and maybe even get some ceiling fall on them when the truck cuts a nice hole.
The layout knows all the trouble spots that line may encounter if it needs to move through that area again. The first two folks through had their attentions elsewhere.
The layout is also the one who will be assisting the nozzle team should the conditions warrant an evacuation. From that position you know where the exits are, not just where the line goes out, but also rooms of refuge, should they be needed.
When the fire is out and overhaul continues, the layout man needs to make sure that line is still available to knock down hot spots in the ceiling and walls by looping it into an unburnt room and placing the nozzle, with nozzleman still attached in a position to redeploy if necessary.
We should never leave the engine without a tool of some kind, but as the layout we need full flexibility so a sheathed axe can really get in the way. A pump can can also get in the way but makes an excellent door chock and point of no return doorway device. That little can can keep an advancing fire from getting through a doorway if teams are retreating behind you for at least 2-3 minutes when used properly. So what to bring?
Depends on construction, location of fire and your Department’s SOPs. A cop out answer I know, but the truth.
So next time someone else “grabs” the nozzle, remember that they have it easy, now you’ve got the most important spot on the hose line. If the fire goes out you did your job right.
Now get those kinks out and feed line up to the third floor!
After racing lights and sirens for a first party unconscious person, up three flights of stairs and into an open apartment:
“Did you report a life or death emergency?”
Blank stare from occupant with coat and bag.
“No, I called 911.”
Sometimes when I feel like everything is going right in the universe my clients pull me back down to earth kicking and screaming. I never doubt what they tell me, good heavens no, but I always wonder…if they purposely seek out, pay for/barter, then ingest “speed,” what did they think was going to happen? Sleep?
THE EMERGENCY
First job of the morning has us responding to a reported shortness of breath at a restaurant.
THE ACTION
Anaphalaxis, my first thought too. I had only just checked the jump bag, knew I had 4 good doses and three needles ready to go. Benadryl also at the ready, we park in front of the somewhat questionable eatery and are waved to the rear entrance.
O…K…?
A few twists and turns into the kitchen and I’m asking my usual questions,
“Did you report a life or death emergency?”
No response, only a wave to follow.
“Did you call? What’s going on?”
Come on, come on, over here, over here he waves. It would have been cooler if he went to one knee and did some of that cool Navy Seal hand gesture stuff. I totally would have done the same.
“Employee or customer?”
“Is no employee no customer, he come running in.”
And it is then we find our client wearing a new hole in the carpet running back and forth ringing his hands together.
“Are you alright Sir?” i ask trying to slow him down enough to assess him.
“I can’t, can’t, breath, I’m going to die.” He tells me in clear, yet quick breaths. The decision is made to guide our almost olympic sprinter towards the cool morning air.
Outside he’s grabbing onto my jacket arm asking me to help him. With our almost embrace I can see his pulse racing at the carotid, easily over 150.
Finally giving him something else to grab onto, a dumpster nearby, so I can actually assess him properly. It’s then that the lies start to fly.
“I’m dying.” He screams.
“When was the last time this happened to you?” I ask while listening to clear lung sounds and making a safe assumption (educated guess).
His eyes shot to mine with a hint of anger and more than enough embarrassment.
“What? Um, never. What do you mean?” He’s scrambling, looking all around trying to think of something to explain away his condition.
“When did you take it? About 20 minutes ago is my guess. Slow down your breathing, you’re going to be just fine.” I turn him to me, man to man, and try to show him how to take deep breaths. That so rarely works, but I always try.
“Yesterday.” He suddenly speaks slowly, relaxing.
Turning his shoulders back towards me I call him on it.
“How about just before you ran into the restaurant? Yeah?” Was my response, then I just let him wonder how I knew.
The ambulance arrived shortly after our discussion and he of course requested transport to discover what on earth could have caused his heart to suddenly race, nay, hurry, no, speed.
Gee, I wonder.
What a weekend indeed. As our regular readers are aware, it appears those 26 exhausting days back in November were worth it after all. Even though only the first half of our Project was turned into the Chronicles of EMS, the entire experience has changed the way I view my system.
This screen shot will take you where you can watch the show.
This past Friday saw the World Premiere of the Chronicles of EMS Reality Series in San Francisco. Mark and I arrived a bit early at the request of Producer/Director Thaddeus Setla and were quickly aware of the extensive set up on site. Multiple large TVs are linked to laptops and cameras, all relying on a tiny ethernet cable to stream it all live around the world.
The chat room got a bit colorful at times but we did notice those of you out there reminding visitors to keep things clean, even if they refused.
Before we knew what was happening, Mark and I were at a table talking with magazine reporters, investors, friends and readers, all excited to see the first episode.
Although we had a really nifty schedule of events, technical troubles and the wave of people in the Hotel Frank made that schedule difficult to keep.
Keep in mind this is all being put together by Paramedics, not professional live streaming folks. We can’t afford them yet.
But when the show went live, the room got quiet and I went to the back of the crowd to gauge reactions. And the were 100% positive.
Thank you all so much for taking your own time and money to help us show the world what we did and what we learned.
The following morning Ted loaded up the cameras, Mark and got a few folks from out of town we usually talk to over skype or email to sit down and talk with us. We fired up the cameras and filmed a sister show, A Seat at the Table.
It was more fun to film than I expected and we talked about a lot of issues. You can watch the show link for information on future table discussions and how you can join them live, each show has a laptop open to the chat room which has it’s own place at the table.
Whenever we travel with the Chronicles team, we hope to gather folks around the table and open the dialogue even more.
Thank you again for all your positive comments about the show, we hope to live up to your high standards in the future.
The internet’s most popular caption contest ended with a thud and a lack of fanfare. I was meant to tell you who’s caption made me happiest at the Chronicles of EMS Premiere, but alas I couldn’t get to the camera.
So, the winner of the Chronicles of EMS T-Shirt is…
…drum roll please…
“She’s got HUGE…tracks of land, Boy!” from reader cjordan.
He may have cheated since he knew me long ago, but knowing I’m a python fan came through in the end. So Mr cjordan, if that is your real name, send me an email with your T-shirt size and soon in the mail to you will be your very own Chronicles of EMS T-shirt.
Thanks everyone for commenting and even more for your support in our endeavors with the Chronicles.
The pre-Chronicles retrospect of favorite posts continues with part 2 of the 3 part posts about a patient who didn’t exactly behave himself. My partner on this job recently went light duty and pulled strings to let me keep her spot warm while she’s gone.
Originally Published June 25th, 2009
Round 1 seemed normal enough, at least as normal as things get in the big scary City some nights.
Round 2 begins as I’m assisting Bubba down the stairs and he decides an elbow to my face would make his night better.
Luckily, I watch a lot of movies. Not fighting movies or martial arts movies, Happy is a lover, not a fighter, but I enjoy a good strategy and tactics film when I can.
I had 3 options as Bubba took his first of many swings.
Option 1 – Let him hit me. Um, no.
Option 2 – Try to duck or dodge out of the way. I’m not one for choosing the direction of an assault and I figured I had a 1 in 3 chance of moving the correct way.
Option 3 – Close the range to target.
What came to my mind in a flash was the Hunt for Red October. When he turns into the path of the torpedo before it can arm itself. My reasoning after the fact seems perfect, in the moment I just needed him to chill.
The bottom of the stairs had along it’s side a large wrought iron ornamental security gate, the kind we have to force open most days.
As Bubba moved with the elbow, I forced my shoulder into his, jamming him into the gate. My right leg got up under him to throw him off balance while my left hand dropped the computer and squeezed Bubba against that gate. I knew if he got me off balance and I went to the ground I was going to get hurt.
My partner was already on the radio screaming for police assistance. She had to scream to be heard over the screaming of, in ascending order of volume, Me, Bubba, the girlfriend…and mom, who’s voice had found new heights.
Bubba was my height and had at least 20 pounds on me. I was tired and sober, he was drunk and rested. My only hope was to keep him against that gate until the cavalry arrived. All I wanted to hear was the screaming of the police sirens.
I was able to get his right hand into mine and forced behind his back, now near my waist. His left arm, the one that swung the first time was pinned between him and the gate, not moving for now.
The scene from Pulp Fiction when Julius is telling Honey Bunny to be cool was playing over and over in my head and I’m sure lines from the scene were coming out of my mouth. All I remember is wanting to keep his 230 pound frame off balance and against the gate which was almost more than my one leg could do.
After what seemed like hours of holding him he began to calm and still no sirens filling the night air, only screaming. He promised he was “OK,” and I reminded him that I had no problem keeping him there all night if I had to, a thought my leg would most certainly disagree with.
I decided, possibly foolishly, to let him back down to the ground, partly for a rest and partly because he had indeed calmed. I kept his right hand behind him and made a reach for the left wrist, controlling both rather well considering the circumstances, I thought, and we slowly made the drunken, angry stumble towards the ambulance, feeling him squirming and trying to get free the whole time.
There in the middle of the street, mother still screaming and us now screaming at her to go back inside, Bubba sees an opportunity to try knocking me down again. He’s got one leg up on the rear step of the ambulance and one hand on the rail to climb in when, I’m told later by my partner, Bubba takes a swing. All I recall was seeing him shift his weight and losing my cheerful disposition.
He quickly found himself flat on the cot as I tackled him into the ambulance, landing one leg on his hip and one arm on his chest. I’m not entirely sure it was one maneuver but I would have loved to see the video.
As we’re struggling now in the ambulance, as if by stealth, a sea of blue rushes the back and there are no less than 3 boys in blue saying and doing things that I can not. They have him four pointed and are able to clearly shout over the rest of the commotion outside where I can make out at lest 2 more officers dealing with mom and the girlfriend.
I look at my partner and share a look of, “Holy s*it, did that just happen?”
I took off my duty jacket and took a deep breath throwing it to the bench seat in frustration, suddenly feeling the strain in my shoulders and legs from holding him for what turned out to be 4 minutes against that gate.
The officer looked to me and told me he was impressed I didn’t fight back. What I had taken as staggering towards the ambulance, they had seen from afar as him struggling and swinging elbows, all while I’m walking behind him.
The final part of our tale, Round 3, will be covered tomorrow morning, Friday as a perfect You Make the Call.
Another co-worker recently reminded me of when she and I met Bubba one night, leg wrapped in a towel, tied with twine and an attitude.
Originally published June 25th, 2009
The next 3 posts will cover 3 distinct parts of a rather interesting job.
Round 1 – The Dispatch
1:15 AM and the MDT tells me you’ve cut your hand. It also tells me you’re in your twenties. It doesn’t tell me if you’re seriously calling 911 for this. I assume you know more than I do about who needs an ambulance and away we go.
THE EMERGENCY
A man has accidentally cut his hand.
THE ACTION
This was a perfect storm of mystery, intrigue, alcohol and lies. The building is older and has a large partial S staircase leading from the street level to the first floor door. So when we start our trek up the dark staircase, the front door is out of our sight above us and to the right. I stood there at the bottom of the stairs, tired already from the first 16 hours of the shift, waving my arms at the motion sensor light that, apparently, has yet to be installed. Warning flag #1.
The door is open and I hear high pitched voices speaking, nay shouting, in a language I do not understand. As is habit I scanned the floor for blood. I see none. In the next room is Bubba. (See Glossary of Terms)
Bubba has his pants half way down and has a towel tied to his thigh with twine.
“Hi there.” I say, hesitant to put anything down quite yet.
He mumbles in response. Even just this slight mumble sends a waft of alcohol breath my way that would have caused me to fail the brethalyzer right then and there.
He’s telling a story about opening a can of oysters and missing, hitting his leg. Then, after a few questions he tells a different story about how he got cut. All the while I’m telling him I know he is lying. And all the while the mother and the girlfriend are shouting and won’t leave the room until my associate for the day finally convinces them to give us peace and quiet.
His leg is cut, not his hand…warning flag #2.
Using my Happy Medic skills we’ve convinced Bubba to come to the hospital to have the 5cm wide 2-3 cm deep wound from the chef’s knife examined.
Oh, did I skip that part? After arguing with the landlord Bubba thought it would be a good idea to get wasted drunk, grab a couple of knives from the kitchen and wave them around like a child demanding more dinner. Darn it if those things are sharp when you get a little too animated.
His mother and his girlfriend, who hovered over my discussion with Bubba in the room are still shrieking in their native tongue and Bubba is trying to shout back at them as I’m guiding him towards the front door and down the stairs.
Quick aside, the wound is wrapped, not bleeding and he flat out got angry when we tried the chair. Warning flag #3.
Halfway down the dark stairs I have my hand under his arm to help him balance, as I offer to everyone I treat. I have Bubba in my right hand, one step ahead of him and the electronic PCR in my left. I looked away to check the bottom steps. When I looked back up…warning flag #4, a swinging elbow coming my way.
Coming soon – Round 2 – the Struggle
Buried within all the excitement of the premiere of the Chronicles of EMS Reality Series is another premiere I’m proud to be a part of.
Over the years EMS has been serving their communities we seem to be finding ourselves out in the cold when budgets are doled out or reimbursement tables adjusted. The practitioners on the street, in the patient’s bathroom, bedroom, living room, deepest darkest days are largely ignored when industry heads meet to discuss where the trade may go.
They’ve talked of minimizing standards to maintain a constant flow of low paying jobs and EMTs eager to step on the gas and run the lights and sirens. Study after study showing one way is wrong so another can get a bigger market share. All the while our pagers are going off and alarm bells are ringing.
If we’re lucky enough to have a voice in the discussion, we are looked at as an afterthought. A nod and a smile greets our suggestions for improvement, often with a “we tried that before, it didn’t work” which is the EMS version of a pat on the head.
Various committees and organizations sprung up with a spot for us, among dozens of others, making sure we had no chance to be heard. EMTs and Paramedics were never given a seat at the table.
So we made our own.
Social media has us sharing ideas and concepts in a way they never saw coming. Research can be done from home instead of at a far off conference of owners and Chiefs all striving to prove themselves as having the best system. We can now call their bluffs, and they can call ours.
A Seat at the Table takes one element we discovered while filming the Chronicles of EMS Reality series and expands it into a format rare in our industry: Video. This element was the civil discussion of differences by street level EMS personnel who took the time to comment about what Mark and I were learning from one another.
There are plenty of EMS videos available for viewing online and by purchase, but never before has a filmmaker with a vision and a background in EMS taken up the challenge to document what we’re talking about.
Take a look at this snippet Ted Setla and I shot to explain to investors the power of Chronicles of EMS:
Chronicles of EMS – The purpose from Thaddeus Setla on Vimeo.
The Chronicles of EMS:A Seat at the Table is a table top discussion program filmed in the round and is scheduled to include as many people involved in the future of EMS as we can find.
Each time the Chronicles team travels, A Seat at the Table will be close behind to take advantage of the unique people we might meet and want to hear from.
Not only will we be sharing ideas, but getting answers to questions from those in charge of where we’re all going. Mark Glencorse and I will be there but you will be as well, following each episode as it is filmed HERE in the ustream chat room (scroll to the bottom). When you listen live to the filming, Mark and I will be monitoring your comments and questions for the panel and including them in where the show goes.
That chair you’re sitting in will now be at the table, a voice in where our young profession leads.
Watch the Chronicles page for updates about filming in your area and if you want to be in studio with us, let me know. thehappymedic@gmail.com.
Bookmark the link to the Seat at the Table page as upcoming episodes, topics and guest lists could change suddenly as we’re sent all over the world exploring how EMS systems operate.
See you there.
With the Chronicles of EMS premiere racing towards me I find myself distracted in my writings of late, so I wanted to share some of my favorite posts with some of you newer readers.
This one comes from the very early days of my writings and still is a bit edgy, but I see the partner I had on this run a lot now and we still laugh about it.
Originally published August 3rd, 2008
You called 911…for the heart attack…?
Another run in the middle of the night to a local residence hotel. You know the kind of place. Seedy part of town, lobby looks like a garbage sorting station, complete with dirty employees. We rarely carry equipment without a plan on never putting it down and cringe about having to clean our boots afterwords. We’re met in the lobby by a rather clean gentleman wearing headphones who waves us over like he knew we were coming. I can tell by his almost new shoes he is not a resident, nor has he been in town long.
THE EMERGENCY
“My heart is just beating away.” Usually a comment from a citizen like this elicits my compassionate response of, “Can you be more specific?” but on this morning at 3:30 and on our 20th run of the 24 hour shift, I had lost my cheerful disposition. In response to the comment, “My heart is beating away” I responded, “Mine too. Do you have an emergency?” “I can’t sleep,” he responded after a slight pause.”Me neither,” I shoot back getting annoyed. Not annoyed so much at the fellow who called us, but that this conversation is occurring in the lobby of the garbage station like residence hotel. But be careful, if you get these folks outside, they think they automatically get a ride, so keep them on defense. After his, “I can’t sleep” complaint crashed on take-off, he asked why I was so mean. I explained that there could be a baby choking or someone being shot who needs us but if he can tell me what the emergency is I can let him know how I can help. “I need some food, man, I’m broke.” “I have a job,” I reply, “You need to come up with something better. Maybe this line works where you’re from but not here.” “How did you know I’m not from here?” He wondered out loud while I moved towards the door. “Wait, can you give me a ride to the bus station or a shelter or something?” I moved towards the heavily fortified Manager’s window in the lobby of the residence hotel we were in and knocked on the window. A sleepy man who may have been speaking a form of English I’m not aware of became visible.”This guy needs a room, how much?” I ask. “Him stay 1 hour? or more to day? $10.” I look over to the fellow who called us and motion towards the window. “You can get a room for the rest of the morning or keep that money in your pocket and call whoever you left behind wherever it is you’re from and beg forgiveness and go home.”
THE ACTION
The gentleman considered my words, put his headphones back on and stopped talking to us, just standing amongst the trash, waiting for something to happen. I asked if he wanted an ambulance to take him to the hospital and he gave me the universal one finger signal for “Go away.”
My EMS adventures in Newcastle upon Tyne had come to an end and I had but one full day left in England. Swalwell Station Manager Peter Mudie has arranged for me and Mark to take a bit of a tour of the capabilities of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, so we’re up early and he’s taken us for a road safety class.
Not for me, thank goodness, but for a group of young drivers to impress upon them the importance of not drinking and driving.
Many of us have been to these presentations before. A middle aged expert prepares what to them appears to be a hip multi-media presentation and the attendees seem less than interested. I was the same way at 16, we all were.
Enter the Happy Medic and UKMedic999 and the class is now wondering what just happened.
The presentation was actually one of the best I’ve seen including some racy videos that in the end have a message about driving safely. The kids were really paying attention then. Mark and I had a chance to impress upon the gathered youth the importance of seat belts and driving safely. I think my “accent” kept their attention more than my content.
Even the locals were cold. Mrs HM knit me two hats, so I shared.
Then it was off to the yard behind the station for an extrication drill to show the new drivers what happens when cars collide.
Set up down the hill were two cars and two students were chosen to be the victims.
To say it was “balls cold”, as one student put it, would be an understatement. I’m a 6th generation Californian, 50 is cold for me. This yard was cold. Wind blowing, snow falling and me with no gloves.
The kids watched as their friends shivered in the cold while the fire appliances pulled up and began their task. I mentioned in passing to the instructor that I would have let the kids go back inside and he suddenly had a point to make to the youth suddenly more interested in each other than the hydraulic tools freeing their friends.
“AYE!” He shouted to the huddled, hooded forms, “You’re here wearing your coats and gloves, hats and whatnot, but what if you were heading back from your mate’s place and were wearing only a shirt and crashed?” He was moving around in front of them, almost pacing like a drill sergeant, “Laying in the snow, cold, tired and hurt? You wouldn’t last very long would you?”
He had their attention the rest of the morning.
The extrication was straight forward with the only difference being the use of the smaller ladders to brace the car on it’s side.
After a lunch cooked by the station’s french chef (Yes, the chef is not a firefighter) it was off to Tyne and Wear Fire Headquarters.
What an impressive building and training ground they have!
A grand foyer greets the visitor and many small groups of men are sitting in plain clothes discussing this and that. One of them, the only one wearing a shirt and tie sees my SFFD Firefighter/Paramedic jacket and does a double take.
As I surveyed the enormous complex I would assume candidates are intimidated when they enter to get their employment packets. Peter led Mark and I on a brief tour of the lower level and the man in the tie wandered over and said hello. Just a casual greeting, he seemed like a regular guy in a sea of white embroidered uniforms and street clothes.
Chief Bathgate, Yours Truly, Peter Mudie
The man in the tie wandering the lobby is none other than Iain Bathgate – Chief Fire Officer for Tyne and Wear.
blink. blink.
He offered a hand and I shook it. There I was in my uniform shirt, but buried under a sweatshirt and a jacket. Had I known I was going to meet the Chief I would have at least donned my cap and tie to show respect.
Turns out he was more interested in the back of my jacket than what wasn’t around my neck.
“You do both then?” he asked me.
“Not often at once, but yes, I am proficient in both skills” I replied, wondering if I should go into further explanation. As we spoke the other men were taking interest in the fellow with two titles on his jacket their Chief was talking to. He immediately suggested a tour of the training grounds, something his face glowed about, he was proud of it.
Through the main lobby and out another set of large glass doors was their training facility, easily 5 acres and including a wide variety of props.
There was a standard training tower that, since once at the top one could peer over to the automobile manufacturer test track next door, was rotated and modified to keep wandering eyes away.
Next to that was a high voltage power line tower prop for high angle rope drills. Under construction nearby was a large two story collapse house that can be dropped and rebuilt quickly to simulate rescues.
A number of burn buildings stood ready for recruits and in service crews alike, one of which was in service when we visited.
But the piece of equipment that caught my eye as special was their train rig. Over behind the airplane prop and the piles of wood was a full size train car half in a man made tunnel. 
I wish we had one.
Half way through my tour, Mr Bathgate dismissed himself and went back to running what appeared to be a well funded and well respected organization.
Mark, Peter and I finished the tour and the Department had a photographer come down and snap a few pictures of us in front of some of the appliances. then a few minutes later she rushed out with a stack of nice photos for me and Mark to remember our visit.
The only comments Mr Bathgate made regarding the wording on my jacket was, “Oh, we’ll not be doing that here” which is something I’m not unused to hearing from the Big Red Machine.
Same System, Different Country.
I’ve got a few more posts worth of observations and anecdotes that I’ll be saving until after the Chronicles of EMS premiere on February 12th.
Thanks to the Chronicles of EMS, both Mark Glencorse and I will be attending the JEMS EMS Today Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, March 5th and 6th.
It’s a big deal for us to be able to spread our message to as many people as we can and there is no better way to share ideas than face to face. Even though we can communicate here in the internets machine, Mark and I didn’t really see what each other meant until we stood shoulder to shoulder in each other’s systems.
Since it will be a little while until we can get to everyone’s systems and learn from everyone how best to deliver EMS, heck even what EMS means anymore, we’ll travel as much as we can to meet you and keep the dialogue open.
That’s where our sponsor ZOLL Medical comes in.
SFFD Zoll Rep Roy Kniveton was kind enough to give the Chronicles of EMS team a run down of things coming from Zoll and let us put the new E Series through some quick tests. Not any of that scientific lab type stuff, but medics dragging it around a room type tests. Roy even offered to let the 100′ aerial ladder truck run over it to show it’s durability.
The truck officer declined the request.
But aside from coming in and letting us see what was new, Roy actually listened when we told him about our growing following. He was genuinely interested in the EMS 2.0 movement and did some quick searching to see what we were interested in getting from our equipment in the future.
We must have done something right because our near future included a generous sponsorship in our pilot episode and flying Mark and me to Baltimore for EMS Today. We will be Zoll’s guests at their booth and we’re looking forward to meeting all of you and answering questions about the Chronicles show, new concepts coming in social media TV and anything else you want to talk about.
I’ve never had anyone fly me anywhere before.
And to EMS Today no less. Check out the web page HERE and look for JEMS Editor in Chief AJ Heightman to wander in to give you the details on all the exciting things happening around me and Mark. Yes, there will be more than us ruggedly handsome frumpydumple fellows.
If you get a chance to make the premiere of the Chronicles of EMS in San Francisco on Feb 12th, we’d love to have you, sign up to let us know you’re coming HERE. And a special thanks to EMS1.com and AAM Consulting (Randy Africano) for sponsoring the premiere event at the Hotel Frank. More about them soon.
See you in SF.
See you in Baltimore.
