The San Ramon Valley (Calif.) Fire Protection District has launched a new iPhone application that alerts members of the public who are trained in CPR when a cardiac arrest occurs in their vicinity. The goal is to enable those trained in CPR to get to the scene and start resuscitation before professional responders can arrive.
“The creation and deployment of a smartphone application that notifies trained bystanders of nearby cardiac arrest events completely redefines the traditional meaning of a witnessed arrest by expanding awareness over a much broader area,” Fire Chief Richard Price said in a news release. “Providing actionable, real-time information during a sudden cardiac arrest emergency, including mapping the victim and rescuer locations, along with the nearest AED locations, is the quintessential use of GPS technology on a mobile phone today.”
When the dispatch center receives a cardiac arrest call, users within 300 to 500 feet receive a notification about the victim’s location and precise location of the nearest AED. The app also lets users know when professional rescuers are expected to arrive and when they are on scene.
In June 2010, the fire department launched an iPhone application that notifies members of the public who had downloaded it about other incidents they were interested in receiving information, such as structure fires and vehicle crashes.
The CPR app, developed by fire department personnel with students at Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics, was launched in January. Currently, the app is available only for iPhones.
So far, more than 30,000 people have downloaded the application. “We were surprised to find out many were from outside of our jurisdiction, from as far away as Germany and Australia,” says Kim French, information officer for the fire protection district.
San Ramon Valley’s fire department is more technologically advanced than many across the country, including having a database of the location of every AED; many regions have no list or only vaguely list the location. “If our database says there’s an AED at a fitness center, we’ve been there and verified it,” French says. “The app tells you the AED is located at the fitness center at the check-in desk.”
The fire department is making the app available at no cost to anyone who wants to download it, although currently, the CPR function only works in the San Ramon Valley. “We are dedicated to making sure it’s available to other fire departments and emergency services,” French says. “We want it to be worldwide.”
Eventually, other fire and EMS agencies that are interested in using it in their areas will need to be able to connect their computer-aided dispatch system to the application. “We’re working on that piece now,” French says. For more information, visit firedepartment.mobi/.
EPA Orders Stop on Ambulance Disinfecting Method
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a stop-use order prohibiting the application of an ambulance cleanser that has allegedly sickened New Jersey paramedics. A complaint filed by the Professional Emergency Medical Services Association of New Jersey, an International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) local, triggered the action.
The EPA order prohibits Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) from continuing to fog the antimicrobial pesticides Zimek QD and Sporicidin, manufactured by Zimek Technologies, to disinfect their ambulances, a practice dating back to April 2009. The EPA issued the order arguing that the agency “has reason to believe that MONOC has applied at least these two antimicrobial pesticides to the interior of its ambulances in a manner inconsistent with their labeling and likely to cause harm to humans.”
The order states that ambulance personnel have been treated for, and continue to suffer from, illnesses associated with pesticide poisoning. Moreover, though the products are federally approved, their delivery through a microparticle disinfecting system, such as a fog, is not. The letter reports that some personnel have been hospitalized for phenol poisoning, a chemical that can cause skin burns, liver damage, irregular heartbeat and even death in large doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But Vince Robbins, MONOC’s president and CEO, says the union began a “crusade” against Zimek “after failing for three years to gain a contract and after filing more than 50 unfair labor practices, none of which ever resulted in final adverse action by the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board] against MONOC.”
Of the 16 employees who complained of health problems, two later admitted they weren’t ill while several others’ symptoms had started prior to the company using Zimek’s products, Robbins adds.
“In all cases a review of the employees’ work schedule, and which vehicles were treated when, revealed absolutely no correlation between reports of sickness and working in a treated vehicle,” Robbins says. “Almost all employees who complained had pre-existing medical conditions which exhibited the same symptoms and for which they were already being treated. MONOC’s workers’ compensation carrier has denied all claims by employees to date, citing no connection between Zimek products and the employees’ reported health problems.”
The IAFF notified its members nationwide in case the products are being used similarly elsewhere. As of this writing, the EPA has not contacted Zimek—which Robbins finds odd.
“The EPA has issued only two other, less serious ‘warning letters’ to two other agencies to not use Zimek products, despite their use by hundreds of entities around the country and its knowledge of their widespread use,” he says. “If this is such a serious issue, why has the EPA failed to order Zimek to discontinue their sale and all users to cease their use?”
Independent testing of the vehicles by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration showed residual trace amounts of the disinfectant chemicals well below the federally mandated PEL (permissible exposure limit), Robbins says, noting that no other complaints of employee ill health have been reported from anywhere, by any user.
Violations of the federal stop-use order, which became effective immediately when issued in January, could subject MONOC to civil and criminal penalties under Section 14 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C., which empowers the EPA to issue stop-action orders.
The order is reprinted at iaff.org/11News/PDFs/MONOC.pdf. Zimek Technologies’ response is at zimek.com/pdf2/Zimek_Statement_to_The_Press-20110111.pdf.
— With additional reporting by Aimee J. Frank
AMR to Be Bought by Private Equity Firm
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Corp., the parent company of American Medical Response, has agreed to be acquired by private-equity investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), according to news reports. In addition to ambulance companies, EMS Corp. runs EMCARE Holdings, a physician-services business.
CD&R and EMS Corp. value the deal at $2.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval. CD&R partner Richard J. Schnall says EMS “is poised for continued strong growth due to its leading market position, operational effectiveness and the value it brings to its customer base,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Tucson Disbands Telemedicine Network
Tucson has shut down the telemedicine program that linked Tucson Fire Department ambulances via videoconferencing equipment to University Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center, after federal grant money ran out.
In 2007, Tucson became the first city in the nation to set up a WiFi network specifically for mobile trauma care, calling it ER-Link. The goal was to improve care and avoid costly activations of the Level 1 trauma team, which cost about $5,000 per activation, by enabling doctors to see patients still in the field or en route. “There are no current plans to rejuvenate ER-Link unless grant funds are located, either in the transportation or EMS arena,” Fire Department Assistant Chief Dave Ridings told MobiHealthNews.
New York EMS Chief Demoted After Blizzard
New York EMS Chief John Peruggia was relieved of his command in January in the wake of a widely criticized response to a blizzard during which city residents waited for hours for an ambulance. Delays in emergency response were blamed for at least three deaths, reports the New York Times. Peruggia, who served as the head of EMS for six years, was succeeded by Abdo Nahmod, a 25-year veteran of the department.
The poor response during the snowstorm may not be the only reason for the demotion, according to news reports; Peruggia was also being investigated by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and was fined $12,500 for taking a consulting job with a city vendor that he worked with, according to the New York Post.
Toronto Gets New EMS Chief
City of Toronto EMS Deputy Chief Paul Raftis became the new chief of EMS after Chief Bruce Farr retired March 1. Raftis began working as a paramedic at Toronto EMS in 1991 and was promoted to deputy chief of operations in January 2010, according to a city news release. “I am truly honoured and proud to lead the women and men of this world-class organization,” Raftis said in a statement. “Our team is passionate about patient care and focused on providing an outstanding experience to every person we help in the community.” Toronto EMS has a staff of 1,200, including paramedics, dispatchers and support staff; 155 ambulances; and 45 ambulance stations.
