 |
|---|
 |
|---|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NEWS Skagit County Medic One Featured on Channel 26 High School Student Saves Baby Skagit County Medic One Seeks Volunteers
|
|
Skagit County Medic One encourages use, registration of automatic external defibrillators
Nearly 200,000 Americans each year die from sudden cardiac arrest. Along with CPR, use of an AED can increase the victim’s chance of survival. An AED is a device about the size of a laptop computer that analyzes the heart's rhythm for abnormalities and, if necessary, directs rescuers to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. The shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to restart and function effectively on its own. Once found only on emergency aid vehicles, AEDs have become commonplace in communities. They are located at malls, airports, casinos and other locations where people congregate. AEDs increasingly are becoming within financial reach of many people and small businesses, costing as little as $1,150 at some locations. Skagit County Medic One recognizes the importance of the community’s role in saving people who have suffered cardiac arrest. Skagit County Medic One encourages residents to receive training in CPR and AED usage. Individuals and businesses that acquire AEDs are encouraged to follow state law governing their use. RCW 70.54.310 states that those that acquire an AED should receive medical direction from a licensed physician in its use. They also are to contact the local emergency medical services organization (In Skagit County it is Skagit County Medic One) about the AED’s existence and location. The organization then will notify 911 services about the location of the AED so that dispatchers can direct callers to the device when emergencies arise. Those who use AEDs in emergencies are immune from civil liability provided that the user doesn’t engage in gross negligence or misconduct. Skagit County Medic One featured on public access Channel 26 Skagit County Medic One, the leading agency in child passenger safety in the county, currently is being featured on Skagit County's Spanish public access T.V. Channel 26. Medic One has partnered with Skagit County Community Action Agency to present a car seat installation demonstration and information for the Spanish-speaking public. The program airs daily at 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Student saves man from choking Emily Warman, 17, and a junior at the high school, works at Whidbey Coffee in the Cascade Mall. On March 27, at about 8:30 p.m., Emily noticed a man choking on a piece of biscotti. She asked if he was choking and he nodded yes. She asked if he would like her to help and again he nodded yes. She stepped behind him and administered the abdominal thrust maneuver. It took two thrusts to dislodge the biscotti. Emily said the man was stunned for a moment then said, “Wow,” and thanked her for saving him. He then left the shop. Emily took Mrs. Rogene Seidel’s health class last year, and received CPR/first aid training in her class from Skagit County Medic One instructors. Warman received a certificate in recognition of her actions on Wednesday from Susie Johnson, an instructor with Skagit County Medic One. Medic One trains about 600 hundred students annually in Skagit County high schools. About 3,000 people die from choking each year in the United States according to the American Red Cross. “This just proves once again that training works,” said Terry Bowen, lead training coordinator for Medic One. “It’s good to know that the students we train are able to put their skills to practice when it matters.” Warman is among several Skagit County students over the past couple of years who have saved a life with their CPR/First Aid skills. ......................................................................................[return to top]
2006 EMS Awards ......................................................................................[return to top]
CPR & First Aid Courses Car Seat Clinics ......................................................................................[return to top] Sedro-Woolley High School Student Saves Baby From Choking SEDRO-WOOLLEY – Just two days after taking CPR and first aid instruction in her high school’s health class, senior Renee Buchanan found herself having to put to use the skills she learned. While staffing the nursery at her church, where she volunteers on Sundays and Wednesdays, a 16-month-old girl started choking on a goldfish cracker. Buchanan said the child wasn’t breathing. “She just fell over and I saw that her neck was turning a different color,” she said. After checking her airway, Buchanan turned the child over and gave her back blows, the procedure used to dislodge objects in choking infants. The cracker popped out, and after the girl cried and fussed for a bit, she found her toy and went back to playing, Buchanan said. This simple skill saved a baby from choking. Safe Kids Worldwide reports that each year in this country at least 150 small children die from choking on food, toys and other small objects. Buchanan had taken a CPR class while in the eighth grade but had never used her skills. Then in November, Buchanan took a CPR and first-aid class from Skagit County EMS Commission educators, in her health class, taught by Amy Voorhees. The commission offers CPR and first-aid training to high school students in Skagit County, as well as to the general public. To date in 2005, the Commission has trained approximately 1,400 people throughout Skagit County. Buchanan said her training was well-timed. She said she didn’t panic – which is what she remembered being told not to do by her CPR instructors should someone need help. “I remembered everything,” Buchanan said. “If it would have come earlier, I wouldn’t have been prepared.” Earl Klinefelter, the commission’s senior EMS instructor, noted that quick thinking makes the difference between life and death. “In those few seconds, doing the right thing at the right time saved this child’s life,” Klinefelter said. “That’s what emergency care is all about.” ......................................................................................[return to top] Skagit County Medic One Seeks Volunteers A New Era for Skagit County In 1977, Dr. Richeson, as the Chairman of the Emergency Department at Skagit Valley Hospital, wrote a letter to the Washington State Board for Emergency Medicine. The letter was a start of the pursuit to have an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance service in Skagit County and to have a paramedic training course. In the response from the doctor chairing that Board, the doctor explained in great detail how Skagit County was simply not large enough to support a system with paramedics, let alone intermediate level Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). At that time, patients were transported to the hospital by various means and there was a wide range of pre-hospital treatment provided; nothing was consistent or uniform. 27 years later, ALS Ambulance care is the national standard in pre-hospital care. Paramedics respond to every medical-related 9-1-1 call in Skagit County and are able to provide important emergency care as an extension of the hospital Emergency Departments. The care provided is consistent and uniform for every patient in Skagit County, despite location, as according to the pre-hospital patient care protocols that are set in place by the MPD. The EMS Providers of Skagit County view Dr. Richeson as the founder of Skagit County’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system. He was instrumental in developing and promoting the Skagit County EMS Council and encouraging Skagit County elected officials to support a countywide EMS Levy. Skagit County was one of the first counties in the state to have trained EMTs and then to have Paramedics. In a cooperative process with Skagit County EMS Commission and the local healthcare community, Washington State appointed Dr. Don Slack as the next Medical Program Director for Skagit County. Dr. Slack’s term began on the first of January 2005, for a seamless transition to a new era. Dr. Slack has been an Emergency Room physician in Washington State since 1995 and in Skagit County since 1998. He has been involved as a MPD Designated Supervising Physician with the Skagit County EMS Commission, as well as in providing training for the EMT training course provided by the Commission. Raised in Anacortes and currently living in Mount Vernon, Dr. Slack’s initial interest in the medical field began at the age of 22 while working as a Mountain Rescue volunteer in the eighties. Now, his interests in mountaineering, sea kayaking and flying as a private pilot keep him involved as a volunteer physician for North Cascades National Park, Mt. Baker Ski Patrol and the President of the Skagit Mountain Rescue Unit. Dr. Slack views the MPD position for Skagit County as being a “…challenging position, as our county grows and the system evolves.” He recognizes the excellent staff of “experienced medics, as well as the large and motivated group of volunteer first responders” involved in the EMS system of Skagit County. For Dr. Don Slack, it is a “…privilege to direct and support these men and women and to serve Skagit County – my home, as MPD.” ......................................................................................[return to top]
|
|
|
|
|
When
someone suffers
cardiac arrest,
the difference
between the
victim living
and dying
depends on many
factors. One of
which is how
quickly they
receive CPR and
treatment with
an automatic
external
defibrillator (AED).