Quarterly Newsletter

Quarterly Newsletter
EMSC A PROUD PARTNER IN YOUR COMMUNITY
As spring approached, the
time arrived this past May to
focus our attention on the
Emergency Medical Services’
community. Across the nation, states and local communities prepared to acknowledge EMS professionals by
showing appreciation to the
men and women who give of
themselves in a time of others’
emergency needs. Wednesday, May 20, 2009 was dedicated to our smallest patients,
the children of our communities. By recognizing that children are our future, Emergency Medical Services for
Children, (EMSC) created an
environment to implement
prevention programs with the
very group whose emergency
healthcare we advocate for.
The children from the
Downtown YMCA Pre-K
and Kindergarten programs
joined us on the south lawn of
the State Capitol for the Annual Oklahoma EMSC Day
event. The event offered opportunities to educate children
in a fun playful environment
on injury prevention, what to
expect if emergency personnel
respond to their needs, how to
protect themselves during a
fire, the importance of helmet
safety, and what to do if a
stranger tries to abduct them.
The activities included: fire
hose tug-o-war, uniform relay
races, Jell-o brain molds demonstrating injury prevetion,
and touring the local agencies’ ambulances, fire trucks,
police cars, and the helicopter. This event was made possible by partnership from
community organizations.
The theme of 2009 National
EMS Appreciation Week
was: EMS A PROUD
PARTNER IN YOUR
COMMUNITY. EMSC
wants to partner with our
community organizations to
effectively support one another’s efforts in injury and
illness prevention as well as
pre-hospital emergency care.
Our mission for the annual
EMSC Day events is to draw
attention to the specialized
need for pediatric emergency
care to ensure that every child
in our state receives the highest quality emergency care
possible. The staff of the
Oklahoma EMSC office
would like to take the opportunity to thank the following
partners for the support and
participation in the 2009
EMSC Day event: OU MEDIFLIGHT: Robbie Copeland,
Operations Coordinator; Michael Dean, Pilot; Samantha
Howell RN; Michael Stevenson, RN-NREMT-Paramedic;
Carol Hitzemann, RN; Bethany Bonnstetter, RN EMSA:
West Division Operations;
Ron DeVeau NREMTIntermediate; Danielle Quivey
RN, NREMT-Paramedic,
OKLAHOMA CITY FIRE
DEPARTMENT: Chief
Woodard; Station 6 Green
Shift; Major Dewitt Roland;
Major Tuner. MIDWEST
REGIONAL MEDICAL
CENTER AMBULANCE
DEPARTMENT: Daniel
Kemp; NREMT– Paramedic
Allison Coleman, NREMTBasic; Whitney Wright,
NREMT-Paramedic; Sunni
Ward, NREMT-Basic.
OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Sargent Erick Huff, Public Education Coordinator; Sargent
Reedy K-9 Unit; Titan, K-9
officer; and Major N. Paige.
DOWNTOWN YMCA
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CENTER: Karen Bartelme,
Director of the Child Development Center; All the teachers,
and volunteers. And of course
THANK YOU TO ALL THE
CHILDREN!!!!!!
Emergency Medical
Services for Children
(EMSC)
Spring 2009
Inside this Issue:
EMS Survey Results
2
Pool Days of Summer
3
June is New Driver
Awareness Month
3
Inside this issue:
Links
4
Special points of interest:
 ISR
 Driving Skills For Life
 Partners in Our Community
Performance Measure 66B — Essential Pediatric Equipment
Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC): Oklahoma
The following is a summary of the 2007-08 EMSC performance measure data collection for essential pediatric
equipment. This report contains data collected from Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support
(ALS) agencies. Note: the term “state” includes territories. Oklahoma conducted a survey of 144 EMS agencies and achieved an 86% response rate. As a results our state does not have to collect data until the 2010-11
Grant Year.
Essential Pediatric
Equipment:
The EMSC Program Measure: the
percentage of BLS and ALS patient
care units* in the State/Territory that
have all the essential pediatric equipment and supplies, as outlined in the
1996 American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) guidelines:
Percentage of Patient Care
Units in Oklahoma that Carry All
Essential Pediatric Equipment:
- BLS Patient Care Units: 25%
- ALS Patient Care Units: 13%
EMSC Program Targets:
- 2007 Target: 50%
- 2011 Target: 90%
Percentage of Patient Care
Units Nationwide that Carry All
Essential Pediatric Equipment:
- BLS Patient Care Units: 16%
- ALS Patient Care Units: 18%
Number of States Meeting EMSC Targets:
Oklahoma is one of 43 states that did not meet the 2007 EMSC Programtarget.
We are working with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to improve inspection as well as agencies to acquire essential pediatric equipment.
Oklahoma is one of 38 states that did not met the 2007 EMSC Program target.
We are working with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to assist agencies
in acquiring all essential pediatric equipment.
*Patient Care Unit: A patient care unit is
broadly defined as a vehicle staffed with EMS
providers (BLS and/or ALS) dispatched in response to a 911 call to provide patient care.
Examples include an ambulance, fire truck,
hazardous materials (hazmat) vehicle, or a
rapid/emergent response vehicle/unit. It EXCLUDES air ambulances, exclusively defined
specialty care units, and water ambulances/units.
Content provided by:
The National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center
Quarterly Newsletter Page 2
The Pool Days of Summer
Drowning Prevention
As the heat index increases, school lets
out for the summer, community swimming pools, local lakes, rivers and water
ways will become the haven for beating
the heat. Swimming is a favorite pastime for the children and their families
in our communities. Data collection on
water submersions reported, from 1988
-2006, 2,153 Oklahomans suffered fatal or near fatal submersion injuries.
Children 0-4 years of age accounted for
28% of the submersions and 26% suffered fatal injuries as a results. According to Safe Kids,
www.usa.safekids.org, drowning deaths
among children increases 89% over the
rest of the year. Drowning is documented as the #2 reason for pediatric
related deaths in children ages 1-14 in
the United States (CDC, 2009). It is
reported by Alan Korn, National Executive Director of Safe Kids, that approximately 800 children lose their
lives to water related incidents each
year. Safe Kids have developed precautionary measures that are recommended to prevent pediatric drowning
or near drowning related incidences.
Active adult supervision is the most
optimal measure for ensuring children
are safe in and around water. Active
adult supervision means being able to
hear, see, and reach children that are in
and or around a body of water. Placing
safety fences 5 feet high with automatic latches is another recommendation. Known as isolation fences, ideally
they should be equipped with an alarm
that will progressively become louder
indicating a gate or latch has been
opened, until the alarm is disengaged
and all children are accounted for. According to research from the Safe Kids
organization, it is estimated that an
isolation fence, properly equipped with
automatic latches and an alarm will reduce children drowning related incidences by 50%. Another measure is to
keep all toys away from or around the
swimming pool area which may be atBecause A Child’s Life Depends On It!
tractive to unsupervised children there
by creating an opportunity for a submersion incident.
Infant Swim Rescue
Keeping children safe around swimming
pools is important to ensuring that
NOT ONE MORE CHILD DROWNS.
is the motto for the Infant Swim Rescue, (ISR). Enrolling children into a
self rescue course at an early age develops initial skills to help them gain
competence and confidence around the
water (ISR, 2009). The ISR program
combines swim lessons with self rescue
skills to teach children to survive in the
water in the event of an incidental submersion. ISR instructors have trained
over 177,224 children since 1996 and
to date has 788 documented cases of
children using ISR techniques to save
themselves from a drowning related
incident (ISR, 2009). Oklahoma has 4
certified instructors within our state
Available to add a final layer of recommended measures for protecting children
from water related injuries. More information regarding water safety and ISR
can be found in the LINKS Section of the
newsletter. Remember, THERE IS NO
SUBSTITUTE FOR ADULT SUPERVISION WHEN IT COMES TO WATER
SAFETY!!!!!!
Photo from the ISR website @www.isr.com.
June is New Driver Awareness Month
According to the National Traffic
Safety Administration nearly 6000
teens die annually as a result of motor vehicle crashes (MVC). That
makes MVCs the number one killer of
teenagers in America. Teens lack the
experience, the skills, and the knowledge required to be a safe driver.
June is National New Drivers month.
Ford Driving Skills for Life, DSFL,
was established in 2003 by a fund
from Ford Motor Company in partnership with the Governor’s Highway
Safety Association and a panel of
safety experts to offer teens the
driving skills, beyond those gained
from basic driving education, to be
safe when behind the wheel or as an
occupant in a vehicle. Emergency
Medical Services, local fire department, and EMS educators can help
provide another layer of protection
for the teens and new drivers in your
communities. Take an active role and
visit the LINKS Section of the newsletter to learn how you can partner
with local businesses to bring awareness to the hazards faced while driving. Now is the time to be proactive
for the leaders of tomorrow.
Page 3
Oklahoma Emergency Medical Services for Children
(EMSC) Resource Center is located within the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Emergency
Medicine. EMSC is a national initiative designed to
reduce child and youth disability and death due to
severe illness and injury. Oklahoma EMSC was established in 1992 through a federal grant from the
Health Resource Services Administration's (HRSA)
Maternal Child Health Bureau. HRSA continues to
administer the program at the national level in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Federal grants fund each state and U.S. Territory to
improve existing emergency medical services (EMS)
systems and to develop and evaluate improved procedures and protocols for treating children. This is
the only federal program that focuses specifically on
improving the quality of children's emergency care.
Currently only State governments and accredited
schools of medicine are eligible to receive EMSC
grants.
940 NE 13th St.
2B2403
OKC, Ok. 73104
Phone: 405-271-3307
Fax: 405-271-2421
LINKS:
www.oumedicine.com/emsc EMSC’s new website,
watch for upcoming educational opportunities.
www.ymcaokc.org
For local YMCA chapters in your area
www.usa.safekids.org
National organization with loads of info
www.infantswimrescue.com Watch amazing video on self rescue
www.oksafekids.org
Learn more about your state chapter
www.ntsa.dot.gov
Valuable information on driving safety
www.drivingskillsforlife.com
www.oemta.org
Learn how to become involved
For information about Medic Update ‘09
www.onaemsa.com For information about the upcoming Conference.
Schedule of Events
 Oklahoma Native American EMS
Association Conference, June 1519, 2009 Catoosa, Ok.
 MEDIC UPDATE July 22-25, 2009
Enid, Ok.
 Upcoming PALS Courses: August
6-7 and November 5-7
Proud Partners in Your Community
Danny Clark, Director Cashion
Fire Department.