By Diana Blowers
Dayton Daily News
GREENE COUNTY, Ohio — When Katherine Myers heard that her son, Rob, had been in a traffic accident she knew first responders would have difficulty communicating with him - a problem now addressed by the nonprofit Rob’s Rescue.
As a result of the 2006 accident, involving a Greene CATS bus with two riders with disabilities, Rob’s Rescue started to take shape in early 2007. Its purpose is to address the emergency scene needs of individuals with disabilities, behavioral issues or morbid obesity.
“Rob is non-oral, which presented some of the unique challenges the responders faced that day,” said Myers, the associate director for Wright State University’s Office of Disability Services.
“In a stressful situation, Rob is much more likely to respond to questions through facial expressions than he is to use the computer he uses for communication,” Myers said, referring to information the responders will now have as a result of Rob’s Rescue.
The situation was personal for one of the responders, Bryon Betsinger, the EMS training officer for the Beavercreek Twp. Fire Department. He is the father of a special-needs child.
“It started as a learning process, to understand what paramedics can do and what equipment we have. As a fire department, we lacked equipment and training to address the areas of the special-needs population,” Betsinger said.
Rob’s Rescue works to provide the information and equipment responders need to safely and effectively care for individuals with special emergency transport needs.
It also promotes registration with the Greene County EMS database, which gives dispatchers information regarding any special equipment or information the emergency responders need to best care for the person.
“From the Wright State University perspective, with the population of students with physical disabilities we have living on campus, it is important to us that emergency responders know how to work with our students in the event of an emergency,” Myers said.
Like Myers and Betsinger, Rich Schultze, the executive director of Greene CATS, is one of the founders of Rob’s Rescue.
“We quickly came to the realization that first responders, while very caring and competent, need equipment that is accessible to the disabled and morbidly obese population,” said Schultze, noting that they also need special training to understand the special needs.
Copyright 2012 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.