The service chronicles listed below were published in the Summer 2010 issue of the KEMSA Chronicle magazine or were submitted to Mary Napier, webmaster. If you would like to submit news from your service for publication in the magazine and on this website, click here to view the submission policy.

KEMSA MEMBERS 

Chase County EMS
March 26, 2010 Chase County EMS hosted a crash scene demonstration for the public and high school students.  The City of Cottonwood Falls closed down streets adjoining Chase County High School to allow for the demonstration, which involved a two-vehicle MVA.  Three teachers from the high school volunteered to be patients and were moulaged out for their roles.  One of teachers expired on scene in front of the students, due to non-life sustainable injuries.  The other two teachers were transported from the scene with serious injuries.  While the demonstration was in progress, students were told about what they were observing by the EMS Service Director and the Fire and Rescue Chief.  They were also informed that the cause of the MVA was one driver who was texting while driving and the other driver who was impaired due to alcohol.  Scrap vehicles for the scene were donated by a local business.  After the demonstration, those involved took questions from the observers.  Departments involved included Chase County EMS, Chase County Fire & Rescue, and the Chase County Sheriff’s Department. 

Johnson County Med-Act
Med-Act recently received four new Horton built ambulances. The ambulances are highlighted by a 2009 Ford E-450 super-duty diesel chassis, a new patient compartment configuration, and a new high visibility graphics package. The acquisition cost is $180,000 purchased through the Houston–Galveston Area Cooperative purchasing agreement. The HGAC allows governmental units to utilize their purchasing process for a fee of $1,000 per transaction, in our case $250 per ambulance.

The new patient compartment configuration is patterned after the configuration designed by our partner, the Overland Park Fire Department. The new layout allows the paramedic to remain seated (and seat-belted) on the curbside of the vehicle and manage most of the patient care activities. All the needed supplies and environmental controls are within easy reach of a seated paramedic. It is much safer for the paramedics, but it does eliminate the traditional squad bench configuration. There is space to carry a second stretcher bound patient on the street side of the compartment.

Med-Act chose to utilize rear reflective chevrons to increase the visibility of the ambulance and a more prominent use of the MED-ACT logo on the sides of the ambulance. Med-Act also installed the new Whelan growler type siren to improve the sound penetration for traffic alerting.

Lt. Ted Hazelton retired from Med-Act April 19, 2010 after 32 years of service. Ted is a famous guy who contributed in many ways to make EMS in Kansas better. He is widely known for creating “Hazeltown,” a mock-up of a city used in tabletop exercises to facilitate the discussion of emergency operations plans. He also helped create the Region III MERGe Team. He was a charter member of the Kansas Association of Paramedics and KEMSA. In 2002, Ted received the VFW Kansas EMT/Paramedic of the Year Award and in 2008 the KEMSA Lifetime Achievement Award. If you would like to extend your congratulations to Ted, you can e-mail him at tedh58@comcast.net.

Lincoln County EMS
Lincoln County EMS is finishing up a First Responder class. The four students are Shawna Schwartz (Lincoln), Lori Seirer (Lucas), Ashley Urban (Lucas), and Katie Young (Lincoln).
Lincoln County has been participating in several events this year.

EMS along with KHP Trooper Mike Weigel presented a Distracted Driving course to the students at Sylvan Grove Unified High School on March 24 and Lincoln High School on May 7. Those present learned about the dangers of texting while driving, driving under the influence, and the new laws concerning teens and when they can obtain driver’s licenses.

April 1, the Lincoln Co. CISM team attended the 3rd Annual Mental Health Symposium in Hays, KS. Members of the team are Wendy Gronau, Dale Detmer, Roxann Zachgo, and Rhonda Rees. The Lincoln County Health Fair was held April 30. Members of the department checked blood pressures and did Stroke Screenings in using guidelines from the National Stroke Association.

In other news, Lincoln County Hospital is completing Phase 1 of an extensive remodel project. The new Emergency Department, nurses station, and De-Con area are projected to be complete by early summer. EMS was consulted during the design phase regarding the ambulance garage. Lincoln County Hospital has also hired Sara Biggs, PA-C and Abbie Dail, ARNP to work in the clinic and ER. Both of these women were born and raised in Lincoln County and have returned to practice here. Sara and Abbie will see patients both at the clinic in Lincoln as well as the new clinic in Sylvan Grove.

Miami County EMS
Miami County EMS is very proud to announce the addition of six new staff members to its EMS family. The new staff members include: Steve Howe, B Shift Battalion Chief; Ronette Robinson, B Shift Lieutenant; Vada Cessna, Jamie Dierking, and Allison Arenas, paramedics; and Tyler Tullis, part-time EMT.

Miami County is also preparing to welcome first year medical students from the University of Kansas School of Medicine who will be participating in a voluntary emergency medicine internship. The internship will provide the medical students an opportunity to observe and participate in pre-hospital emergency care to help gain a better understanding of what happens outside the hospital and prior to the Emergency Department.

Miami County EMS recently transitioned to dispatch services being provided by the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center (JCECC). As part of the transition, Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) have been placed in all ambulances and administrative vehicles. These MDTs are Netbook computers. This partnership is the first in the state of Kansas to model a cooperative approach of two emergency agencies working together to provide services that otherwise would not exist. Calls are routed for EMS from the Miami County Sheriff Department’s PSAP to the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center. Call takers are certified in Emergency Medical Dispatching and provide instructions to the caller, based upon the information provided. Information is sent to the Netbook computers, the technician’s wireless devices, and by radio. Ambulances are tracked by GPS, thus allowing for the closest unit to be dispatched to the emergency. This improves response times, provides routing to calls, and will be a key component for tracking data. The partnership between Miami County EMS and Johnson County ECC will also provide a means of interoperable communications. The Johnson County ECC’s infrastructure will allow for Miami County EMS’ purchased radio equipment to have seamless communications on a local, regional, and state-wide level.

All Miami County EMS ambulances are now ALS, staffed with a minimum of an EMT and a paramedic. This is an exciting transition for the department, as Miami County EMS was licensed as a Type II ambulance service in the year 2005. It then became licensed as a Type I ambulance service in 2006. Effective March 1, 2010, Miami County EMS provides a paramedic, ALS ambulance to all callers, and one shift has a dual paramedic unit.
As part of its Quality Improvement program, Miami County EMS is working closely with LifeFlight Eagle in reviewing scene times, auto-launch criteria, care provided, and patient outcomes. Of particular interest is the auto-launch criterion currently being utilized for the time sensitive and time critical patients including the trauma patient and those presenting signs or symptoms of a stroke that can be identified by the call taker at the dispatch center with early notification of the helicopter for transport to a neuro-center. On numerous occasions St. Luke’s on the Plaza is providing feedback to Miami County EMS, supporting the efforts between LifeFlight Eagle and Miami County EMS. There is data provided by St. Luke’s on the Plaza of the increasing numbers of positive patient outcomes as a result of this program.

Promise Regional Medical Center/Reno County EMS
Promise Regional Medical Center/Reno County EMS congratulates Andrea Heinen, MICT, who completed the HCC MICT program in January. Andrea is now a full-time technician on Team 2. Congratulations also to Kari Banning, RN/MICT, who was promoted to Team 2 supervisor. PRMC welcomes Tina Evenson, MICT as a full-time technician on Team 3. Nick Evans and Monica Heller successfully completed the HCC MICT to RN bridge program and have both successfully passed nursing boards. The following employees were awarded years of service awards from PRMC: David Trotter - 30 years, Mike Koehn - 30 years, Sharon Elliott - 15 years, Tony Troyer - 10 years, and Rebecca Wrench - 5 years.

In January, two Type III Life Line ambulances were placed in service built on Chevrolet chassis with a 158” wheelbase. The exterior of the units feature all Whelen M-9 LED emergency lighting, Signal Magnum siren, which features dual tone capabilities, air horns, and a backup camera. The inside features all LED lighting in the patient compartment, environmental cabinets for medications, and a warmer for IV fluids and blankets.
In March, the E-Z IO System, CPAP and three Zoll E-Series monitors with 12 Lead capabilities, SPO2, and NIBP were added to the PRMC units. On April 1, EMS became the first agency in Reno County to begin using the 800 MHz radio system, which has improved the emergency communications in the county.

Sedgwick County EMS
Lt. Michael Sanchez and Paramedic Angela Sundquist received the Emergency Medical Services Medal of Honor from the Sons of the American Revolution.

SCEMS said farewell to three long-time employees. Captain Chris House with 32 years of service, and Captain Mike Buchanan with 30 years of service, both retired in March. Lt. Larry Maxwell retired in April with 23 years of service.

Sedgwick County EMS is pleased to announce the following promotions to the rank of Lieutenant: Caleb Yoder, Scott Standlee, Timothy Popp, Chad Maugans, Jose Moreno, Duane Cook, Jenniffer Reeves, and Jim Ferguson. Also, SCEMS would like to welcome the following new part-time employees: Bryan Bartholomew, James Bell, Amber Holland, Jessica Roberts, Ryan Shaw, Justin Sleffede, Aaron Dixon, Sharde Lovato, Amanda Sebring, Lanna Gutierrez, and Sean Brainard.

The Sedgwick County EMS Disaster Medical Support Unit (DMSU) welcomes new members Captain Mike Brewer, Lt. Holly MacDonald, and Lt. Don Schauf. The DMSU team is keeping plenty busy with the Wichita River Festival May 7-15, Law Camp July 20-23, and the Midwest Rockfest July 23-24.

Sedgwick County EMS is in process of wrapping up installation of the Mobile Area Routing and Vehicle Location Information System (MARVLIS).  The system will be online by June 1 and will provide crews turn-by-turn routing to incidents.  Additionally, MARVLIS will give dispatch and supervisor tools to match the deployment of ambulances to forecasted call demand patterns throughout Sedgwick County. 

Winfield Area EMS
Winfield Area EMS regrets to announce the loss of Col. Dale Wasson. After 31 years of service, Col. Wasson retired on Jan. 31, 2010 and passed away on March 15, 2010. We would like to extend our heartfelt sympathy to his family.

With the retirement of Col. Wasson, Maj. Justin Waite was promoted to director of Winfield Area EMS and received the title of Colonel. Along with the new director, Winfield has added some additional part-time employees, including: Cindy Branscum, MICT/RN; J.D. Smith, MICT; and Vincent Warren, EMT. Although Kristen Steiner has been a part-time technician with Winfield EMS for a few months, she graduated at the top of her class in December 2009 from the Cowley County MICT program. J.D. Smith also just recently obtained his MICT certification.

There have been some great training opportunities in Cowley County this year. In January and February 2010, Eagle Med presented two landing zone safety classes with 72 participants from Cowley County attending. Since the classes, Winfield has had the need to transport two patients by flight from the scenes. The classes were new to some and good refreshers for others. In March 2010, Paradigm Liaison Services presented a Pipeline Incidents safety class with 55 participants from Cowley County attending. With the massive TransCanada pipeline coming through the western part of Cowley County, this training was well-attended and very informative.

The National Weather Service sponsored a storm spotting awareness class at the Cowley Cinema 8 Theater with 147 Cowley County participants. In April, Winfield Area EMS technicians participated in a CEVO Ambulance Defensive driving course in April. Trooper Nick Carter with the Kansas Highway Patrol assisted in the training.

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