April 2015 Newsletter - Stroke Alerts and more!

Old Dominion EMS Alliance

April 2015 Newsletter

Serving the Residents, EMS Agencies, Hospitals, and Local Governments in Planning Districts 13, 14, 15, and 19

Stroke Steering Committee Agrees on Common Field Report Terminology

Last month, ODEMSA's Stroke Steering Committee updated the Stroke Triage Plan. In addition to fine-tuning a few details of the plan, they agreed on having EMS providers use a standard term when calling a field report to the ED. The term "Stroke Alert" used by EMS providers will signal the receiving hospital to make any internal preparations necessary to accept a possible stroke patient.

In addition, the Stroke Steering Committee will be working with Medical Control to develop EMS benchmarks. They want to work towards the goal of EMS completing a stroke scale and blood glucose within 10 minutes of patient contact, and, if these results point to a possible stroke, calling the receiving hospital within 5 minutes of completing these parts of the assessment with the "Stroke Alert." More information on these benchmarks will be in the next protocol release this summer.

Don't forget!

Quarterly drug kit inventories are due April 10th. Please fax them to (804) 560-0909 or email them to [email protected]. All agencies and hospitals with ODEMSA Drug Kits must inspect and report every drug kit in their possession to ODEMSA by this date. Failure to do so may result in an audit by members of the Pharmacy Committee and the ODEMSA staff; continued failure to complete inspections may result in the loss of drug kit privileges.

Clinical Tip of the Month

When do you perform a 12-lead ECG on your patients? Do you only do it if your patient is complaining of chest pain or shortness of breath, or are there other situations that make you do one? Not every MI presents as chest pain; the patient may complain of jaw pain or arm pain. Women and diabetics are also more likely to have nondescript symptoms, such as back pain, nausea, or just a general ill feeling. All of these patients should get a 12-lead to rule out a possible cardiac event.

It is also a good practice to perform a 12-lead on patients that may have other significant complaints, such as CVA/TIA, DKA/HHNS, altered mental status, or a fall that was not just tripping on something. These patients often experience cardiac events as co-morbidities.

Even if your first 12-lead does not show an acute MI, a subsequent 12-lead might, and it is good practice to perform serial 12-leads during transport. In any of these situations, if you have a significant 12-lead interpretation, be sure to call ahead to the receiving ED and give them as much notice as possible so that the staff will be ready to receive your cardiac patient. Like the Stroke Steering Committee, the ODEMSA STEMI Steering Committee also wants to work towards cardiac EMS benchmarks: 10 minutes from EMS patient contact to a 12-lead ECG, and 5 minutes from a positive ECG to alerting the receiving hospital. More information will be in the next protocol release this summer.

Health and Safety Tip of the Month

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Whether in the field or in the hospital, we all care for the victims and aftermath of distracted drivers on a daily basis. Unfortunately, that does not make us immune to committing the same actions ourselves.

Texting while driving is a primary offense in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ignore your phone when driving, no matter how tempting it is to sneak a glance at the screen, and encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to do the same. When operating an emergency vehicle, especially while driving in emergency mode, it's doubly important to minimize distractions. Put your phone down - don't be our next patient!

April Meetings

All meetings are open to the public.

Reminder: RSAF Grants will be graded by the sub-councils this month.

Date	Time	Event	Location
04/07/15	1930	Southside EMS Sub-Council	Chase City VRS
04/14/15	1100	Air Medical Committee	ODEMSA Office
04/14/15	1300	Professional Development Committee	ODEMSA Office
04/16/15	1900	Metro Richmond EMS Sub-Council	ODEMSA Office
04/20/15	1830	South Central EMS Sub-Council	Southside Community Hospital
04/21/15	1900	Crater EMS Sub-Council	JRMC

April Classes and Other Educational Events

Need a class not listed below? Click here for an extended list of upcoming classes.

Date	Time	Class	Location	Registration
04/08/15	1900-2100	PD19 North Monthly CEU	Southside Virginia Emergency Crew	None needed
04/14/15	1900-2100	PD15 South Monthly CEU	ODEMSA Office	None needed
04/17/15	1830-2130	Infection Disease Control Basic	ODEMSA Office	Click here
04/18/15	0900-1700	Designated Infection Control Officer	ODEMSA Office	Click here
04/18/15 - 04/19/15	0800-1700	PHTLS	Powhatan Vol. Rescue Squad	Click here
04/23/15	1900-2100	PD 14 Monthly CEU	Prince Edward Vol. Rescue Squad	None needed
04/28/15	1900-2100	PD15 North Monthly CEU	Henrico Fire Training Center	None needed
04/29/15	1900-2100	PD19 South Monthly CEU	Greensville Vol. Rescue Squad	None needed
05/02/15 - 05/03/15	0800-1700	PHTLS	Prince Edward Vol. Rescue Squad	Click here
05/11/15 - 05/12/15	0800-1700	ACLS	ODEMSA Office	Click here

April Testing

Date	Time	Event	Location
04/02/15	1800	CTS Testing	Colonial Heights Tech Center
04/09/15	1800	CTS Testing	Colonial Heights Tech Center
04/16/15	1800	CTS Testing	Colonial Heights Tech Center
05/07/15	1800	CTS Testing	Watkins Elementary School
05/14/15	1800	CTS Testing	Colonial Heights Tech Center

Did you know?
ODEMSA doesn't just provide protocols, drug kits, and educational opportunities for the region. We have developed and maintain a medication restocking and exchange plan that is followed by every hospital in the region, along with a few that border the ODEMSA area. This agreement not only covers the drug kit exchange program, but also allows EMS providers to replace linens and most medical supplies used during a call on a one-to-one basis (i.e. use one IV catheter, replace it with one IV catheter). Check back next month to see what else ODEMSA does for its providers and hospitals!

Regional EMS Award Nominations

Nominations for the 2015 Regional EMS Awards are being accepted through June 5, 2015 at 1700. More information and the application packet are available on the ODEMSA website.

Questions? Contact the ODEMSA office at

(804) 560-3300.