CAMTS Accreditation - Blessing or Curse?

NOTE: This is my commentary/response to the original article which appears at:

VerticleOnline and published Oct 21, 2009

MY COMMENTARY:

CAMTS accreditation has become double edged sword.

On one hand your HEMS program may not be able to live without it (either by regulatory requirement of your state, OR by lost revenue via third party insurers who require accreditation), but on the other it may be hard to live WITH it too! -recurring site visits, 3 year applications for reverification, continually updating standards etc.

One of the big problems with CAMTS accreditation is that in some circles it is legislatively mandated (see the 8 states that require it) and by definition, accreditation conflicts with "mandatory" -- so which is it? Mandatory or voluntary???

Personally I believe the original intent of CAMTS was good for the following reasons:

1) It's not governmental: for those of us who dislike big brother running everything. (This is a HUGE plus in my book)

2) Technically, it's still voluntary (debatable)

3) Nursing/carregivers: involvement with heavy focus on requirements for the medical crews, in my opinion, is good. I believe the industry is moving towards recognizing the medical crews as AIRCREWS. I think there will be needed discussion when/if this happens (I hope it does) because then there is more FAA oversight in that aspect.

4) CAMTS uses widespread representation. Argue if you like about how the pilots are not as strongly represented, but there are a few other "non-specific" seats on the CAMTS board of directors which could be occupied by qualified pilots as well.

---->NOTE: if the HEMS pilots do not feel they are represented adequately by CAMTS, then they should lobby their professional organizations to develop some type of accreditation program as well, OR, get their representative body to work more collaboratively and intertwined with CAMTS

5) In my personal opinion, in what I have read and researched over the years, I feel CAMTS strives to stay "ahead of the curve" in as much as incorporating or leaning towards industry leading "best practices" as well as those practices which may be recommendations by federal investigative/review committees. I have always felt that CAMTS was dynamic and responsive to the HEMS community.

I realize there are more problems and concerns with CAMTS which I have not listed here; I will look for part two of this article to help stimulate more discussion.

My bottom line however, is directed towards the skeptics and nay-sayers.. and I say to those that are (1) unhappy, (2) dis-enfranchised or (3) mis-represented by CAMTS - "sorry", CAMTS has ONLY become so influential and powerful by the VOLUNTARY submission to it's program requirements and accreditation processes by programs across the US... The more programs that seek the CAMTS "Merit Badge", give the CAMTS machine more influence, power and presence....

NBC TV "Trauma" - ER Replacement?

New NBC TV Series "Trauma" trailer/preview....

I'll probably watch this just for pure entertainment purposes nothing more.

Interesting - they included HEMS in this "Emergency meets Third Watch" trauma
show. Now the public will see more mis-information and mis-use of HEMS I'm
SURE!!!

I guess that's why the guy playing the flight medic/nurse ("The rebel") is
flying cause he says "I can't die".....!!!!

How to predict injury severity

Okay, now we have a tool so you can predict just how serious/severe your next dispatch will be. Look on the bottom for any pertinent dispatch information given to you by your 911 Center, then cross reference it with the severity/seriousness description on the left side. ENJOY!

-KMG-365, Clear

"Rampart, this is Squad 51..."

Motorola Biophone 3502
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Biophone was a combination voice and telemetry radio communications system commonly used in the 1970s and 1980s by field emergency paramedics (typically firefighters or ambulance attendants) to talk to the doctors supervising them from a hospital base station, and also to transmit EKG rhythms. It was this sort of communications equipment that first made emergency field paramedic programs practical.

The Biophone was produced by the Biocom Company. Motorola produced the Apcor which was very similar to the Biophone. The Biophone 3502 used the internals of a General Electric PE series handheld radio mounted into an orange case, which was made of an orange laminated fiberglass with aluminum trim. The Biophone had an internal rechargeable battery which powered the sensor equipment, the PE Handheld and an amplifier that raised the transmitting power to 50 watts. The unit had a connector for a vehicle-mounted antenna for when driving in an ambulance because signal could not penetrate through the steel skin of the ambulance. The Biophone could have any 6 (the maximum that could fit in the PE radio) of the 10 UHF "Medical" duplex channels in the 450-470 MHz range. This allowed flexibility in the overall system. The battery was a NiCad which could charge in only 15 minutes. This Biophone radio can be seen throughout the series of Emergency! being carried by the fictional characters Johnny and Roy. The actual Biophone 3502 radio that was used on Emergency! was donated to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History because of its public service. It is now on display in Washington, D.C..