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Advanced Life
Support (ALS)
ALS care is administered in
life-threatening and serious medical circumstances on the scene and en-route to the hospital by a
Paramedic. Our ALS ambulances provide emergency coverage to
20 communities, inter-facility transfers and nursing home
emergencies.
Paramedics are the highest trained pre-hospital care providers.
They provide critical patient care in emergent and non-emergent situations. Our crew includes at least one Paramedic and one
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
Medic 1 also provides ALS support
in coordination with area volunteer ambulance and fire departments, ensuring
that patients who live in outlying areas have access to all of our life saving
paramedic services. This includes meeting with Basic Life Support
ambulances so that ALS care can be provided to their patients, when needed, as
well as providing mutual aid support to our neighboring communities with
additional ambulances when the local service is overwhelmed.
Responses to Calls
- Safety is a priority at Medic 1 Ambulance Service.
When the public sees an ambulance responding with its lights
and siren in use, it is responding to a true emergency. In
fact, due to advances in technology, dispatcher training and
the strategic staging of ambulances, Medic 1 responds with lights
and sirens to far fewer calls today than it did just a few
years ago.
- All Medic 1 Ambulance crew members attend annual
emergency vehicle operations training to enhance driver
safety and proficiency. Advanced training
and modern equipment allows Medic 1 paramedics to transport
a majority of patients to the hospital without lights and sirens. This
reduces risk to the patient, staff, and the public while allowing the
paramedics to provide the very best in patient care.
Patient Assessment and
History
- The days of throwing a patient in the back of an ambulance and rushed to
the hospital are in the past. Medic 1 paramedics begin a rapid assessment of
the patient’s physical condition.
- The paramedics can then immediately begin treatment and relay this
medical information to the hospital emergency room giving them time to
prepare for the patients arrival.
Emergency Interventions
- Paramedics are able to perform many emergency
interventions at the patient's side or on the way to the
hospital. Treatment of injuries or illnesses that are
performed before a victim is taken to the hospital has
proven effective to improve the outcome of the illness or
injury. Many of the skills performed by Paramedics are
identical to the skills that doctors and nurses provide in
the emergency room.
- Medic 1 paramedics carry high-tech
equipment that is portable and durable enough to be used in
any type of environment, whether a patient is in their bed
or on a hiking trail.
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The ambulances are equipped
with all the supplies needed to care for a severely injured or ill patient, such
as Intravenous Infusion (IV) supplies, Cardiac Care
(defibrillation to shock life threatening arrhythmias; 12 lead EKG to help
identify ischemic cardiac events), Respiratory Care (oxygen as well as
intubation equipment), and emergency medications (for the treatment of seizures,
acute pain management, allergic reactions, and more).
- The paramedics are trained to recognize situations
that call for intervention and act quickly to improve the
patient’s condition. There are a variety of situations that
the paramedics are prepared to handle, and frequent training
makes them even more proficient with these lifesaving
skills. The lifesaving care provided by Paramedics assures
the patient’s condition is given attention from the moment
the paramedics arrive at the patient’s side.
Patient Handling and Transport
- Transportation or moving the patient to the hospital is a
major part of Emergency Medical Services. Usually, patients
with medical problems are placed on a stretcher and moved to
the ambulance. Patients who are injured traumatically are
handled differently according to their injuries.
- Severe
injures that may cause damage to a person's spinal column are
handled with special care. This special care includes
placing an immobilization collar around the patient’s neck,
and securing the victim flat to a backboard. This minimizes
the movement of the patient and prevents any further damage
to the spine. Individual injuries are assessed by the
paramedics to determine the best course of transportation
for the patient.
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