Job Opportunity: NH Bureau of EMS

From Sue Prentiss, NH EMS Bureau Chief.

NH EMS Community - as you may already know, Michelle Duchesne has left the NH Bureau of EMS. Michelle worked within the Research and Quality Management Section. This position is now vacant and we are accepting applications - using the link below you can learn more about this position and how to apply:

http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/fstems/eo.html

If you should have any question, please do not hesitate to contact me at (603)271-4569.

Ticks and Lyme Disease

(We’d like to offer the following to our members from the Fort Mountain Companies)

Ticks and Lyme Disease

The reported cases of Lyme disease in New Hampshire jumped from 271 in 2005 to 617 last year, according to the NH Division of Public Health Services. Most of these cases were recorded in the southeast corner of the state in Hillsborough and Rockingham counties. Always check with your health care provider if you suspect being bit by a tick.

Lyme disease is caused by a bite from a Blacklegged Tick infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferiand and is treatable in its early stages. If untreated, infection can spread to the joints, the heart and the nervous system with long term effects. Other varieties of ticks do live in NH, but the Blacklegged tick, also known as the Deer Tick, is the only known species to carry Lyme disease.

The nymphs are active from May through Mid-July and are hard to spot since they are usually the size of a sesame seed. An adult Blacklegged tick will be active in the fall when it is looking for a last meal before laying eggs. Blacklegged ticks have a two-year life cycle. That is, it takes two years for one egg-adult-egg generation to evolve. Therefore, Blacklegged ticks can be found all year long, including wintertime.

A tick bite is required to transmit the disease because the bacterium is injected into the skin via tick saliva as the tick sucks blood. The infection is not transmitted from pet to pet nor from pet to owner only via an infected tick bite, and not all ticks are infected. If the tick is not removed properly you may force the infection into your skin.

There are various symptoms associated with a tick bite and reactions can vary from person to person. If you or your patients are outside near a woodpile, stonewall, high grass or brush, or in a building that houses animals, perform a tick check at the end of the day, as this will greatly reduce the risk of a tick bite.

Also, remember to check your pets for ticks and consult your vet if you notice unusual behavior. At http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/lyme there is an article about Lyme disease and dogs. There are also many websites available with information about Lyme disease and ticks. We found the NHDHHS, UNH Cooperative Extension and the CDC to have extensive information on identification of ticks and precautions to take.

LODD Poem

This was written by a dispatcher in Turner, Maine after her shift last week with a tragic line of duty death of a paramedic, Allan Parsons. So, remember him as he is laid to rest, and remember the hearts of those that need healing, and remember that dispatchers are often the unsung heros and forgotten team members.

Jennifer

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My day started early, with the ringing of the phone,
10-55 on route 4, P.I. was unknown.
It was reported Truck/Ambulance, I knew this was not good,
I began making the calls, starting everyone i could.
Auburn fire was started, United Ambulance was too,
I even started LifeFlight, doing everything I could do.
Central Maine was called, probably injuries of all kind,
3 patients were being transported 1 was left behind.
Daylight finally breaks, the reports start coming in,
The phone has not stopped ringing, the hard part will now begin,
I learned that it was a medic, taken from us this day,
Doing what he loved to do, with your life you did pay,
I started reading the blogs, and the stories from on-line,
Of the type of person that you was, from the people left behind,
You was a father, a brother, an uncle, your dedication knew no end,
A son, a nephew, a husband, someone you could call friend.
The lives you saved, so many lives you did touch,
Your sacrifice to care for others, of yourself you gave so much,
Your time on earth was cut short, for reasons we know not why,
You left us way to soon, no time to say goodbye.
Today we say our final farewell, from this earth you have gone,
Always remembered, never forgotten, your memory will live on,
You will always be with us, watching down on us from heaven,
So EMS Lt. Allan Parsons You are now 10-7.

Turner Rescue Dispatcher Brenda Joyce Parker July 12, 2007

LODD NOTIFICATION: LT. ALLAN PARSONS, PARAMEDIC

MAINE EMS HONOR GUARD / COLOR GUARD
1004 Poplar Stream Road
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, MAINE 04947

NOTIFICATION OF "CELEBRATION of LIFE"

LT. ALLAN PARSONS, PARAMEDIC
MED-CARE AMBULANCE

It is with deep regret that Director of Operations / Chief of Service Dean Milligan of Med-Care Ambulance Service, Mexico, Maine Announces the death of EMS Lieutenant Allan Parsons, Paramedic, Who lost his life in the line of duty, while participating in an Emergency EMS operation on July 5, 2007, at 0300 hours.

The visiting hours shall be Wednesday, July 11th at The Wiles Funeral Home, in Farmington, Maine. Hours will be 2-4 PM and 6-8 PM

The service shall be at The Farmington Fair Grounds, in the Exposition building on Thursday, July 12th at 1 PM.

The service will include Allan being transported to the Exposition Building in a Med-Care Ambulance. The casket shall be delivered into the building by family pall bearers, piped in with bagpipes by Jay Bradshaw, Maine EMS Honor Guard / Color Guard. The Maine EMS Honor Guard / Color Guard will present and post the colors.

Speakers will be introduced by Ron Morin, Director of The Maine EMS Honor Guard / Color Guard, and include representatives of Med-Care Ambulance, United Ambulance and Monmouth Rescue. Allan's daughter, Amy & son Josh will be speakers. EMS providers & friends of Allan will then be invited to speak.

Uniformed EMS, Fire & other Public Safety personnel are invited to form outside the building, for a marching double file procession into and around the casket, to pay respects to Allan, and continue out of the building, returning to the staged Emergency Vehicles.

Farmington Fire Department personnel will be on hand to direct Emergency Vehicles to the staging area and to park family, friends and other attending the service.

The Maine EMS Honor Guard will conduct a flag folding. Dean Milligan and Ron Morin will present the flag to Allan's mother.

The members of The Med-Care Ambulance Service, The United Ambulance Service and Monmouth Rescue will be seated in the building. They along with all other friends, relatives or persons of interest, will be called to rise from their seats and pass by the casket and pay their respects to the family, who will be receiving. The members will then march from the building, in single file, to a staging area outside the building, where they will form rows of members, on both sides of the exit of the building, to the draped ambulance that will take Allan Parsons to his resting place. The Maine EMS Honor Guard / Color Guard will be piped out of the building, by Jay Bradshaw, followed by the pall bearers, the funeral director and the family.

Other persons, in the building can exit at this time behind the family, or through side exits of the building.

Upon departure of the family, with the Wiles Funeral Service, they will drive past the staged Emergency Vehicles, where Emergency Personnel will salute the Ambulance, the casket and the family members. This will be the formal end of the service.

Emergency personnel are welcomed back into the building for a time of fellowship. Chief of Med-Care Ambulance, Den Milligan and Assistant Chief, Chris Moretto will be present to receive guests.

The Maine EMS Honor Guard / Color Guard respect the wishes of Allan Parson's family. While we understand the interest of some wanting to do more than what we have planned, the above represents the wishes of the family.

Directions for Wednesday:
The Wiles Funeral Home is located on Route 2, Farmington Falls Road, next to the Farmington Fire Station. The best routes in are from the Maine Turnpike in Augusta, take the Belgrade Exit 112B North on Route 27. From the North, In Waterville, Maine, Exit 130 North to Route 139. Follow Route 139 to Norridgewock, Maine and follow Route 2 West to Farmington. The Funeral home will be on your left. High Street and Maple Street will be on your right, just past the Farmington Fire Station.

From the south & west, take Route 4 North to Route 2 East into Farmington, follow Route 2 East, across Center Bridge, bear to right on Route 2, the Funeral Home is at the top of the Hill on the right. Just beyond that is Maple Street on the left.

Directions for Thursday:
The entrance for the Franklin County Fairgrounds is off Maple & High Street, in Farmington, Maine. If you are coming from the West, Maple Street is just across from the Farmington Fire Station on Route 2. Follow Maple Street through a stop sign, 100 feet on the right.

If you are coming from the east, turn onto High Street, just as you enter the reduced speed area of Farmington, on your right. Follow High Street past the Fairgrounds to Maple Street, turn right and the gate is 100 feet on the right.

Ron Morin, Director
MAINE EMS HONOR GUARD/COLOR GUARD
rsqvehic@tdstelme.net
Cell Phone; 207-650-3090

EMS Line of Duty Death

A Med-Care paramedic was killed in the line of duty this morning when the ambulance he was riding in collided with a pickup truck on Route 4 in Turner, Maine at about 0300 hours. Med-Care is the 9-1-1 EMS provider for that area. The ambulance had its emergency lights on when the pickup truck crossed in front of it on Route 4.

The ambulance's driver, 68-year old Arlene Greenleaf of Bethel, and the driver of the pickup, 29-year old Christopher Boutin of Turner, were both seriously injured, as was the patient being carried in the ambulance.

The paramedic who tragically died is 46-year old Allan Parsons of Wilton who was in the back of the unit, providing patient care.
(From Paramedicine List)

The NH Association of EMTs President and members would like the Maine EMS community to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.

Good Book Deals!

While browsing amazon.com, I came across a couple of books on the cheap:

Professional Guide to Signs and Symptoms for $1
Medical Terms & Abbreviations (Lippincott) for $2.90

So cheap an EMS provider could afford it!

Agricultural Terrorism Training

There will be an all-day course on agricultural terrorism training held at the FST&EMS Academy in Concord on October 9th, 2007. This is a free training event being put on by an organization called agterror.org.

Click here for more information.

Stroke Training Program

The American Stroke Association (ASA) is committed to improving Stroke Systems of Care in New Hampshire. Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in the United States and a major cause of serious, long-term disability. In New Hampshire stroke causes over 500 deaths each year and results in many of our residents suffering from long term disability. We are working hard to make systems changes to reduce death and disability from stroke and your EMS Region can help.

In order to help EMS deliver the highest quality care during the acute phase of the stroke the ASA had created the Stroke Prehospital Care Educational Training Program with Continuing Education Hours (CEH). This program is intended for use by prehospital care providers such as EMT-I and EMT-P. The program was designed to increase prehospital providers' knowledge about both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke and to demonstrate potential stroke-related complaints. The stroke prehospital care program is a self-paced continuing education product that teaches the pathophysiology and risk factors of stroke as well as recognition, assessment, and management of potential stroke. Through four interactive cases participants are presented with patients who have stroke-related complaints and are prompted to make prehospital management decisions. This continuing education activity is approved by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS).

Until now, the Stroke Prehospital Care Educational Training Program has only been available to you on a CD-Rom through our distributors. We are pleased to let you know that starting this summer you will be able to access the same Stroke PreHospital Care training online through our website www.onlineaha.org.

We encourage you take the time to visit the website, assess your region's readiness to treat acute stroke and learn what changes you can make to improve the treatment of stroke patients. We hope that this tool can be a valuable resource for training EMS providers in your region. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at nancy.pederzini@heart.org or (603) 518-1555.