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| Volume 17, Number 10 | The Number 1 EMS Region in Georgia |
July 2004 |
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Pickens County Receives AEDs
Change of Date for EMS Instructor Course This years EMT Instructor course will be held on October 3-8, 2004 at North Georgia Vocational Technical College in Clarksville. This change was made so participants could attend EMS Expo. Redmond Regional Changes Paint Scheme Redmond Regional Medical Center EMS has began changing the ambulance paint scheme to incorporate a wrap-around star of life logo. We have been informed that this will not be the last to change their paint scheme in the next few months. Who will be next?
Ron Stocum Dies Ron Stocum, husband of Kathy Stocum of the Northeast Georgia Region 10 EMS Office, has lost his two and one-half year battle with cancer and died on Saturday morning at St. Mary's hospital in Athens. If you would like to send condolences to Kathy, you may do do at the following address: Kathy Stocum Please keep Kathy and Ron's family in your thoughts during this difficult time. New System Sends 12 Leads over Digital Cell Phones BUCOM Communications, Inc in Chicago has announced that it has a new product made by Molex which enables EMS to send 12 lead EKGs over digital cell phones. More information may be obtained from Jim Voige at jim@bucom.biz or by visiting the webpage at www.tenenable.com. Georgia Games looking for Volunteers The Georgia Games held in July and August is looking for a few volunteers from the EMS ranks. The volunteer will receive a t-shirt and will be provided with equipment. More information is available at gagames.kennesaw.edu/medi.htm. 2002-2004 EMS Recert Period Ends June 30, 2004 was the deadline for the 2002-2004 EMS recert period. If your form was not postmarked by June 30, 2004 then contact the Region 1 Office to explore your options. The next deadline for EMT recert is June 30, 2006. Change in Child Restraint Laws The Georgia Legislature changed the minimum age of children who may wear a seatbelt from 5 to 6. The law is effective on July 1, 2004. All other children must be properly restrained in child safety seats. More details can be found at www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/fulltext/hb217.htm. Bogus AHA Letter is Asking for Money A bogus letter on American Heart Association letterhead is asking for ACLS instructors to send $100 to maintain their instructor status. Ms. Amber Battles of the American Heart Association states that the Heart Association did not send this letter. She wants the letters received to be sent to her at the following address: Amber K. Battles Region 1 EMS Council Meeting Schedule The next Region 1 EMS Council meeting will be held on July xx, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. in Chatsworth, GA. The October meeting date will be changed at the request of the Executive Committee to the last Thursday of October so that the members can attend the EMS Expo in Atlanta. New Devices on Railroad Tank Cars Look Like Bombs EMS personnel may mistake a new tracking device on Dow railroad tank cars for bombs. These devices are used to track the shipments of hazardous materials. Another Drug Theft in Region 1 Gilmer County EMS is the latest EMS Service experiencing the theft of drugs from ambulance drug kits. The drug kits were locked with a padlock but not sealed with a pharmacy seal. The kit was unlocked, drugs were stolen and the kit was relocked. This theft was not discovered until shift change when the kit was unlocked for a routine check. Please seal your drug kits with a numbered pharmacy seat. EMS Personnel to be Trained on Mark 1 Kits Regional EMS personnel will be trained on Mark 1 kits (nerve gas antidote) on July 13 in Forsyth. This training is also available to other EMS personnel. Contact David Loftin at 706-295-6154 if you want to attend. Dr. Mabley Resigns as Cherokee EMS Director Dr. Jill Mabley has resigned as the EMS Director of Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services. Her parents who live in Chicago require a lot of her time because of their declining health. She will be retained as the service Medical Director and as the Region 1 EMS Medical Director. Meeting to be Held on Computerized EMT Testing A meeting will be held at the Atlanta Airport Crown Plaza Hotel on July 19-20. This is the initial step to offer the option of National Registry tests by computer instead of the scantron form and written test booklet. Jim Cutcher and Dr. Jill Mabley will be representing Region 1 at this meeting. NAEMSD Looks at EMS Scope of Practice The National State EMS Driector organization has released a draft of a national EMS scope of practice model. They will be accepting comments until January 2005 when it will be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Health Resources Services Administration in the fall of 2005. You can obtain copies by e-mailing David Loftin at cdloftin@gdph.state.ga.us. Do you have a news story you would like published in Ambuglances? If so, let David Loftin know about it. He can be reached via telephone at (706) 295-6154 or via email at cdloftin@gdph.state.ga.us. Let's inform the region about your news! |
| Ambuglances is the official non-copyrighted newsletter of Northwest Georgia Region I EMS. Content is provided by David Loftin, Region I EMS Coordinator. Individuals are encouraged to freely print and distribute this newsletter. |
Pickens County Fire
Departments are the latest recipients of the Automatic External
Defibrillator grants from the Office of Rural Health. The Fire
Departments of Pickens County received 8 AEDs which creates a
county-wide coverage. Also receiving AEDs from this grant were Trenton
Fire Department and Rockmart Fire Department. More than half of Region 1
now has county-wide coverage of AEDs. Region 1 also has placed AED
trainers at all Vocational Technical Colleges available for check out by
qualified BCLS or ACLS instructors. 