Heroin and derivatives are now commonplace in our area. Many times the patient or their friends hide the evidence before we arrive but there are times when you have to drag the patient out of a dark car or room. Or you find residue on the patient or objects....
EMS Call Turns into Carbon Monoxide Exposure (Near Miss Article)
Near Miss ROTW Lessons Learned Become Lessons Applied Summary An EMS response for a possible stroke patient turned out to be an exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). A CO monitor attached to an EMS bag alerted the crews and they took immediate action to render the scene safe and...
Cardiac Arrest Medications-Epinephrine is First!
When dealing with our protocols, you blend them together as much as needed and always use the Airway and ventilation protocol initially. For patients in cardiac arrest, you should use the cardiac arrest protocol as the primary one and incorporate the others as you have time and personnel. Our...
Hospice Patients-How to Help
I am responding to a hospice patient. I heard that if we transport them to the hospital, it nullifies their hospice contract. Is this correct? No. The best thing to do when dispatched to a patient receiving hospice care is to determine what the family and patient needs are. ...
Mandated Reporter Information-Child and Adult
I know that I am considered a mandated reporter for suspected adult and child abuse but what does that mean? Can I just call an EMS supervisor or tell the hospital and let them know about the situation? No, you must make the phone call to APS or CPS...
Stroke Centers and Other Specialty Resource Hospitals
We wanted to clarify something that was put out recently. Sentara Independence (SI) is NOT a STROKE center. We apologize if there is any confusion on the topic. We encourage you to transport any BLS and many ALS patients to SI including those currently in cardiac arrest. You should...
How to Elite: Medications
Documentation of your patient care, assessment, and times is very important. A very important item that must be documented includes any medications that are administered including saline and oxygen and those pertinent medications that were given before your arrival. For instance, if you have a patient with chest pain,...
How to Elite: Procedures
In addition to documenting the story that leads up to the 911 call, your detailed assessment and pertinent negatives, documenting all of the procedures that you perform is crucial. If you are not performing a procedure because it was done before your arrival, it should be listed as well...
CHKD is a Pediatric Trauma Center on October 2, 2017
On October 2, 2017, CHKD will begin accepting trauma patients directly from the field. They have been receiving transfer patients and some minor trauma patients for some time. This means that patients under the age of 15 who meet any trauma center transport criteria will be transported directly to...
Tourniquet use in Virginia Beach 2015-2017
Check out some of our tourniquet statistics including reminders on when to use one.
Avoid Exposure to Powders Which Could be Fentanyl/Carfentanil
Heroin and derivatives are now commonplace in our area. Many times the patient or their friends hide the evidence before we arrive but there are times when you have to drag the patient out of a dark car or room. Or you find residue on the patient or objects....
EMS Call Turns into Carbon Monoxide Exposure (Near Miss Article)
Near Miss ROTW Lessons Learned Become Lessons Applied Summary An EMS response for a possible stroke patient turned out to be an exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). A CO monitor attached to an EMS bag alerted the crews and they took immediate action to render the scene safe and...
Cardiac Arrest Medications-Epinephrine is First!
When dealing with our protocols, you blend them together as much as needed and always use the Airway and ventilation protocol initially. For patients in cardiac arrest, you should use the cardiac arrest protocol as the primary one and incorporate the others as you have time and personnel. Our...
Hospice Patients-How to Help
I am responding to a hospice patient. I heard that if we transport them to the hospital, it nullifies their hospice contract. Is this correct? No. The best thing to do when dispatched to a patient receiving hospice care is to determine what the family and patient needs are. ...
Mandated Reporter Information-Child and Adult
I know that I am considered a mandated reporter for suspected adult and child abuse but what does that mean? Can I just call an EMS supervisor or tell the hospital and let them know about the situation? No, you must make the phone call to APS or CPS...
Stroke Centers and Other Specialty Resource Hospitals
We wanted to clarify something that was put out recently. Sentara Independence (SI) is NOT a STROKE center. We apologize if there is any confusion on the topic. We encourage you to transport any BLS and many ALS patients to SI including those currently in cardiac arrest. You should...
How to Elite: Medications
Documentation of your patient care, assessment, and times is very important. A very important item that must be documented includes any medications that are administered including saline and oxygen and those pertinent medications that were given before your arrival. For instance, if you have a patient with chest pain,...
How to Elite: Procedures
In addition to documenting the story that leads up to the 911 call, your detailed assessment and pertinent negatives, documenting all of the procedures that you perform is crucial. If you are not performing a procedure because it was done before your arrival, it should be listed as well...
CHKD is a Pediatric Trauma Center on October 2, 2017
On October 2, 2017, CHKD will begin accepting trauma patients directly from the field. They have been receiving transfer patients and some minor trauma patients for some time. This means that patients under the age of 15 who meet any trauma center transport criteria will be transported directly to...
Tourniquet use in Virginia Beach 2015-2017
Check out some of our tourniquet statistics including reminders on when to use one.