Realities of Rural Emergency Medical Services Disaster Preparedness

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Furbee ◽  
Jeffery H. Coben ◽  
Sharon K. Smyth ◽  
William G. Manley ◽  
Daniel E. Summers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Barriers And Challenges

AbstractIntroduction:Disaster preparedness is an area of major concern for the medical community that has been reinforced by recent world events. The emergency healthcare system must respond to all types of disasters, whether the incidents occur in urban or rural settings. Although the barriers and challenges are different in the rural setting, common areas of preparedness must be explored.Problem:This study sought to answer several questions, including: (1) What are rural emergency medical services (EMS) organizations training for, compared to what they actually have seen during the last two years?; (2) What scale and types of events do they believe they are prepared to cope with?; and (3) What do they feel are priority areas for training and preparedness?Methods:Data were gathered through a multi-region survey of 1,801 EMS organizations in the US to describe EMS response experiences during specific incidents as well as the frequency with which these events occur. Respondents were asked a number of questions about local priorities.Results:A total of 768 completed surveys were returned (43%). Over the past few years, training for commonly occurring types of crises and emergencies has declined in favor of terrorism preparedness. Many rural EMS organizations reported that events with 10 or fewer victims would overload them. Low priority was placed on interacting with other non-EMS disaster response agencies, and high priority was placed on basic staff training and retention.Conclusion:Maintaining viable, rural, emergency response capabilities and developing a community-wide response to natural or man-made events is crucial to mitigate long-term effects of disasters on a local healthcare system. The assessment of preparedness activities accomplished in this study will help to identify common themes to better prioritize preparedness activities and maximize the response capabilities of an EMS organization.

The 1994 Northridge Earthquake Disaster Response: The Local Emergency Medical Services Agency Experience

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel J. Stratton ◽  
Virginia Price Hastings ◽  
Darlene Isbell ◽  
John Celentano ◽  
Miguel Ascarrunz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Northridge Earthquake ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
1994 Northridge Earthquake

AbstractIntroduction:This paper describes the 1994 Northridge earthquake experience of the local emergency medical services (EMS) agency. Discussed are means that should improve future local agency disaster responses.Methods:Data reported are descriptive and were collected from multiple independent sources, and can be reviewed publicly and confirmed. Validated data collected during the disaster by the Local EMS Agency also are reported.Results:The experience of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency was similar to that of earthquake disasters previously reported. Communication systems, water, food, shelter, sanitation means, power sources, and medical supplies were resources needed early in the disaster. Urban Search and Rescue Teams and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams were important elements in the response to the Northridge earthquake. The acute phase of the disaster ended within 48 to 72 hours and public health then became the predominant health-care issue. Locating community food and water supplies near shelters, providing transportation to medical care, and public-health visits to shelter locations helped prevent the development of long-term park encampments. An incident command system for the field, hospitals, and government responders was necessary for an organized response to the disaster.Conclusion:Disaster preparedness, multiple forms of reliable communication, rapid mobilization of resources, and knowledge of available state and federal resources are necessary for a disaster response by a local EMS agency.

Optimizing Routine and Disaster Prehospital Care Through Improved Emergency Medical Services Oversight

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Mahshid Abir ◽  
Jane Forman ◽  
Rekar K. Taymour ◽  
Christina Brent ◽  
Brahmajee K. Nallamothu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Prehospital Care ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify modifiers of emergency medical services (EMS) oversight quality, including facilitators and barriers, and inform best practices and policy related to EMS oversight and system performance. Methods: We used a qualitative design, including 4 focus groups and 10 in-depth, 1-on-1 interviews. Primary data were collected from EMS stakeholders in Michigan from June to July 2016. Qualitative data were analyzed using the rapid assessment technique. Results: Emergent themes included organizational structure, oversight and stakeholder leadership, interorganizational communication and relationships, competition or collaboration among MCA stakeholders, quality improvement practices, resources, and needs specific to rural communities. Conclusions: EMS is a critical component of disaster response. This study revealed salient themes and modifiers, including facilitators and barriers, of EMS oversight quality. These findings were evaluated in the context of current evidence and informed state policy to improve the quality of EMS oversight and prehospital care for both routine and disaster settings. Some were particular to geographic regions and communities, whereas others were generalizable.

scholarly journals The contribution of helicopter emergency medical services in the pre-hospital care of penetrating torso injuries in a semi-rural setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gavrilovski ◽  
J. E. Griggs ◽  
E. ter Avest ◽  
R. M. Lyon ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Penetrating Trauma ◽  
Trauma Centre ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Hospital Treatment ◽  
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Major Trauma Centre

Abstract Background Although the merit of pre-hospital critical care teams such as Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) has been universally recognized for patients with penetrating torso injuries who present with unstable physiology, the potential merit in patients initially presenting with stable physiology is largely undetermined. The ability to predict the required pre-hospital interventions patients may have important implications for HEMS tasking, especially when transport times to definitive care are prolonged. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who sustained a penetrating torso injury and were attended by the Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (AAKSS) over a 6-year period. Primary outcome was defined as the percentage of patients with penetrating torso injuries requiring HEMS-specific interventions anytime between HEMS arrival and arrival at hospital. Secondary outcomes were the association of individual patient- and injury characteristics with the requirement for HEMS interventions. Results During the study period 363 patients met inclusion criteria. 90% of patients were male with a median age of 30 years. 99% of penetrating trauma incident occurred more than 10-min drive from a Major Trauma Centre (MTC). Presenting GCS was > 13 in 83% of patients. Significant hemodynamic- or ventilatory compromise was present in more than 25% of the patients. Traumatic cardiac arrest was present in 34 patients (9.4%), profound hypotension with SBP < 80 mmHg in 30 (8.3%) and oxygen saturations < 92% in 30 (8.3%). A total of 121 HEMS-specific interventions were performed. Although HEMS-specific interventions were associated with presenting physiology (TCA OR 1.75 [1.41–2.16], SBP < 80 mmHg (OR 1.40 [1.18–1.67] and SpO2 < 92% (OR 1.39 [1.17–1.65], a minority of the patients presented initially with stable physiology but deteriorated on route to hospital and required HEMS interventions (n = 9, 3.3%). Conclusion HEMS teams provide potentially important contribution to the pre-hospital treatment of patients with penetrating torso injuries in rural and semi-rural areas, especially when they present with unstable physiology. A certain degree of over-triage is inevitable in these patients, as it is hard to predict which patients will deteriorate on route to hospital and will need HEMS interventions. The results of this study showing a potentially predictable geographical dispersion of penetrating trauma could inform multi-agency knife crime prevention strategy.

scholarly journals The Danish prehospital emergency healthcare system and research possibilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Alex Lindskou ◽  
Søren Mikkelsen ◽  
Erika Frischknecht Christensen ◽  
Poul Anders Hansen ◽  
Gitte Jørgensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical Service ◽  
Medical Record ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Medical Service ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical Service System ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Medical Healthcare

Abstract The emergency medical healthcare system outside hospital varies greatly across the globe - even within the western world. Within the last ten years, the demand for emergency medical service systems has increased, and the Danish emergency medical service system has undergone major changes. Therefore, we aimed to provide an updated description of the current Danish prehospital medical healthcare system. Since 2007, Denmark has been divided into five regions each responsible for health services, including the prehospital services. Each region may contract their own ambulance service providers. The Danish emergency medical services in general include ambulances, rapid response vehicles, mobile emergency care units and helicopter emergency medical services. All calls to the national emergency number, 1-1-2, are answered by the police, or the Copenhagen fire brigade, and since 2011 forwarded to an Emergency Medical Coordination Centre when the call relates to medical issues. At the Emergency Medical Coordination Centre, healthcare personnel assess the situation guided by the Danish Index for Emergency Care and determine the level of urgency of the situation, while technical personnel dispatch the appropriate medical emergency vehicles. In Denmark, all healthcare services, including emergency medical services are publicly funded and free of charge. In addition to emergency calls, other medical services are available for less urgent health problems around the clock. Prehospital personnel have since 2015 utilized a nationwide electronic prehospital medical record. The use of this prehospital medical record combined with Denmark’s extensive registries, linkable by the unique civil registration number, enables new and unique possibilities to do high quality prehospital research, with complete patient follow-up.

International Military-Civilian Collaboration for Disaster Medicine

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-20
Author(s):  
William R. Gemma
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Medical Treatments ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
The World ◽  
Organizational Differences

Throughout the world, experience is growing in the development of plans for military-civilian collaboration in disaster preparedness. This involves the complex problems associated with the coordination of various components of military and civilian Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems and organizational differences between countries.EMS are dependent on relationships between hospitals, police-fire-ambulance services, and municipal, county and state governments. In an emergency, their integration is accomplished in: (1) detection and assessment; (2) call for ambulance and hospital; (3) organization; and (4) emergency medical treatments.

Incorporating Drugs and Devices into Emergency Medical Services Systems

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Wolfberg ◽  
Vincent P. Verdile ◽  
Richard D. Flinn
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Medical Practices ◽  
Emergency Medical

AbstractThe proliferation of new medical technology and pharmacology forces the medical community to ensure the efficacy and safety of new drugs and devices before their use in patient care. Although traditional medical practices have a fairly consistent means to achieve this end, prehospital medical practice often does not. In addition, it often appears that the emergency medical services marketplace does not always follow conventional supply/demand and cost/quality paradigms. This article describes a process implemented in Pennsylvania to standardize the mechanism by which new drugs and devices are introduced into prehospital medical practice.

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