Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Snowmobiler vs. Tree
Greg Friese
Greg recalls an incident in rural Wisconsin in which a snowmobiler zoomed up to his ambulance and motioned for him to get on the back in order to reach an injured person. After they took off, Greg realized, “The stench of alcohol on his breath was so strong I almost fell off… and I realized the folly of what I had done in accepting a ride from this fellow.”
Click to here this story by Greg Friese, president of Emergency Preparedness Systems LLC.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
EMS Study Tour
Neil Kirby
Listen to “meet” Neil Kirby, tour guide for the EMS Diversity in America tour traveling the Southwest U.S. this fall. Tour participants will spend the week of Oct. 7-14 visiting EMS systems throughout the region, and will earn 30 hours of continuing education credit by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS). Participants will also do some sightseeing along the way, and will finish the tour in Las Vegas, Nevada in time to attend EMS Expo, where they will receive a complimentary 3-day admission.
Neil is the Director of Special Programs for the North Central EMS Institute, and has 30 years experience in EMS, most recently as the Deputy Commissioner of the Queensland Ambulance Service in Australia.
Listen for further details, and to register for the tour visit http://worldemstour.ncemsi.org. To learn more about EMS Expo visit http://www.emsexpo2008.com.
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
A Snowy Day in
Tim Perkins
Tim recalls that during his first EMS response at age 16, as a volunteer firefighter responding an MVA, his job was simply to hold a tarp over a victim as he lay dying to keep the snow off him until an ambulance arrived. Later haunted by the man’s pleas for help, his father/fire chief told him, “You can continue to torment yourself over what you saw, or you can recognize that you only can work at the ability that you have.”
Click to hear this story by Tim Perkins, EMS Systems Planner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Health, Office of EMS.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Cardiac Arrest in a Rural County
John Todaro
“While I was starting the IV she looked at me and she said… ‘John, I don’t think that I am going to be here much longer,’ and she literally went into arrest in front of me while I was starting the IV.” Click to listen to this touching and funny story by John Todaro, director of the Emergency Medical Learning and Resource Center in Orlando, FL.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Somebody Somewhere Loves Them
Cynthia Bullard
“We got called up in the middle of the night one night for a car that had literally wrecked a telephone pole. You hear these things, but I had never seen one.” Click to listen to this story from Cynthia Bullard about a call that particularly affected her.
Cynthia Bullard is an EMT in Northeast Mississippi, as well as a triage nurse and a former firefighter.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Life of an EMT
Jack Mangin and Karen Bresson
“We’re there not to do any further harm, we’re there for them to have a safe trip to the hospital, we’re there to help them feel a little better if we can… The ultimate goal is the patient care.” In this episode, Karen Bresson and Jack Mangin talk about some of their calls, how to listen to patients, how to deal with difficult partners, and other aspects of EMS life. Click to hear the rest of this story.
Jack Mangin and Karen Bresson are EMTs at New Milford Community Ambulance in Connecticut.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
A Master Disaster
David Jaslow and Matthew Butler
“We arrived on scene and it was very chaotic. People were running out of the building holding one another up, very similar to the WMD training videos…” Click to listen to the rest of this story from David Jaslow and Matthew Butler, ending with a bonus story about a dog.
Dr. David Jaslow is director of the Division of EMS and Disaster Medicine at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, and at the same location, Matthew Butler is Director of Operations for the Center for Special Operations Training.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
The Chain of Survival Worked
Tim Sheehan
“One evening while I was teaching advanced cardiovascular life support at the college, we were just ending up class… when one of my old paramedic students came rushing into the room saying, ‘Tim, we need you down here in the gym!’” Click to hear the rest of this story from Tim Sheehan.
Tim is a paramedic instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Professionalism in EMS
“Part of one of our jobs of being professional is to always know when to say the right thing and also sometimes, more often, when to keep our mouths shut.” Click to hear the rest from Keith Wesley.
Keith K. Wesley, MD is the State of Wisconsin EMS Medical Director and Medical Director for the Chippewa Fire District, Chippewa Falls, WI.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424
Open Airways: Stories from the back of the ambulance
Never Let Your Guard Down
“I turned around to look and the only other door that was around was double dead bolt locked. So, I did not have any place to go…” Click to hear the rest of the story from John Tippett.
John Tippett Jr. is a battalion chief for the Montgomery County, MD Fire and Rescue Service. He also works for the International Association of Fire Chiefs as a project manager. His fire service career spans over thirty years of career and volunteer service. John’s IAFC work currently involves the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System.
Open Airways is a project to capture an oral history for the benefit of the EMS Community. EMS responders share some of the most meaningful cases of their careers, sometimes with humor and always with compassion. We hope that they will help us improve your practice and inspire a new generation of caregivers.
This series is produced by FISDAP with the support of EMSResponder.com. Listen to the latest features here and look for the series archive at openairways.net.
To share your most meaningful case and the lesson it taught you, call FISDAP Open Airways at 1.651.314.7424