“Ambulance Driver Stuck, Killed While Responding to Crash”

“Person Hit By Ambulance Near SU”

“Ambulance Driver Cited for Reckless Driving”

The above are all real headlines, from just one day.  It just goes to show that EMS is hazardous for the responders as well as the public at large.  This need not be so.  It need not be so common place and it should never be accepted as just part of doing business.  Take Action, Take Care.  Prevent tragedy.

I recently received a phone call from a reporter looking for information about distracted driving among ambulance operators.  Do we have distractions?

Twenty years ago there was siren noise and traffic and traffic control devices and map books and pagers and dispatch.  Today its siren noise and more traffic and traffic control devices and GPS and mobile data terminals and cell phones and text messages and backing cameras and dispatch etc.

When I used to teach driving programs we used to take our practice driving route along the beach where distractions are obvious.  The idea was to drive home the point- there ARE distractions and as professionals we must manage them.  Easier said than done.

Talking and driving, texting and driving have no place on our roads- especially in emergency vehicle- especially we are professionals.  The government agrees.  So many traffic accidents- some serious- are being caused by these distracted driving conditions that the Federal government has started the “Distraction.gov” website. The Fed has also banned texting by commercial drivers.

Distracted driving is a risk for anyone who engages in such a practice.  EMS agencies need to step up with policies they will enforce.  Individual medics need to police and control themselves.

Remember- we are here to save lives- not take them.

Last post I referenced the work that First Lady Michelle Obama and the Whitehouse are doing relative to childhood obesity.  I further suggested that we apply some of these same principles to the EMS profession and that no one was going to do it for us.

When it comes to injury prevention nothing compares to simple physical fitness- simply moving- encouraging blood flow and circulation and better nutrition absorption.  Next comes what we eat- fats and carbs etc.  Food is also compared to our movement, our physical activity to determine weight loss or gain. Stand and or move while on post or between calls at the station.  Get a diet buddy if you need to lose weight.  Its easier with a higher rate of success if you don’t go it alone. (PS Dogs are great exercise companions- they are ready to go when you are- plus they need exercise too)

Injuries are common- always have been in EMS.  Some are inevitable others- not so much.  Do your part to stay fit and injury free.

Sorry to disappoint but this is about obesity.  Earlier this week Mrs. Michelle Obama announced that she will lead a movement to reduce childhood obesity.  Research shows that due to obesity that this may be the first generation in a long time to have shorter life expectancy than their parents.  This is truly a sad state.  All our thanks to Mrs. Obama for being the champion of this cause.

However obesity does not just affect the young.  Obesity can be found in large numbers in all age groups and is found in EMS.  We too need our own champion- someone to encourage us to be healthier, lighter and more fit.  Not only does obesity carry the risk of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, it may also increase the risk of injury and cut short the career of an otherwise talented medic.

There is not much chance that the First Lady will adopt our profession as a cause.  In fact there is little likelihood of a recognized person to step up and take us on as a cause.  OK- lets do it ourselves- be our own champions- set out own goals.  Lets encourage each other, work with each other- offer help and hope.  We got in this profession to help people and we need to remember that sometimes the people who need help is us.

More information is available at Whitehouse.gov

Honda too has issued a recall- theirs is about airbags.  To me its not about airbags or brakes or gas pedals its about courage.  Its about being willing to tell the whole world there is a problem.  Its about taking your lumps.  Its about bad press.  Its about financial loss and hardship.  But courage…

It’s about doing the right thing in spite of it all.

It may seem odd to congratulate Toyota for their recent actions.  When I say congratulations its not for having a problem- a design error.  Its not for that fact that these errors have possibly lead to serious injury and or death.

The reason for congratulations is for having the COURAGE to do the right thing for the safety of all.  To have the courage to speak out when others would suggest the issue be buried.

For having the courage to risk half a billion dollars a month with an uncertain impact.

Imagine if EMS took the same approach- recognized a serious problem and said no more- not until we figure out how to do this safely.  closing down until we could figure out how to negotiate red lights without endangering anyone.

Or imagine not running calls until we could eliminate back injuries.

Certainly it would be difficult if not impossible to shut down- to turn off 911.  But imagine if we did.  The revenue and public sentiment would not be turned back on until the problem was solved.

While we cant shut down 911 systems we are aware of problems.  We often look the other way.  Sometimes the reason is a lack of courage.  In fact in his book “The Courage Factor”, E. Scott Geller, PhD, suggests that courage is often the missing element in achieving safety success.

Think courage, make a difference.

These three words are basic to safe driving period.  Somehow many in EMS forgot them.  It doesn’t matter why it happened- it just did.  Lives are saved when these words are followed- lives are lost when they are not.

A typical statute governing stop signs and red lights might read: “The driver of an authori-

zed emergency vehicle may proceed through a red light or stop sign after slowing down as may be necessary to avoid a collision.”  Clear as mud.

I like this better:  “Stop Means Stop. When its safe, they you may go.

I was recently walking through a health expo.  The State police had an exhibit that demonstrated in safe yet effective means to demonstrate the forces associated with even a minor collision.  One such device was called ‘The Convincer.”  Interested parties are seated in the device, strapped in securely and the seat is then drawn to the top of the device.  It is then released and the rider plummets to the impact at the other end at 5MPH.  Even at such a low speed you instantly get the idea of the forces involved in even minor crashes.

The other device (it did not have a cool name) simulates a vehicle in a roll over collision.  It dawned on me looking at these two devices that we need medics to want to wear seatbelts, to be safer and the demand safer vehicles.  Putting medics in such devices would help make the case.  Imagine a safer vehicle, with a proper har-

ness system that goes unused.  Again this is where the CONVINCER comes into play.  Experience can change behavior.  Experience gained through a safe method – even better.  I would love to see such devices at EMS related expos.

Early on the morning on September 11, 2001, I was sitting on a small airplane in Ft. Wayne Indiana waiting to take off.  Back then the cockpit door was still open and this plane was so small we could hear the tower radio.  Sitting there I caught snippets of someone saying a plane had hit the World Trade Center. Within a minute the entire atmosphere in the cockpit changed.  Within another couple minutes we were quickly ushered off the plane and into the airport.

We packed into a small lounge where the only employee was watching a game show.  At her objection we took over the TV and watched in stunned silence as the world completely changed.

Two days ago I was fortunate enough to see Rudy Guiliani, Laura Bush and Colin Powell speak.  Each of them spoke of how 911 changed the world for them and shared their insight, their thoughts and fears.

I too, recall how people from my office in CT rushed to ground zero, some arriving before the towers fell.  I recall the images of people leaping 100 floors rather than allow the fire to consume them.  I remember the stunned and silent aftermath as people searched for their loved ones and we all wondered who and why.

In the months that followed the fear of anthrax and the proposed vaccination of all EMS providers.  Our lives are still different, still impacted.

New, additional information has been revealed that reinforces the 911 commission report that illustrates that we had the necessary information to stop these attacks, to prevent the deaths and the horrible images burned in to our memories.

On this day of rememberence there are people who are taking risks, putting their lives and the lives and careers of others in harms way.  There are those out there who know it.  There are those who can speak out and change the future.  There are those who can stop the deaths and the horrible images being burned into future memories.

Please, don’t take the easy way- do the right thing- the essence of Safety.

There is an old saying that goes, “If you don’t have time to do it right the first time, where will you find the time to do it over.”

Two recent headlines help to expand on this point.  The first from England retells the tale of a man who died waiting for an ambulance because the dispatcher mis-prioritized the response.  The second tells the story of a 42 year old man in New Zealand who died in front of his young kids because the ambulance got lost.

Both families complained that they did not even get an apology until an official investigation was opened.  Knowing a mistake was made was not enough.  I wonder if Great Britain and New Zealand are as litigious as the US.  I wonder how much GPS devices cost in New Zealand.  I know of ambulances here that don’t have them.  Its a matter of money.

My new saying- a knock off of the old…”If you don’t have the money to do it right the first time, where will you fine the money to make it right later.”