MERGInet's May 18 Update Now On the Net

["Richard Bilger" <rbilger@merginet.com>]

We're pleased to bring you the latest additions to
MERGINET.News (Vol. 6, No. 5). You can view this
issue online at:

http://www.merginet.com/index-news.htm
Select "MERGINET.News" or "Current Issue" from
the navigation menu's.

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FROM THE EDITOR:
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Click onto MERGINET.News for the latest information from your
worldwide web dedicated to emergency care. This month, which
includes the annual EMS Week, we highlight the activities in the
community of Las Cruces, New Mexico. And have you heard about
prions? If not, maybe the term “mad cow disease” rings a bell.
See what prions have to do with this and other devastating
diseases in Bryan Bledsoe’s latest article. And viruses! More
nasty disease agents! See what journalist Tonya Schafer has to
say about them.

We bring you the list of people being memorialized at the
National EMS Memorial service on May 26.

See “No Borders” for a report about an interesting hotline in
Prague, and other worldwide news, and then tap into the “Sharps
Container” to see what points your editors want to make this time
around. For example, there’s a scholarship fund starting in
memory of Indiana’s murdered EMTs, a new federal office to
coordinate agencies dealing with terrorist threats, and much
more!

MERGINET columnists Hunjadi, Mateus, Law Bytes, NAEMD, and
Thurlow all bring their unique views to your screen. Management
Matters has two new articles, too. Then there’s a case study in
“In Her Own Words” which will make you careful next time you’re
mowing a lawn! It’s all there for you, “hot off the press”!

As always, please don’t be shy about sending us your Reader
Feedback. We always appreciate your thoughts, ideas (and even
your compliments!), and try to write back to everyone as promptly
as possible.

Welcome to May 2001!
Your editor, Kate Dernocoeur

######## ONLINE SURVEY DEADLINE APPROCHING #########
        Frontier EMS Needs Your Help: EMS Provider Survey!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------
Frontier EMS is in critical condition. All EMS providers can
help.
Support U.S. Senate Bill #587 (see "Good Job!" in this weeks
edition  of Sharps), and if you live in a rural/frontier area,
fill out
the survey in this release of MERGINET. Information gathered will
be used to augment an EMS need statement to state and federal
legislatures. The deadline for data collection has been moved up
to
June 15, 2001. Please take time if you haven't already to
complete
the survey. Your input counts.

                Click here to help us with this survey.
            http://www.merginet.com/index-survey.htm

#####################################################

New in this issue!

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Features
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>> Understanding Prion Diseases
by Bryan E. Bledsoe
With the recent outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe, world
attention has been drawn to a rather obscure group of diseases
referred to as "prion diseases." Although prion diseases are
extremely rare in humans, emergency personnel should be familiar
with these diseases as they are a potential public health risk.

>> A Look at a Controversial New Book: Is Cancer Contagious?
by Tonya Schafer
Acute infectious diseases — the colds, influenza, strep throats,
and pneumonia that strike swiftly, last briefly, and leave aching
joints and stuffy heads in their wake — are minor inconveniences
when compared to the more dangerous pathogens lurking within the
human body.

>> National EMS Memorial Service — 2001 Honorees
by Staff
On Saturday, May 26, 31 individuals will be honored at the 2001
National EMS Memorial Service in Roanoke, Virginia. Since 1992,
the National EMS Memorial Service has been honoring EMS providers
who gave their lives in the line of duty. The individuals being
honored this year join 195 others previously honored by the
Service.

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Medic Life
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>> EMS Week, Las Cruces Style
by Kate Dernocoeur
EMS Week in the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico will begin on
Monday, May 21, with a proclamation at City Council chambers to
acknowledge the weeklong celebration. On Tuesday, the County
Commissioners get to add their congratulations. EMS in this hot,
high-desert city just 40 miles north of the Mexico border will be
highly visible all week — but the best part will have to wait
until Saturday, May 26, when it will culminate with the biggest
party around.

>> How Infectious Was Your Patient When You Provided Care?
by Karen Thurlow
Your squad transports a frail elderly gentleman from a long-term
care facility. Chief complaint includes productive cough, chest
pain, loss of appetite, and low-grade fever. Vital signs are
T-99.3°F, P-100, R-20, B/P-158/90. Skin is warm and dry...Within
one hour, the patient is delivered to an acute care hospital and
subsequently admitted for possible pneumonia.

>> In Her Own Words: Attack of the Lawnmower
by Melonie Goentzel
It all started one sunny afternoon. It was another day of the
strange and bizarre call in Med-Act 6 land. (I know, nothing
new). Linda and I were dispatched to a call in Gardner, America
for a code 2 laceration at 201 N. Ott Ln. (For those of you who
are looking for a challenging map study, find this one!) 1308,
1320, and 1161 arrive on scene and triage type green. We continue
wondering why we are seeing a type green laceration....


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Educators Corner
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>> The Rookie
by John Mateus
He called me late one afternoon. He was an instructor for another
training center who was looking for some additional teaching
opportunities. The ambulance company he worked for provided the
occasional professional renewal course, and he liked teaching so
much that he wanted to do some community and commercial teaching.
He explained that he had been certified as an instructor for
several years, but from his eager tone and humble demeanor, I
could tell that our sort of teaching would be new to him.

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Columns
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>> Law Bytes: Hunting for Solutions for Staffing Shortages? Avoid
the "Joint Employment" Trap
by Steve Wirth
As EMS organizations struggle to maintain adequate staffing,
there is an ever increasing use of combination paid and volunteer
staff. Creative staffing situations have also given evolution to
the "contracted medic" or "contracted EMT." Under this scenario,
an EMS organization that can no longer maintain service solely
with volunteer staff may contract with another company to provide
EMS personnel to staff the ambulance. Sometimes the other company
is a neighboring and larger EMS organization, and in some cases
the other company is a professional staffing firm.

>> Changes in Medicare Payment Method to Impact EMD
by Tom Scott
In 1997, the U.S. Congress required that Medicare change the way
it pays for ambulance service for Medicare beneficiaries. The
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is expected to begin
a four-year phase-in of the new National Fee Schedule for
ambulance service within the next three to six months. This new
fee schedule is likely to result in major changes in current
reimbursement for most ambulance services. It is also likely to
result in changes to how EMDs do their jobs. Want to know what to
expect? Read on.

>> Checklists
by Don Hunjadi
For years, many people have used checklists as an everyday part
of their operations. A checklist is an efficient way to help
assure a set task is completed the same way every time.

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Management Matters
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>> For Operations: Wear Your Seatbelts in the Back of Ambulances!
by Lauren Simon Ostrow and John Becknell
Findings from the first ever multi-vehicle ambulance crash tests
indicate that EMS workers should wear safety belts at all times
while the ambulance is moving.

>> The Media Are Coming! Are You Prepared?
by Paul Robinson
If you watch the evening news you're going to see some type of
disaster splashed across the screen. Disasters of all sizes and
flavors are big news. Count on yours making the news when the
time comes. Unfortunately, many planners treat the media as a
necessary evil and give it a low priority when it comes to
planning. As a result, many organizations find that dealing with
the media during a crisis is a frustrating and negative
experience.

More online!

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MERGINET.News Online!
Click here: http://www.MERGINET.com/index-news.htm

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MERGINET is a service designed to provide resources, news,
education and fun to the all in EMS, Fire, Rescue and Emergency
Medicine. Updated daily.
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http://www.merginet.com/index-news.htm

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