T h e P u l s e A MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF BY: CHIEF FILER

Transcription

1 T h e P u l s e A Newsletter by and for the Employees of Charles County Emergency Medical Services A MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF BY: CHIEF FILER VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 2009 Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more. Mark Twain ( ) I recently had the parenting displeasure of spending my Friday evening in the children s emergency room with my son. Several hours into the ordeal I was notified by the ED staff that my son had to be transported to Johns Hopkins for surgery and that the Hopkins Pediatric Transport Team was on their way. As would any parent be I was deeply distraught over the entire event and absolutely drained especially when I heard about the interfacility transfer. The Hopkins Team arrived and immediately began transferring over all of the pump tubing, leads and monitoring equipment from the ED to their set up (for anyone who has ever worked private critical care transport you know the routine). While the crew appeared to be proficient at their job I started to notice little clues that spiked my curiosity. Little things like no one wearing a name tag, certification or simply introducing themselves as Paramedic so and so. There was no caring personality involved in the transition of care; no warm and comforting words for tired and worried parents, no customer service what so ever. The next thing that sparked my attention was the way the assumed paramedic removed the alligator clip from the current pump tubing, placing it uncapped on the bed and then onto their brand of pump tubing. To the medics dismay I clumsily knocked the entire set-up on the floor before she was able to plug the dirty set-up into my son s IV line. When she asked why I did it I simply replied oops sorry. After finally getting my son loaded on the cot we walked out to their waiting ambulance. I was astonished to see a unit brandishing the Hopkins name so filthy on the inside. Not only was the unit dirty, the smell of fatty burger and fries consumed the entire patient compartment. The entire experience left me with a sad feeling of dissatisfaction and anger over the two slobs that came out to pick up my son. While my post transport experience with Johns Hopkins Hospital was absolutely remarkable and everything a parent could want, first impressions go a long way and this first impression was anything but favorable. As not to bore you with any further details I will cut straight to the point. The moral of the story is you never know who you re going to be picking up or whose family member it is on any given day. Whether it is the little old lady in the nursing home who happens to be Woody Allen s mom (true story) or even the cardiac patient who just happens to be the Secretary of Education for the United States (another true story); you have to give 110% positive customer service. You have to exhale confidence and excellence from your body. Our patients expect nothing less from us and neither do I. Every patient is someone s mother, father, son, daughter, wife or husband and we should treat them as if they were our own family member. When we put that uniform on in the morning we are not only representing this Department but an entire profession. Inside This Issue: Health and Safety pg. 2 From the County pg.2 Supply pg. 3 Training pg. 3 Gallery pg. 5 Calendar pg. 7 February is black history month!

2 Page 2 From the Office of Health and Safety by Mike Morgan ES Safety Officer As the winter weather is here, please keep the following driving safety tips in mind: 1) Determine if your trip is really necessary if the weather is bad. 2) Monitor the weather forecasts. Obey any snow emergency plans placed into effect. 3) Reduce your speed and increase your following distance when driving in snow, sleet, and freezing rain. 4) Steer smoothly, no jerky movements with the steering wheel. 5) Clear ALL snow and ice from your vehicle PRIOR to driving. 6) Make sure your tank is full. Should you loose power at home: 1) Never leave candles unattended. Avoid using them if possible. 2) DO NOT use your stove to heat your home. 3) If you have a generator and decide to use it, make sure you don't use it inside. Use only outdoors and point exhaust away from doors and windows. Stay safe! From the County. Effective Monday, January 26, 2009 the County Government Building first floor hallway door (by Utility Billing/Fiscal Services) will be electronically locked 24/7. This is a part of our continuing effort to make the County Building as secure as possible for our employees and guests. All employees who have an access badge to any door in the County Government Building will be able to open this door with their badge. If you do not have an access badge and work in the Government Building, you can request one through your Department Director. If you do not work in this building you can still access the door by showing your County ID badge. There are door release buttons at the Atrium Security Desk and at the Water Sewer Billing Window. Presenting your County ID at one of these locations will allow you entry.

3 Page 3 Supply Officer Notes By Lt. Cherry As most of you already know, the ALS bag has been modified. The DuoDote kits are in each bag and to accommodate the kits, items were moved around. The bags are now all uniform to each other and should remain this way so please refrain from changing or moving things around. If you happen to move something for your shift, please return it to it's new place after your shift. I will have pictures of how the bags are supposed to be set up for each station. Thank you for your assistance in keeping our bags standardized. If you have any questions, please let me know. Lt. Jones TRAINING NOTES Please note that any training request that does not include a syllabus or course announcement will be disapproved and returned to the employee. The two exceptions are MFRI classes and Charles County sponsored classes as I can easily verify these courses. I would like to encourage employees to take classes from a variety of sources such as CALS, St Mary's ALS, CSM, etc. But again, attached announcements are required. When performing medical consultations with specialty centers such as P.G. Trauma, please remember to always include the trauma category and priority. This is being overlooked at times because we are not really requesting a medevac, however, SYSCOM needs the specific category and priority for their records. It might be the case that they are monitoring these calls and are looking for this information. If you have any questions, please me. The required MIEMSS trauma training video deadline has been extended to March 1, 2009 by MIEMSS. Please complete this training if you have not done so already. The Atlantic EMS Council is conducting a practice analysis of providers in the field. This practice analysis is very important for referencing future certification exam items. As they gear up to do the full survey, they are conducting a pilot survey of providers to ensure the instrument works. Please submit your name to Lt. Jones if you are willing to complete the brief surv e y. M I E M S S w i l l then forward your contact information to the company doing the practice analysis and you will be contacted. MIEMSS is providing con ed: 2 hours of local option (L,2) for those who complete the survey as the purpose of this is related to researching and analyzing field practices.

4 Page 4 56th Presidential Inauguration January 20, 2009, Washington, D.C. The Charles County Department of Emergency Services was asked to assist in the 56 th Presidential Inauguration ceremonies on Jan. 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. Charles County Emergency Services, in conjunction with the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department deployed an All Hazards Strike Team on January 19th and 20th in support of the District of Columbia Fire Department and the United States Coast Guard. Photo courtesy Lt. Summers The Emergency Medical Service component of the strike team was made up of 2 ALS ambulances as well as 2 support vehicles with supervisory personnel. The EMS units were deployed along the parade route to respond to calls for service, assist with triage and to provide treatment for possible hypothermia. Charles County EMS Personnel assigned to this mission included: Lt s Walden and Summers, Paramedics Parton, Smith, Hayes, Ramsey, Barbour, Hiponia and Martin and EMT s Scott, Fox, Morgan and Weyrich. Photo courtesy Chief Weiss The second unit deployed was the Charles County Tactical Response Team which was responsible for providing technical decontamination support to the United States Coast Guard Maritime Security Operations Group operating out of Bolling AFB. The team deployed on January 19th and operated until the end of the Inauguration on 20 January. Tactical Response Team personnel assigned to this mission included: Assistant Chief Weiss, Sergeants Donley and Ellis, and Specialists Kennedy, Jefferson, Hancock, and Raybon. The missions were successfully completed and all deployed personnel and vehicles returned safely. Photo courtesy Chief Weiss Photo courtesy Lt. Summers

5 Quality of Care Through Excellence in Service Page 5 Thanks to all that made the Super Supper a success for Project AdamJan. 25th, Photos courtesy Lt. Campbell QUIZ OF THE MONTH: Per MD protocols, is it inclusion criteria for a STEMI if the patient has in her possession a previous EKG with narrow QRS to demonstrate that wide complex is a new change?

6 Quality of Care Through Excellence in Service Page 6 GUSTAV AWARDS On January 27, 2009, Charles County Emergency Services Personnel received commendation by Charles County Commissioners for their efforts in the Hurricane Gustav deployment to Louisiana. Team leader Chris Thompson, EMTB s Missi Fox and Nick Ellis and medics Patrick Moore, Meghan Hiponia, Aaron Kidder and Mark Hayes deployed August 30, 2008 as members of the Maryland Strike Team. Back row L-R: Chief Filer, Medic Hiponia, EMT Fox, Chris Thompson, Medic Kidder, Medic Hayes, EMT Ellis, Medic Moore, ES Director William Stephens Front row L-R: Commissioner Graves, Commissioner Patterson, Commissioner Cooper, Commissioner Hodge, Commissioner Collins.

7 Page 7 CAUGHT IN THE ACT!.of doing the right thing Photo courtesy Lt. Camera I SPY Suzie Chagnon and Allen Bryant save, pt. in cardiac arrest

8 Page 8 Mark Your Calendars. Promote Women s Heart Health in February S U N M O N T U E W E D T H U F R I S A T 1 Winter- Fest Conference 2 Groundhog Day Lincoln s birthday President s Day Firefighters weekend at EMI 21 EMI 22 EMI Washington s birthday Shrove tuesday 25 Ash wednesday ACLS S U N M O N T U E W E D T H U F R I S A T Purim EMT-I class begins

9 Page 9 Mission Statement The mission of Charles County Government is to provide our citizens the highest quality service possible in a timely, efficient, and courteous manner. To achieve this goal, our government must be operated in an open and accessible atmosphere, be based on comprehensive long- and short-term planning, and have an appropriate managerial organization tempered by fiscal responsibility. Vision Statement Charles County is a place where all people thrive and businesses grow and prosper; where the preservation of our heritage and environment is paramount; where government services to its citizens are provided at the highest level of excellence; and where the quality of life is the best in the nation. Charles County Department of Emergency Services P.O. Box 2150 LaPlata, MD Questions or Newsletter Submissions: E. Campbell, EMS Lt. Phone: CampbelE@charlescounty.org Mission Statement CCEMS It is the mission of the Charles County Department of Emergency Services, EMS Division to provide superior quality emergency medical support to the citizens of Charles County, Maryland and requesting jurisdictions. Vision Statement CCEMS With well-trained, capable and professional personnel; The Charles County Department of Emergency Services, EMS Division will provide the best premium quality of preventative and emergency care in the fastest, most efficient and cost effective manor possible to the citizens of Charles County, Maryland and requesting jurisdictions. It is the goal of the Charles County Emergency Services, EMS Division to be at the vanguard of pre-hospital emergency care. ANSWER TO QUIZ: It IS inclusion criteria. If no old EKG is available, a QRS complex wider than 0.12 may be suggestive of a BBB, not a STEMI, therefore, you are unable to diagnose.