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If you don’t live in Washington, New York, or another big city, you may think: “Even if the terrorists do strike again on American soil, my hometown and my family probably aren’t in danger.” Think again. In 2001 the U.S. government established a commission to “assess the threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack.” The commission recently reported to Congress that if a nuclear warhead were to be detonated at high altitude over the American mainland the blast would produce an EMP — a shockwave so powerful that it would “cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation,...

EMS on 2 wheels gets speedy care to victims Sunday, June 22, 2008 9:31 PM By AMANDA DOLASINSKI THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH James Fish carefully weaves his large hands through the straps of Natalie Ratliff's blue bike helmet. He snaps the straps together and checks the space under. Satisfied the fit is snug, he asks, “How does that feel?” The 8-year-old girl nods and smiles. Soon Fish, a medic with the Washington Township Fire Department, gets on his own bicycle and pedals off. He's one of 25 certified EMS bicycle patrols for the township, which serves the city of Dublin. Other...

Seriously ill patients are being kept in ambulances outside hospitals for hours so NHS trusts do not miss Government targets. Thousands of people a year are having to wait outside accident and emergency departments because trusts will not let them in until they can treat them within four hours, in line with a Labour pledge. The hold-ups mean ambulances are not available to answer fresh 999 calls. Doctors warned last night that the practice of "patient-stacking" was putting patients' health at risk. Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that last year 43,576 patients waited longer than one hour before...

I have been away for 16 days. Were it not for the actions of one man, it may have been much longer before I could be here, writing this, and maybe this writing may not have been possible. On December 3rd I was mugged by a falling tree, at least that is what the eyewitnesses say. My memory of the events begins only much later, when I here the voice of Rabbi Yehoshua Kaganoff telling me not to move, that everything is O.K., that the EMT crew is on the way - as sat holding me, with one arm around...

When a 73-year-old Londoner collapsed at a betting shop on New Year's Eve afternoon, his luck had run out – thanks to European Union rules that required two nearby ambulance crews to be kept on their 30-minute breaks. A paramedic arrived by rapid-response car in a matter of minutes to the shopping center where the unnamed senior was stricken and began caring for the man. Witnesses say he made desperate calls on his cell phone in an attempt to have an ambulance dispatched. The London Ambulance Service, which has launched an investigation of the incident, confirmed that two crews were...

BOSTON (Reuters) - About two-thirds of cardiac arrest patients taken to hospitals by emergency medical technicians die anyway, and probably most could be declared dead at the scene, according to research published on Wednesday. The report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that certain emergency medical services -- not those staffed by paramedics -- could ease the distress of loved ones and dramatically reduce the number of hopeless but expensive hospital trips. The assessment of 1,240 cardiac arrest rescue runs over two years in Ontario, Canada, found that only 1 in 500 people survived to be discharged from...

LEBANON VA - An emergency medical technician who pleaded guilty to killing a co-worker with a defibrillator paddle will be released from jail in early 2007 following a judge's decision Tuesday evening. Russell County Circuit Judge Mike Moore called the June 1, 2005, death of 23-year-old Courtney Leighann Hilton "a senseless, foolish act" before handing down a 12-month jail sentence to Joshua Phillip Martin, 25, who entered an Alford plea in January to one count of involuntary manslaughter. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains his innocence while acknowledging that the evidence is strong enough that a judge or jury...

Several Martinsville High School students say teachers stopped their calls to 911 while a fellow student was choking, because cell phones aren't allowed on campus. Witnesses tell police the victim was rushing to finish his lunch before leaving the cafeteria, because you can't bring food outside. That's when they say he started choking, went into cardiac arrest, and died at the hospital. Multiple 911 calls went out from Martinsville High School. Witnesses say Jesse Tucker choked on a hamburger. Paramedics rushed the 15 year-old freshman to the hospital, where he later died. "It's really hard to grasp the fact that...

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- One victim of the hatchet attack Feb. 1 at a Massachusetts gay bar said he was treated badly in the ambulance because he was gay. Robert Perry, himself a paramedic supervisor with Mercy-General Ambulance in Boston, said the New Bedford EMS ambulance personnel ignored his complaints, were rough with him and slammed an oxygen mask on his face where the gash was. Teenager Jacob D. Robida was eventually killed by police after swinging a hatchet in the bar Puzzles. Perry said he is filing a complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Health's Office...

Paramedic's N.M. team stays behind to treat storm victims ... a self-contained, federally funded team from New Mexico -- arrived in New Orleans at 3 a.m. Aug. 30 with 20 tons of supplies. ... Hesch has a few insights he'd like to share: "I would tell people to be patient with their government and understanding because this is the nation's biggest disaster, bar none."

Reprinted from EMS news EMS Command -- Hilton New Orleans Riverside By John R. Brophy, EMT On the morning before Katrina hit New Orleans I had made contact with Hilton Security Captain Lucien Fortone to offer my assistance as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), little did I know that a few days later I would have been part of a team of guests and staff that would come together like a family and do so much for so many. As others came forward to help, we organized into a cohesive unit, developed a plan, and established our own Incident...

From EMSNetwork News Your best source for EMS News . we . search . so . you . don't . have . to http://www.emsnetwork.org/ EMS & Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina - Our Experiences By Parmedics Larry Bradsahw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky Sep 6, 2005, 11:59 note: Bradshaw and Slonsky are paramedics frorm California that were attending the EMS conference in New Orleans. Larry Bradsahw is the chief shop steward, Paramedic Chapter, SEIU Local 790; and Lorrie Beth Slonsky is steward, Paramedic Chapter, SEIU Local 790.[California] Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen's store at the corner of...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A 16-year-old boy who has been driving an ambulance to help keep an Upstate rescue squad running can no longer stay behind the wheel because of state labor laws. Ambulance drivers fall under the Labor, Licensing and Regulation Department's hazardous occupation codes, which forbid people younger than 18 from doing certain dangerous jobs, agency spokesman Jim Knight said. The law applies both to paid workers and volunteers, Knight said. "We're assigning an investigator, and he's looking into it at this time," Knight said. "The issue has come up before with volunteer fire departments and rescue squads wanting...

A second grader did what many adults cannot Aurora, Colorado Emergency Responders say 7 year old Trystan Meadows handled an family emergency better than most people twice his age would have. They made him an honorary Junior EMT for it. It was his fast thinking that saved his Grandpa's life when Dennis Meadows collapsed in the kitchen. He said, "he's amazing, he didn't hesitate he called 911 to get me help." Meadows was having a massive seizure. Aurora dispatcher, Shenikwa Tigner took the call and told Trystan how to help his grandpa until an ambulance could get there. She said,...

Elmhurst, IL (LifeNews.com) -- In a case that has attracted national attention, a lawsuit has been filed against an Illinois ambulance service that fired a worker who refused to transport a woman to an abortion center. The American Center for Law and Justice, which specializes in constitutional law cases, filed a federal suit against the Elmhurst, Illinois company, claiming that company officials violated Stephanie Adamson's rights by firing her for her religious beliefs. "This is a case where an employer fired an employee for acting in accordance with her religious beliefs by refusing to become a participant in an abortion,"...

EDWARDSVILLE, Kan. (AP) - An emergency medical technician and a paramedic were killed early Saturday in an apparent ambush, authorities said. Firefighters found the two medics dead at the fire station shortly after midnight, said Eric Dooley, a spokesman for Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, an ambulance service for the Kansas City, Kan., area. He identified the victims as emergency medical technician Tye Brown, 33, and paramedic Catherine Malone, 30. Additional details about the deaths were not immediately available. AP-ES-04-03-04 1036EST

<p>WILMINGTON, Ohio (AP) — The sharply rising number of obese Americans is leading medical-equipment manufacturers and ambulance crews to supersize their stretchers.</p> <p>Manufacturers are adding thicker aluminum frames, bulkier connectors and extra spine supports to create stretchers with a capacity of 650 pounds, instead of the standard 350 to 500. Ambulance crews are switching to the heavy-duty models to avoid injuries to rescue workers and patients alike.</p>

Taiwan records biggest daily leap in infections TAIPEI - Taiwan yesterday announced its biggest one-day jump in new Sars cases, amid a disturbing rise in cases of transmission within hospitals. The Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei yesterday became the third major hospital to report an outbreak in two days, adding pressure to the island's already strained health system. A spokesman said the hospital was investigating how seven doctors and nurses - all using full protection - developed Sars symptoms. Ninety other workers were quarantined. Dr Lee Ming-liang, head of the Cabinet's Sars committee, said: 'Infections at hospitals in the past...

It substitues pure energy for munitions. It is designed to achieve military objectives without killing things or wrecking buildings.And Saddam Husseins armed forces may be chosen as the first target of the US Military's new secret weapon.The US Air Force is developing high power microwave, or HPM, weapon that generates a massive electromagnetic pulse capable of frying the inside of digital electronic systems, disabling enemy military equipment, analysts said. While the weapon is top secret and details about it are classified, analyists say development is far enough along that they expect the military to use an HPM weapon for the...