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Twentieth Job of Bob - Rural Ambulance - Part II - Finally - the front of a police car; CPR - relentless smell of plastic
This entry was posted on 2/11/2010 2:55 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
I have thought often that the summer of 1995 was just after the Oklahoma City bombing. That event seemed to inspire an interest in public safety. The ambulance service got several new volunteers that summer. Years later after 9-Eleven, the same phenomena occurred.
Right straight off I realized ambulance work has many layers of dynamics. This particular ambulance service was an independent non-profit, and not connected to the village or the fire department. Some are connected at the hip to their cities, some are paid, some are volunteer, some are non-profit, some are part of the fire department, and some are private for-profit companies.
I also found out there are several levels of care that any one ambulance can offer. There is the First Responder level; the Emergency Medical Technician - Basic ( EMT-B ) level; the EMT-Intermediate level; and the EMT-Paramedic level. Since I have left the ambulance culture, another level called EMT-Intermediate Technician has evolved. Some private services have nurses on board the rig. There is also the helicopter level, which more often than not will have a doc on board.
The level of aforementioned care is contingent on how much money your district can afford. The disparity in regional care levels comes to fruition during major emergency events. If several ambulances are called to a major mess, you may find all levels of care on sight. You will also find volunteer services and paid services battling a fire or major vehicle crash working side by side doing the same tasks. It "ain't" the happy, happy panacea some people think it is.
My first task was to get some training in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and some guidance on driving the ambulance. I remember the CPR class was held in a neighboring village to the south, at the funeral home. Always on the lookout for ironies in life you can imagine that first impression. It was also the beginning of years of CPR refresher courses. The manikins always smell relentlessly like plastic. Years later when I would actually have to do CPR on a real person, I couldn't help thinking, "Hey, this can't be right, this dude does not smell like plastic." - Gallows humor -
The last time I had first aid training was in the Army in the 'Nam era. In those days, you checked the breathing, cleared the airway, started the breathing, and stopped the bleeding, and raised the legs to prevent shock. Things had changed in 25 years. The Professional CPR class took several sessions in the old funeral home. There was another difference between eras. When I was in the Army, it was a "sausage factory," all dudes. I learned quickly that half my ambulance colleagues were women. I had to get over the smell of perfume wafting in the ambulance straight away.
To learn to drive, I would drive the ambulance back from the hospital from a particular call. There was also the Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC). In the classroom version I learned you are only aloud to drive 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit (due-regard). In field training we went up to Columbus Speedway and drove old ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars. Heide could not resist asking me how it was to finally ride in the front of a police care for a change.
To that point all of this training was paid for by the ambulance service.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Specialist Eric Poelman, 21, originally of Mount Pleasant who was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 5, 2005. A roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle. Eric was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was a tank driver with the L Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Battalion. The unit's stateside home is Fort Carson, Colorado. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Eric's parents home-schooled him and his two brothers. Poelman enlisted in the Army on January, 2003. He was first deployed in Iraq in November 2003. He returned to the U.S. just under a year later and was then redeployed in March, 2005. He was married between tours. His wife Renate was living in Racine with family at the time of his death. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Eric and Renate once both worked at St. Mary's Medical Center in Racine. Poelman had worked there in food service. It was also noted he was active in his church and had worked on a church mission trip to Guatemala. At the time of his death Eric was survived by his wife of one year Renate, two brothers Andy and Greg, and his mom and dad Sally and Matthew. Specialist Eric Poelman was the 39th military service member from Wisconsin to die in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
95,310 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,373 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,379 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
977 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
317 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
635 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,648 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,923 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
101 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
139 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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