JohnZ Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Emergycare is one of the largest and most professional EMS organization in PA. You are very fortunate. I would believe that they would be very familiar with the Code and would follow the requirements to the letter. In your circumstance they may have taken the lead and satisfied the Code, or have guided the sponsor or township to develop the plans. Important distinction: the ambulance (vehicle) is NOT the most important part of the EMS response whether at an event or at your home. It is the personnel and their qualifications. EMS has progressed to the point where a fast ride to the hospital is not normally required. Which also brings to my mind that even if an event sponsor is not familiar with the medical coverage requirement, the local EMS provider should be. Shame on Moosic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sillysop Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Note 1: This is not in regard to the Kiltie member passing away. Sad to say I don't think having an ambulance nearby would have helped. If this thread turns into second guessing on that I will request to the thread closed and (hopefully) deleted.Note 2: Not a bash thread and not looking for guesses. Hope the below will explain my reasons for asking. Prelims is the first time I can remember there was not an ambulance at a Drum Corps show. This includes shows in Podunkville where the ambulance crew volunteered so they could watch the show for free. A lot of long time fans I talked to had the same thoughts and were wondering why there was not an ambulance on hand. I was also sitting with a person who has a siezure disorder and she brought up another point. Any ambulance crew on hand not only would treat corps members but also audience member who would need help. (And this person has taken enough ambulance trips to know.) Debating sending DCA an email but figure they are swamped right now. Does anyone have a true answer to why there was not an ambulance on site??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdisney Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Important distinction: the ambulance (vehicle) is NOT the most important part of the EMS response whether at an event or at your home. It is the personnel and their qualifications. EMS has progressed to the point where a fast ride to the hospital is not normally required. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> True; I think more of the problem at Prelims was not just that there was no ambulance on site, but that there didn't appear to be even a dedicated EMS nearby with sufficient equipment to deal with serious situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sillysop Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Note 1: This is not in regard to the Kiltie member passing away. Sad to say I don't think having an ambulance nearby would have helped. If this thread turns into second guessing on that I will request to the thread closed and (hopefully) deleted.Note 2: Not a bash thread and not looking for guesses. Hope the below will explain my reasons for asking. Prelims is the first time I can remember there was not an ambulance at a Drum Corps show. This includes shows in Podunkville where the ambulance crew volunteered so they could watch the show for free. A lot of long time fans I talked to had the same thoughts and were wondering why there was not an ambulance on hand. I was also sitting with a person who has a siezure disorder and she brought up another point. Any ambulance crew on hand not only would treat corps members but also audience member who would need help. (And this person has taken enough ambulance trips to know.) Debating sending DCA an email but figure they are swamped right now. Does anyone have a true answer to why there was not an ambulance on site??? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My wife and I sat through all the prelim corps ..... there was no ambulance in the stadium on /or near the field (inside the fence) during any of the performances ......... when the Kilty went down ....... after a period of time they brought in a stretcher in the same gate the corps enter ........... even after the individual was removed (by the ambulance) there was still no ambulance visable ... as I also wittnessed the member of the Cab's drop and I yelled for medical help ...again they wheeled in a stretcher (from the same gate) to come to his aid ..... thankfully it was not as serious....... I am not sure if the people with the stretcher had an ambulance or not but they should have been stationed inside the fence ... at the end of the field to be available for such emergences not in the parking lot! .... after all this there still was no ambulance in attendance inside the stadium!!!! Hope the powers to be ....... do NOT allow this to happen again! A hard lesson to learn ..... the finals did have ambulancecs ON THE FIELD for all CORPS...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 There was also an ambulance on hand for the Alumni show Sunday morning. Seemed to be the first thing people noticed when they sat down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnZ Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 In all fairness, putting an ambulance on the field would have been the exception, although THE PLAN would have outlined that as a necessity to put trained staff as close to the competitors as possible. On finals night I noticed a second ambulance sitting at the end of the stadium, above the field entrance and next to the left end of the concourse. It appeared to me to be the service's designated staging point so they could readily access the field OR the stands. Under normal circumstances, EMS would be used to cover injuries in the stands. But this was an extraordinary event, and should have been properly addressed in advance. POINT OF IMPORTANCE: the PA Department of Health, EMS Division does have the power to investigate all matters regarding lack of adequate performance or coverage of licensed EMS systems operating in the commonweath. This would qualify as a 'sentinel event'. It wouldn't bring Joel back, but could certainly address future concerns should drum corps shows continue to be staged in Scranton or other cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 (edited) In all fairness, putting an ambulance on the field would have been the exception, although THE PLAN would have outlined that as a necessity to put trained staff as close to the competitors as possible. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> John any rules on how close the medical people should be or just whatever works best for each site? Realize I keep talking about an ambulance within sight but guess that's because it's so easy to spot. Only other type of medical help I have seen for large events is either a tent or medics in a golf cart type vehicle. Work at the October car show at Hershey (50-100K) people each day and best they have is the golf carts on site. Edited September 7, 2005 by JimF-xWSMBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnZ Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 None that I am aware of, Jim. but in all the special event plans I have reviewed and developed for events I was required to cover, the common theme was that medical resources needed to be appropriate for the venue, readily available, recognizable, and accessible to participants and patrons. common sense stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 Thanks, this really got me thinking about the car show at Hershey. Traffic that week is so bad that some of the locals actually schedule their vacation that week to avoid it. Medics buzzing around the area in flat bed carts makes more sense than waiting for an ambulance to provide first response. Such a unique situation that any written "Rules & Regs" might made things harder for the medical personel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp1955 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 After it happened I was talking with a Moosic Cop and he told me that it was up to the Person running the event if he wanted EMs or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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