| Paramedic’s Corner: Summer means more trauma calls for ambulances |
By: Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
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Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 7:39 pm
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Ambulance Director Gary Carmack
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June was busy at the Pulaski County Ambulance District (PCAD) as we are right in the middle of trauma season. We refer to warm weather months as trauma season, because people are more active outdoors riding ATVs, boating, and because, frankly, people just seem to party more and drive faster.
PCAD personnel responded 418 times to calls, bringing the yearly total of responses to date up to 2,715 patients. The highest call area in June remains Waynesville-St. Robert with 275 calls, followed by Richland at 51 and Crocker at 24. PCAD personnel responded to Fort Leonard Wood 17 times, Rolla 14 times, and Laquey 13 times. Most of the Rolla and Fort Leonard Wood responses were for transfers.
The hospitals most requested and transported to where St. John’s Hospital in Lebanon with 87 patients, Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla with 76, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital with 61, and Lake Regional Medical Center at Osage Beach with 22. The largest number of transports to a long-distance destination was three transports to University Hospital in Columbia.
The highest responses by age group were 70 years or older, with 70 responses, followed by 21 to 30 years old with 61 responses. The highest medical reason for calling was cardiac-respiratory and the highest reason for trauma calls was motor vehicle crashes and falls. The highest time of day for calls was between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Then, it peaks again at 9 a.m. to noon.
PCAD personnel are planning a paramedic school to start classes on Sept. 3 of this year. The class will meet on Thursdays and go from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours each Thursday. The student will also be attending a field internship and hospital clinical rotations. Those interested can stop by the Waynesville ambulance base for an application.
Entry requirements for this class are having a GED or high school diploma, being a licensed EMT, and having taken an anatomy and physiology course before or during the paramedic course. The student will have to obtain drug testing, a criminal background check, and provide proof of current immunizations. When the student obtains a Missouri state license, the student can be awarded 30 college hours from Drury University.
On the personnel front, the ambulance district is losing one of our EMTs for a year. EMT Loren Bonebrake is being sent to Afghanistan as a medic. Loren just returned from Iraq a few months ago. We pray for his safe return and back to us again in a year.
One of our new paramedics and EMTs, Paramedic Derek Douglas and EMT Curtis Spicer, along with St. Robert firefighters, had what is called a “clinical save” recently, when they successfully resuscitated a patient who was in cardiac arrest. Accolades to Derek, Curtis, and the firefighters!
EMT Rick Arnold rescued a lady from a car submerged underwater (I will cover this story in a future column), so for now accolades to Rick!
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