EMS Week May 18-24

These years marks the 40th anniversary of EMS week— make it special for your agency and community! For ways to celebrate, go to acep.org/emsweek, the special site sponsored the National Association of EMTs.

“ When Americans find themselves in times of crisis — from car accidents to national tragedies —our robust network of EMS professionals ensures that quality medical care is only moments away. This week, let us RECOMMIT TO SUPPORTING EMS personnel and thanking them for their heroic contributions to our lives.”

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, EMS WEEK 2013 PROCLAMATION

In an interview with Alex Rosenau, DO, CPE, FACEP President, American College of Emergency Physiciansans, he stated why it is important to celebrate EMTS and Paramedics:

“EMS is right there on the front lines, treating people where they work, live and play. Often they are there to relieve pain and anxiety; sometimes those interactions are lifesaving. My own family has benefitted from EMS, when a relative had a blood sugar level of 20. I had no equipment with me so there wasn’t much I could do. A medic came in and gave him an injection of glucose, and he became his normal self again. The treatment was lifesaving. I also remember a patient, about 19 or 20 years old, who was beaten badly with a baseball bat. A brand-new paramedic communicated with us over the phone that the patient’s blood pressure was low and he didn’t hear breath sounds on the right. We gave him instructions over the phone and worked with him as he successfully completed an advanced airway maneuver to treat a tension pneumothorax. The patient’s blood pressure went up, his oxygen level improved and his pulse came down. He still had a half hour trip to the hospital, so his life was saved by that paramedic. These events speak to the core values and development of EMS throughout the country. EMS is an extension of medical care beyond the doors of the hospital and into the community.”

On how the role of EMTS and Paramedics has evolved since 1974, Mr. Rosenau stated:

“EMS has become more and more important to the coordinated treatment of trauma, and getting patients to predesignated trauma centers quickly. EMS is critical to the chain of survival for sudden cardiac arrest. We’ve given medics more resources, a wider variety of medications, increasingly better training and we are even looking forward to a future where they may be participating in some outpatient care in medical surveillance for things like congestive heart failure. By providing definite patient care in the field, EMS improves our ability in the emergency department to extend care to where it is needed. “

For more information go to emsweek.org