Well I read Donna C's post and will say she was pretty accurate in her information of the events of the call. I should know... I work out of Station 5. Her details of the communications were pretty accurate, down to the mention of powerlines and trees! I think she must tote a Fire radio in her pocket or something.
Per privacy laws I can not discuss patient information.
There were valid reasons why Air-Evac was first called and also why they did NOT transport the patient. The decision to come to Station 5 and land a helicopter DID NOT affect the outcome. There was little delay in geting the helicopter here as the 10 minute time frame donna c mentioned included the time the ambulance was on the scene, which was just a a mile from the station.
We have had two accidents today, both within sight of the station and we again called Air Evac.
Why?
We have a state wide system that handles trauma related incidents. When we arrive to find a potentially serious patient we must enter them into the TCC (Trauma Control Center). All state EMS response agencies must now do this. The TCC takes the patient information you have and then located the closest, most appropriate hospital and tells you to route the patient there. It is up to us to figure out how they get there. In most major trauma cases we will be sending them to Huntsville or Birmingham.. which is quicker by air. The reason for the system is simple, the TCC has a computer that tells the operators in real time which hospitals have room for more patients, which ones have the appropriate doctors on staff, and which ones are set up for that injury. Example ... a burn victim. Waste your time if you send them to ECM. Closet and most appropriate .....Vanderbilt in most cases. This is why we call air evac. Now in some cases air evac may arrive and see the patient as too unstable to transport by air, thus forcing the ambulance to transport anyway. There are several things that can not be done for a patient while in flight. This is most often the reason for waving off a flight on scene.
People please understand .. we are highly trained and competent people. We have the safety and wellbeing of the public in mind at all times. We dont care who has Insurance and who doesnt. When you see us doing something it is for a good reason, not just because we thought it seemed cool. When we block the road at a wreck .. it is for our safety. Please respect our decisions as we do not come to your work place to tell you how to do your job.
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