WPTV
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County Fire Rescue just became one of the first agencies in the state to stop the use of rigid backboards for spinal immobilization.
If you’re in a serious car crash and need to be transported to the hospital, a backboard would typically be used to transport you. The patient is taped down to the board so they can’t move, making an uncomfortable situation even more stressful.
“The patients are already uncomfortable. They’ve got a high level of anxiety. We don’t want to be adding to it by securing you and taping you down to a hard object that just raises your anxiety,” says Captain Al Borroto of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
Read full story: Palm Beach County Fire Rescue changes the way first responders handle patients