Safety
The safety topic provides news, information and resources to keep EMS providers informed about key safety issues, developments and technology, including research and initiatives focused on violence against EMS professionals, how to prevent an injury, near-miss reporting and risk mitigation.
A Maryland paramedic recounts a patient assault, and the emergency services director and police chief detail legal options
Report and commentary from the North Carolina EMS Expo 2024
Keeping patients moving toward definitive treatment through accurate triage of life threats is the key to EMS success at a mass casualty incident
EMS personnel responded to a South Carolina home where a man threatened them and a responding deputy with a knife
A rash of assaults on paramedics in Portland has lead the city’s 911 contract to mandate defense training for more than 500 employees
The PSA, which was created nearly a month after an EMT was viciously attacked, talks about the consequences of assaulting EMS personnel
The London Ambulance Service tweeted that there were no patients in the ambulance, but that endangering the crew was “unacceptable”
The lawsuit claims an Air Methods helicopter went on 51 flights after the company was notified by the FAA that the copter’s pitot tubes were “severely corroded”
The union representing Superior North EMS personnel says paramedics need more protection, as increased drug and alcohol use have heightened the danger for responders
Learn how providers can increase their visibility and awareness of approaching hazards in the field to identify potential risks
Using restraints to protect a patient from harming themselves or providers is not new to EMS, but the circumstances are
When crews arrived on scene, Caycey Donivan Douglass Dicks became irate and began yelling at responders
This unfortunate incident is an opportunity to educate law enforcement partners on things like patient restraint, scene safety and policy
NFPA’s John M. Montes, NREMT, examines how ASHER programs help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from active shooter incidents
Training and experience are instrumental to keeping EMTs, paramedics safe from violent attacks
“Mayor de Blasio, you need to do more to protect the men and women who protect and serve this city,” said EMS Union Local 2507 president Oren Barzilay
First responders at King’s Daughters Medical Center are able to scan a patient’s driver’s license using Backline and access six months of patient medication history
How three providers found direction through mentoring, overcame physical and mental health challenges to thrive in EMS
Witnesses told police the man threw the paramedic against the wall of an ambulance while he was being transported to the hospital
Thomas Wright broke free from the gurney restraint, bit the EMT and knocked him to the ground, then began stomping on his head
Officials said Orlando Wilford lunged at the paramedic, grabbed her by the hair and began to claw her face
The REV Ambulance Group seat belt system includes a four-point restraint, as well as controlled decelerator technology, which helps absorb energy during a crash
Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole stayed with paramedic Brian Cariota until he received medical attention
Capt. Latorrence Norris and firefighter Vinnie Harper were stabbed by a patient while en route to a hospital last week
Police said the attack arose from a dispute among a group of teenagers
The boys were charged with one felony count of aggravated assault to EMS personnel and one misdemeanor count of possessing replica firearms
The firefighters were taken to the hospital for treatment and a suspect was found and taken into custody
Austin-Travis County EMS and the Austin Police Department rolled out specific call codes to help police get to them quickly in an emergency
Daniel Mansbridge, a 16-year veteran paramedic, was “shoulder charged” by a teenager before two others beat him on the ground
It is critical that agencies conduct a formal review of all collisions
A patient being transported for mental health issues assaulted the treating provider, forcing the medic driving the rig to stop, enabling the patient to steal the ambulance
The County Sheriff’s department later arrested William Swagger after he jumped out of a moving ambulance to escape
NYPD officials flagged an anonymous threat against FDNY EMTs in the Rockaways area, prompting officers to escort emergency crews responding to calls
