January February 2013 Lifeline

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Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad Photos Submitted by Bobby Hill

Senator Mark Warner Visit Ellen Elvis Trinity (right)

Jack Dye & Bobby Hill Recruiting

Amir and Jim Page

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Godzilla at Virginia Beach During Hurricane Official

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VAVRS Officers

For a complete list of the current courses being offered by the VAVRS go to www.vavrs.com

THE VIRGINIA LIFELINE ISSN 0279-6023 is the official bimonthly publication of the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads, Inc.

President Edward B. “ Bubby” Bish Jr. Vice President Rickey Hodge Secretary Connie Moore Treasurer Steven Dove Training Officer Scott Davis Chaplain Darleen Ferguson Historian Dreama Chandler Editor Gary Dalton Immediate Past President Steve Grayson Legal Advisor S. Craig Lane Medical Advisor

James R. Dudley, MD, MBA

Parliamentarian Lobbyist Office Manager

J. C. Phillips

Ed Rhodes Frances Brooks

Training Coordinator Kathy Eubank Administrative Secretary

Shirley Bagby

District 1 V. P. Scott Masincup District 2 V. P. Carolyn White District 3 V. P. Kenny Frenier District 4 V. P. Gary Dalton District 5 V. P. James Fontaine

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Editorial material should be sent directly to the VAVRS Editor at P O Box 522 Woodstock, VA 22664 (H) 540-459-4849 (W) 540-536-2758 (FAX) 540-459-4925 (C) 540-481-0125 Email-gdalton@vavrs.com Requests for advertising rates, material specifications and deadlines should be directed to the Editor.

District 6 V. P. June Ann Wilkes District 7 V. P. Thomas E. Harris “Ted”

VAJVRS Officers

District 8 V. P. Blake Byrd

AVAVRS Officers

President Cora Fearnow

District 9 V. P. Darrell Beavers

President - Fern Puckett

Vice President Emily Snyder

District 10 V. P. Matt Tanner

Vice President - Sharon Campbell

Secretary/Treasurer Aryn Onnen

Secretary - Dolores Hudson

Chaplain Dakota Looney

Treasurer - Kitty Campbell

Historian Shannon Cain

Chaplain - Clara Craig

District 3 V. P. Cora Fearnow

Historian - Heather S. Fox

District 7 V. P. Dakota Looney

Parliamentarian - Harry Householder

District 9 V. P. Christina Stanley

Immediate Past President - Joan Smoot

Advisor, Chair Alfred Smith

Midwestern VP - Sheila Gordon

Advisor Woody T. Connor

Northeastern VP - Eddie Ann Orndoff

Advisor Brandon Baugus

Southcentral VP - Patsy Wingfield

Advisor Woody Connor

Southeastern VP - Fay Browning

Advisor Micky Grodski

Southwestern VP - Jean Garrett

Advisor Kim Craig

Western VP - Debbie Rohr

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Deadline for the Upcoming Issues of the LIFELINE Articles may be submitted by any member of the VAVRS, AVAVRS and VAJVRS. Feature articles are encouraged. Photos and/or Graphics are acceptable and can be returned if requested. Contact the Editor if you need assistance in writing an article at gdalton@vavrs.com Deadline for future issues as follows: February 10, 2013 for March/April April 10, 2013 for May/June June 10, 2013 for July/August August 10, 2013 for September/October

VAVRS Committee Chairs Nominating—R. Bruce Stratton Membership—Rickey Hodge Human Resources– Rickey Hodge Life Membership—Ronnie Slough Bylaws—Bruce Edwards Rescue Hall of Fame—Ford Wirt Convention—Ford Wirt Rescue College—Rickey Hodge

AVAVRS Committee Chairs

Rescue College—Wayne Myers EMS Advisory Bd.—Dreama Chandler EMS Advisory Bd.—Wayne Myers

Convention - Janis Slough

Strategic Planning—Karen Wagner

Convention Co-Chair - Vickie Arnold

Course Development—Doug Eberhardt

Life Membership - Ruth Swicegood

Grant—Elizabeth Enos

Nominating - Carolyn Brand

Scholarship Fund—Carolyn Brand

Resolutions - Harry Householder

EMS Memorial Service—Kevin Dillard

Emergency Care - Ailease Short

EMS Exchange—Jane LaVerne

Membership - Sharon K. Campbell

Rec. & Ret.—Fran Phillips

Finance - Kitty Campbell

Course Development—Doug Eberhardt Facility Manager—Lin Matthews

Roll Call - Jean Garrett

Volunteer Management—J. C. Phillips

Roll Call Co-Chair - Valarie Becker

Legislative—Dreama Chandler

Rec. & Ret. - Marie Householder

VAVRS Web Page—Gary Dalton

Fund Raising - Linda Berkstresser

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Help Wanted

Emergency Vehicle Sales Professionals Wanted Southeastern Specialty Vehicles (SSV) is currently seeking sales professionals for South Carolina, Kentucky and western Virginia.

We offer: Weekly salary Lucrative commissions Benefits Expense account

For Sale Ambulance 59 is FOR SALE

The successful candidate will possess emergency vehicle sales experience, a drive to succeed and be money motivated.

Travel is required.

The chassis is a 2004 Ford E-450

For information, or to apply, call Eric Vogl at 336-268 -0971.

Mobile Ambulance and Rescue Truck Repair Technician Southeastern Specialty Vehicles (SSV) is searching for a full-time technician for its mobile ambulance and rescue truck repair service.

This territory covers North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The successful candidate must have experience with -12 volt and 110 volt electrical systems -Transfer switches, relays and utilization of volt meters -Auto and/or HVAC systems -Electrical schematics -Basic carpentry -Auto repair -Aluminum fabrication (desirable) Because we are in business to serve our customers, the following qualities are vitalExceptional people skills Commitment to provide superb service Self-starter Ability to work independently and with minimal supervision Advanced troubleshooting skills This position requires overnight travel, depending upon the location of service assignments. A service truck stocked with repair supplies is also provided. Basic tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.) will be provided by the successful candidate.

SSV offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience and full benefits. For information, please call Tammy, toll free, at (866) 640-2028. To learn more about SSV, go to ww.SSVSales.com Page

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The Motor is a 6.0 liter diesel and the truck has approx. 50,000 miles.

The box is around a 1997 Braun Chief XL 166.

The truck was remounted in 2004 by Eastern Emergency Equipment. Interior lights in the rear have been changed to LED. If interested, please email Conn at Seller59@wclsc.com

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Scene Safe; BMI? Submitted by: Captain Annie Edwards Southside Virginia Emergency Crew As Emergency Medical Technicians, we were trained from the very beginning that we need to be safe.

We have all repeated the mantra, “scene safe, BSI”, and when we forgot to say these words we were often lectured by our teachers that we are the most important person in E.M.S. We were told that we never wanted to become a statistic and that we should never become a patient. Despite these powerful lessons, we tend to take our own health less seriously than the health of our patients. We treat patients who suffer from hypertension, diabetes, chronic illness, and obesity. Often, we think of ourselves as immortal and immune from these same diseases.

However, obesity is an alarming trend amongst providers. 75% of all providers are considered obese by national standards. It is a growing trend in our nation and unfortunately, one that we are not exempt from. Obesity and lack of physical fitness contributes to chronic illness and injury.

Our lifestyle is hectic sometimes, chaotic. We eat when we can, what we can. Sometimes just being able to eat is a miracle. Regular exercise is difficult given lack of sleep and schedule changes. We are a group of people who deal well with change and i rr egular lifestyles. We have the ability to adapt and compensate for our varying schedules; that’s what sets us apart as a whole. Sometimes we have a tendency to push ourselves to the limit and we pay for it physically. Often, we suffer Official

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injuries not necessarily because of lack of technique when lifting, but our own lack of physical fitness. It is estimated that one out of every four practitioners will suffer career ending back injury within the first four years of work. We are also seven times more likely to miss work due to injury than the average worker. We not only deal with the physical nature of the job, we also combat the effects of stress and sleep deprivation on our body.

All of these truths about our career should inspire us to commit to a healthier lifestyle in order to reduce stress and be more productive individuals. Although we are creatures of service, we need to take time to serve ourselves. It has been said, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it”. (Hans Selye) In this New Year let us all take the time to devote at least 30 minutes a day to ourselves. Even while on duty take the time to walk, run, practice yoga, or meditate. If you do not have the time for long sessions, then try doing a few10minute sessions at a time. It has the same cardiovascular benefits as longer workout sessions. Set a clear goal for yourself, whether it’s losing weight or for stress reduction or strength training. Be clear with yourself about what it is you want. Start by setting a simple goal, write it down, date it, and keep it with you. It is amazing how well this simple technique works.

Your ideas go from being a dream to a goal, and ultimately a reality.

weight. It takes a 500 calorie deficit per day in order to burn 1lb in a week. It is not that difficult to achieve this. Start with moderate exercise such as walking, biking, or swimming; try to do at least 30 minutes to an hour at least three times per week. You will not only begin to lose weight but you will become a stronger individual both physically and emotionally.

Exercising regularly will inevitably increase your job performance and safety on scene. For example, strengthening your core will protect your back when lifting; losing some of your BMI will decrease your chances of having chronic illness.

Serve yourself!

Take time to give back to “the most important person”. Let’s face it, if you are out of work for a back injury or chronic illness it is no different than becoming a victim on scene. Either way, you can no longer do your job effectively. Start this year committed to you; and reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

All it would take is approximately 30 minutes per day, maybe more depending on your size to lose VAVRS

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LifeCare Medical Transports, Inc. Submitted by: Thomas McGowan Customer Relations LifeCare Medical Transports, Inc. LifeCare Medical Transports has just put one of their very first ambulance’s the company purchased out of service, unit 4 which was purchased in 1995. This 1995 ford E350 Super duty had

well over 1.5 million miles on it when it was taken out of service at the beginning of December 2012.

This unit has been all over the state on Virginia and some other states as well, this is in large part to our Preventative Maintenance Program that we perform on our fleet of vehicles. Our fleet in brought into the shop every 5,000 miles and undergoes a 40 point inspection allowing us to be proactive on any maintenance concerns. We are very pleased to be able to say that we have been able to drive a single vehicle 1.5 million miles.

ribbon and Committed to the Cure logo, this truck will be used at community events as well as everyday use to help bring awareness to Breast Cancer. Each year LifeCare participates in many co mmunity events such as American Cancer Society Events and Breast Cancer Awareness Walks. Over the last couple of years our Committed to the Cure truck has been able to help raise thousands of dollars for cancer research through these events that we attend. LifeCare was pleased to announce the First Pink Ambulance in Virginia and again now pleased to be the first Medical Transport Company in Virginia to have a second Pink Ambulance.

LifeCare is also proud to announce that we now have second Pink Ambulance in our fleet, unit 54 which will be located out of our Roanoke office. Since the unveiling of our first Pink Ambulance in 2010 in the Fredericksburg area, it has become apparent that this unit is raising a lot of awareness for Breast Cancer. With its pink Page

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Uniforms Make Your Members Look Professional Submitted by: Fran Phillips—Chair VAVRS Recruitment & Retention Committee In traveling with the Recruitment & Retention Committee, the Volunteer Rescue Squad Assistance Work Group and the Volunteer Management Committee I have come to realize that many of the squads in Virginia do not have uniforms.

This is a concern because of the safety issue of identification of your members at an accident scene, at the hospital and most of all at the patients home. Your uniform is a safety shield for you in the field.

Think about the FICTIONAL following call: You are toned out from somewhere in your community to respond for a possible full arrest. Dispatch tells you that someone is picking up the ambulance and are responding to the address. Upon arriving you find

the patient in the bathroom floor in full arrest. You are working on him when the ambulance arrives with ALS help. The family is very upset and is trying to obtain his medication and prior medical history. There are now two more persons who have come into the home.

Others see your demeanor and admire you and your group. They will want to join such a revered group.

The patient is loaded onto the cot, CPR is continued, and he is loaded into the unit.

Since it is an ALS call you have been going by protocols the entire time. The family is going to follow you. The patient starts to come around as you reach the hospital.

The patient is turned over to Emergency Room Staff and a report given. You go to speak with the family who are very grateful for your quick response. They ask where the other two persons are who were at the home with you.

They want to thank them too!

Here in is the problem. The other two persons were not with the rescue squad. They just walked into the home and were very busy taking items when the police arrived.

This fictional incident probably would not have happened if the responding crew had a rescue squad uniform on. The patients immediately feel better when they see someone in a uniform. That person looks professional and appears that they know what they are doing. The Emergency Room Staff will immediately recognize you as a member of a certain rescue squad by your uniform.

If you have a uniform on, the public sees a professional EMT. You gain respect in your town.

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Salem Rescue Celebrates 80 Years Submitted by: Mike Moore, Life Member Salem Rescue This reported reprinted from an article posted on December 3, 2012 in the Salem Times Register

By Meg Hibbert SALEM, VA. – Eighty years ago volunteers formed what has become the second-oldest rescue squad – in the whole world.

Today the Salem Volunteer Rescue Squad is still going strong, helping to comfort people, save lives and provide back up to paid emergency workers every day.

The accomplishments of what started as the Salem Lifesaving Crew in 1932 were celebrated at a banquet on Nov. 17 at the Salem Civic Center. It was based on the oldest in the country, the Roanoke Lifesaving Crew that was founded in 1928, and Julian Wise was instrumental in founding the Salem crew.

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volunteer, the 50-plus members provide backup service at night and weekend days for Salem’s paid Emergency Medical Services provided through the fire department, and assist at other times. “We’re saving the city a lot of money doing stand by at the Salem Fair, on Old Salem Days, the Stagg Bowl,” said member Ken Cook. He said the squad ran about 700 calls last year, and spent 20,000 hours covering everything.

now bills for ambulance service transport, “The nice thing is it hasn’t had that much effect on our fundraising,” Cook said.

“If you were to pay a paid staff, we’re saving the City of Salem easily half of $1 million a year.

This year alone we spent 960 hours of planning and coverage time at the fair.”

At 18, Jake Montgomery has been a member for almost three years.

The Junior Member of the Year volunteers with the squad “To give back to the community. It’s really rewarding,” he said.

“We’ve already got people doing nights and weekend days. members are supposed to work one day each weekend per month,” Cook added.

Will Conyers, who is 20, has been a junior member for a month. “I want to be a physician’s assistant, and this is good medical experience,” he explained.

For Cook, even though he’s been a volunteer for 35 years come next July, volunteering with the Salem Rescue Squad “is still fun.”

And even though the City of Salem

There was no paid emergency coverage when A.B. Hoback and Harold King, the two oldest living life members of the Salem squad, joined in 1956. Between the two of them, they have served 116 years.

And younger members are still joining.

“I remember why I wanted to join,” said King, thinking back. “I was coming back from Bedford Lake and there was an accident on Rt. 460. There wasn’t as much a person who stopped who had a first aid kit,” he said.

Rob Logan, a Life Member of the squad and speaker for the evening, reflected on the squad’s years he remembers. Logan is director of the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council.

“I was 17 when I joined, and my friend and I took a Red Cross First Aid Basic course at Fort Lewis Rescue Squad. Our entertainment after school was to walk up to the Rescue Squad. The squad, police department and fire department were all in the same building. The

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way people were notified was by Ferdinand, a big horn that used to be on top of the Fire Station on College Avenue.

“I filled out an application and the next night, as I recall, a call came in. Police Chief George Eades drove, and I and my friend, who were probationary officers, off we went to Roanoke Memorial with a Salem City Shop employee who had dislocated his shoulder. Lewis Gale wasn’t in Salem at the time. The ambulance rocked a little bit, and the man’s shoulder popped into place,” he remembered.

“Back then, we ran calls all over the place. Salem Rescue had a reputation of covering everybody else’s calls: Catawba, Glenvar, Hollins.”

Ambulances were “overgrown station wagons,” Logan said. In fact, when the squad was first formed, there wasn’t an ambulance for two years, and the crew carried equipment in a town car.

In Logan’s early days, “The building had some old, brown Naugahyde sofas. We junior members would spend a lot of time. Bob Lieb was one of those who fussed at us for standing on the couches.”

The Salem Rescue Squad played a major role in moving patients from the old Lewis Gale Hospital in Roanoke to the new location in Salem, he remembered. “It was really a big deal.”

The Salem squad had three of the first 32 who “challenged” the written exam for paramedics. In addition to Logan, they were Dave Wiley and Gary Lautenschlager.

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Lucky Garvin, who is an Emergency Room doctor at LewisGale still, was their mentor, Logan said.

He recalled the part Salem Rescue members played in rescuing people during the Flood of 1985, and how they put their own lives in danger to do so.

Life Member Mike Moore joined when he was 26 and 32 years later is still volunteering.

“I was one of the older ones when I came there,” he said. Why does he do it? “I still enjoy helping people when they are feeling their worst.”

He remembers the first call he ever went on. “It was one of our regulars. I was in the back of the truck with Danny Hamlin and Jim Moore. The call was in South Salem. The man had a breathing difficulty. We gave him some o xygen. I don’t think we transported. We had several men we would give oxygen, spend five or 10 minutes talking with them and comforting. It was more of a community service.”

These days, he spends eight to 12 hours a week volunteering, helping with the Jefferson College of Health Sciences. “We provide an ambulance and a driver on Mondays during the school year with the paramedic program, working with an instructor from the college and one or two paramedic students.”

Oldest living Life Members of the Salem Rescue Squad are A B Hoback (left) and Harold King me up on the latest medical training skills and technology,” Moore said.

Current Chief Jack McDaniel gave out gifts of fleece jackets embroidered with the Salem Rescue Squad seal and dates 19322012 were given out to active members, as well as trauma shears.

“I carry the shears in my car because it’s handy for cutting a person out of a seat belt,” said Life Member Betty Powell.

“Because I have Salem Rescue Squad tags on my car, I can’t bypass an accident.”

Other officers are Assistant Chief Glen Gray, Captain Kenny Lampert, Duty Lieutenant Brian Shenal, Training Lieutenant Matt McAuley, Personnel Lieutenant Melissa Gray, Mechanical Lieutenant Adam LaChappelle and Treasurer Denene Hannon.

“They come to Salem Rescue and we run calls from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays during the school year,” with Moore as the driver.

“The students have to have so many calls over their college career before they graduate. It helps us cover calls, and it keeps Official

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District One—Call of the Quarter Submitted by Amy Markham This call was submitted by the Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad and selected as the District One Call of the Quarter.

Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad was dispatched for a bicycle crash in the northern section of Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad’s district.

A 64 year old male was riding his bicycle on a narrow road returning to his residence when a car driving the same direction forced him off the road and he lost control of his bike and was thrown over the handle bars into a ditch with a line of bushes next to it. He was wearing a helmet and was awake, alert and oriented.

SDRS Medic 62 and ACFR-Preston Yancey Medic Engine 111 arrived on scene together and began patient assessment.

The patient was complaining of a right hip injury. His right hip is rotated inward and right leg was shorter than the left leg and he is in obvious pain.

Medic from Engine 111 palpated hips and it feels like the ball socket has moved inward and upward toward groin.

One major challenge we faced was accessing the patient’s lower extremities due to them being under the bushes.

We moved a sheet under his hips and secured it and moved patient to reeves stretcher and onto cot.

In the ambulance vital signs assessed and a cardiac box was opened for ALS interventions-pain medications.

18 gauge IV attempted but unable to advance and secure.

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Patient remained awake, alert and oriented and remembers accident.

Skin is pink, warm and diaphoretic.

The transport time from scene to hospital was less than five minutes.

A firefighter form engine 111 was the driver and the ambulance crew (EMT-Enhanced and EMTIntermediate) provided patient care. 50 mcg of fentanyl was given IM in left deltoid. Patient was transported, emergency mode to the hospital.

We coached the patient to control his breathing as best he could as is rate was fast.

He was taken to Augusta Health Emergency Department with report and care given to the hospital.

Total time from arrival on scene and at the hospital was twelve minutes.

This call was a good test of the ten minute on scene time and the golden hour.

District Three Report Submitted by Cindy Swann, District 3 Historian Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas and that everyone will have a great year in 2013.

Our November meeting was held at West Hanover VRS. Considering some of the topics we covered such as the economy and how it was affecting the Rescue Squads, the VAVRS and Organizations that are involved with us we had a real good time.

Saturday, February the 9th. at Waverly VRS. Our meetings are usually the first Saturday of the month, but had to make a change for this meeting. Come and join us.

We want to thank West Hanover not just having a good time but for a Great Meal.

I’m sure everyone knows Kathy Eubank had surgery again. The last report was she was doing ok.

We had the 50-50 raffle and drawing for door prizes as always.

We didn’t have any competition.

Not enough people signed up.

We are sorry to hear that Frog Level closed.

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District Three Life Members R-L Wayne Rapp, Lara Baker and Tommy Gwaltney Photo by Warren Winner Publication

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SARS Host District One Meeting Submitted by: Chrissy Snyder, Public Relations Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad Due to an emergency, District One VP Scott Masinscup came to our president and asked if Staunton Augusta could host the first district meeting of the year. We all had to step back and think about it. SARS had already hosted one earlier in 2012. We only had about a six week notice before the meeting was scheduled.

So we asked to move the meeting to November 4th, which would give us an extra two weeks for planning and preparing.

SARS has always thought outside the box and planning this meeting wasn’t any different. First we had the idea to ask Swope Volunteer Fire Company to co-host it with us.

SARS President and District One Retention/Recruitment Officer attended SVFC business meeting the Tuesday after returning from Convention.

A power point was created that explained how to host a district meeting.

SARS and SVFC members divided the responsible and duties.

Swope members secured Beverly Manor Elem. School for the location, rounded up patients for the BLS problem and help with providing judges for the competition. SARS sent out the invitations, came up with the BLS and EVOC problems and provided judges.

Both agencies helped provide a chili and sub lunch with the help of Fort Defiance High School FCCLA club.

Due to the limited time frame both agencies decided to only offer EMT and EVOC competitions. So again we were outside the box thinking up the problems. The BLS Page

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problem has similarity of a call that both the President and Rescue Chief of SARS ran about 20 years ago.

The scenario was young mom one week post partum fr o m a c -section, star ted experiencing chest pain and SOB. Mom was carrying baby down stairs and fell. Dispatch info given to the team was 911 open line with baby crying in back ground. The teams found mom on a set of steps (homemade steps, made for the problem) face down with baby (doll baby) just out of reach. Mom was alert and complaining of chest pain and SOB, until after the first set of vital signs, then mom went unresponsive. It turned out that because mom was one week post partum from a c-section, she developed a PE. The group of members in charge of

the EVOC competition wanted to do something fun. So with help of Augusta Health who loaned us a UTV/ATV and our members came up with a course. Hoping it would be something different for those competing and help get the word out about the VAVRS ATV EVOC course.

It was a good experience for a new agency to learn how to host a meeting, with guidance of an agency that has hosted their share.

Mega Con Ed Weekend Feb 8-10, 2013 ALS Cat. 1 (Areas 71, 72, 74, 84-91) ALL BLS Cat. 1 Hours To be held at: Franklin Center, 50 Claiborne Avenue Rocky Mount, VA 24151 http://www.thefranklincenter.org/ Email bshodges@carilionclinic.org to let me know you are coming so we can get a head count for food and presenters, or for any questions.

Belinda Hodges, NREMT-P Franklin County Rescue Look forward to seeing you there!!

Please forward to any you know that may need hours!!

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The 60 Second Parliamentarian Tip Submitted by J.C. Phillips, VAVRS Parliamentarian What do you do when a member resigns from your organization and does not put it in writing, when your bylaws say that it must be in writing?

What do you do? Nothing, you just accept the resignation.

You can't force a member to put their resignation in writing no matter what the bylaw says.

In some cases, members have gotten upset or mad at an issue that comes up in a meeting and just yells out, "I quit" and walks out and you never see them again.

Over the years that I have reviewed squad's bylaws, as the VAVRS Parliamentarian, I see where the bylaw states that the member must submit a letter of

resignation.

Instead of using words like "must, shall, will" when r ef er r i n g t o a l e tt er o f resignation, I suggest to them to use the word "should." Thus the bylaws would say that the member "should" submit a letter of resignation.

If a member resigns from an organization and refuses to put it in writing, then all you can do is record in the minutes that the individual resigned verbally. Also, it is not necessary to vote on accepting resignations, because no matter how the vote turns out, the individual has still resigned.

Some squads still likes to vote on resignations just because they always have and it puts it on record that they accepted the resignation. It is nice to get the

resignation in writing because it is a record that is kept in the former member's folder.

In conclusion, you should never have in your bylaws rules that you cannot enforce and as stated above, you cannot make someone write a letter of resignation. Just thought this little bit of information might be helpful to you.

Playing Santa for Someone Sick Submitted by Sara Hunt, Touch Point Public Relations Members of Colonial Beach Junior Rescue Squad met recently to create get-well cards for a young man who is ill and requested cards from Virginia rescue squads, police departments and EMS/ EMT providers for a Christmas gift.

“We wanted to bring some holiday cheer to this person by granting his unique request,” said Amber McKenzie, a former Junior squad member and now an advisor to the Juniors from her position on the senior team for Colonial Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Junior squad members are ages 15 -18 and the Cadet members are ages 8-14.

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Photo on right Standing is CBVRS member Alex Nance, along with (clockwise) Brady Melson, Mackenzie Melson, Parker Melson and David Dudley.

Also participating in this project were David and Kelly Lempke and Kim Melson.

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Waynesboro First Aid Crew Auxiliary Submitted by CeCe McCormick Seasons greetings from The Waynesboro First Aid Crew Auxiliary. In October our picture project was a big success.

October’s birthdays were celebrated at Red Lobster. We went to Lexington for our district meeting and we took 1st place in submitting pictures to the District for the scrapbook. We helped with finger foods for the Waynesboro Public Schools on November 8th and 9th. November’s birthdays were celebrated at the Depot in Staunton. We gave our crew and their families a Thanksgiving Feast on November 19th we had about 150 in attendance great food and great fellowship was had by all. We had our elections on the 20th of November where we have elected our 2013 officers they will be installed at out Crew banquet in January. We participated in the

Waynesboro Christmas parade on December 2nd where we all had a great time. We , the Auxiliary, were in Unit 11; also in the parade was Squad 1, 2 and 3 ambulances which are Units 4,5,6. The Junior Squad also participated with their float.

We had our annual Vector dinner for Vector Enterprises on December 5th where good times and good food was had by all. We were presented with a plaque from the folks at Vector Enterprises thanking us for giving them this Christmas dinner for about 30 years. We prepared for our squad’s drill on Thursday nights and Friday breakfast. Our next up coming event will be a movie night for our crew, auxiliary and their families on December 9th. Our crew gives us a Christmas banquet every year and we pick a restaurant to go to, this year we are staying at our building and having it catered.

Wishing all and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Juniors of the Waynesboro FAC Submitted by: Zachary Stachowski Acting History

Thanks to all the crew members and everyone else that helped and supported the Junior squad.

Greetings from the Juniors of the Waynesboro first aid crew We have our meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Last month we voted on new junior officer for the 2012 to the 2013 year. We voted on the offices of president and captain and secretary and Chaplin.

This month we build a float for our towns Christmas parade. The theme of the float was to have a” Holy Jolly Christmas “ We all had a great time, we passed out candy to the kids on the parade route.

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Virginia EMS Symposium—2012 Photos shared by Kathy Eubank, VAVRS Training Coordinator

Rescue Camp for Youth held in conjunction with the 2012 Virginia EMS Symposium was a fast paced and fun-filled session for children ages 8 - 12.

Training covered CPR, water rescue, basic first aid, personal safety, as well as ropes and repelling.

Rescue Camp was sponsored by the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads (VAVRS). Youth Rescue Camp was limited to 25 children.

The classes were held from 8:15 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Friday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 10.

There was a $25 fee per child attending the rescue camps.

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Youth Rescue Camp Photos

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VAVRS Paramedic Exchange Program Submitted by: Kevin Dillard In May, 2012 five EMTs and Paramedics traveled to Kassel, Germany to take part in the annual VAVRS Paramedic Exchange. This program, started in 1996 offers the unique chance to observe EMS and public safety systems abroad.

Working closely with the Kassel branch of the German Red Cross, students spent two weeks studying the Franco/German EMS model and working alongside their German counterparts. Participants also had the opportunity to visit hospitals, police and fire stations, and see sites of historical significance.

The exchange occurs annually, with Virginia and Germany hosting students in alternating years. The German participants will return to Virginia for two weeks in the fall of 2013, where they will participate in the annual VAVRS Convention, travel to Washington, D.C. and New York City, and visit various rescue squads around the

state. In the summer of 2014, Virginians will again have the opportunity to travel to Germany.

The exchange program is highly competitive, and VAVRS strongly encourages you to submit your application and have the chance to partake in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Applications and additional information will be posted on the VAVRS website sometime in early 2014.

This years exchange roster consisted of: Jane LaVerne, Program Chair Powhatan Volunteer Rescue Squad Robert Truoccolo - Ashland Volunteer Rescue Squad/ Virginia Dept. of Emergency Management Taneta McCaw - Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad Stephen Martone - Mountain View Volunteer Rescue Squad/ LifeCare Medical Transports Bonnie Caplinger Emergency Squad

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District 5 News Submitted by: Joan Smoot District 5 Historian The District 5 meeting was held on November 3, 2012 hosted by Gladys Volunteer Fire Department.

Jim Font ai ne, Di st r ict VP announced that Bachelors Hall Vol. Fire had joined VAVRS and District 5.

Two teams competed in the BLS competition. First place went to Campbell County Rescue Squad; second place to Danville Life Saving Crew.

Jack Morgan, EVOC Coordinator for District 5, had 10 participants for EVOC. 1st place: Frank Smith

- Campbell County

2nd place: Doug Wright – Gretna 3rd place: Barry Van De Veer – Pamplin 4th place: Mike Johnson – Appomattox 5th place: Jamie Owen – Citizen 6th place: Sterlin Huff – Mecklenburg

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It includes the number of people attending the meeting from the squad, the squad competing in EVOC, ALS, BLS and submitting calls. This award is called the Burleigh Vassar Award. It was started to encourage squads to participate and bring not only members but their families. This award was started by Mr. Burleigh Vassar of Citizen’s Emergency Crew who was all about including families in the district meetings.

At this district meeting, the Burleigh Vassar Award went to Campbell County.

The Kimball Glass Scholarship will be available for those members or family members in District 5 only.

It will no longer be open to the entire State as it has been in the past. This is due to funding and budget constraints.

We regret this decision, but felt it was necessary to do at this time.

The meetings for the coming year are: January 5, 2013: Lynchburg LSC March 10, 2013: Gretna May 11, 2013: Pamplin July 13, 2013: Victoria Hope to see you at one of our meetings soon.

7th place: Jason Morgan – Campbell County 8th place: Julie McCue – Danville 9th place: Becky Whitten – Campbell County 10th place: Brooke Ray – Campbell County EVOC of the Year Award went to Doug Wright of Gretna.

At each district meeting we have an award for overall participation.

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EMS Leadership Challenge Graduates 14 the program during the first week it was offered. Heather’s learning included writing a proposal, developing a budget, marketing and project management. “I really learned a lot about how I communicate with others, I had to stick to a time line and it has helped me develop my time management skills tremendously.”

Heathers program received the 2012 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to EMS Health and Safety.

Submitted by: Karen Wagner, Co-Coordinator EMS Leadership Challenge Oilville, VA. - Fourteen individuals from the 2012 EMS Leadership Challenge were awarded Gold Standard Leader certification from the VAVRS on Saturday, December 8, 2012. The ceremony was held at the VAVRS State Office and Training Center and marked the completion of a 6 month training program designed specifically to enhance the personal and organizatio nal leadership skills of EMS providers in the Commonwealth.

The ceremony began with each graduate presenting a summary of their Gold Standard Project. For several of the graduates, this presentation was the first time they had formally presented anything to a group, but rest assured, they were AWESOME! Using the medium of their choice, PowerPoint, handouts, lectures, or interactive discussions, each graduate outlined the successes, challenges, ongoing actions and Official

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leadership learning they experienced in the completion of their project. The following is a l i s t i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l s wh o successfully completed the program along with a summary of their project.

Heather Brown: Health and Wellness Program-In the completion of the program Heather developed a proposal for her boss that would benefit the 320 employees at the company she works for. The program made healthy food choices readily available to all staff, offered gym memberships, group wellness activities, and a companywide “Biggest Loser” competition. Over 50 staff members signed up for VAVRS

Etta Chambers: Human Resources Hiring Process- Etta is a shift leader in the dispatch center where she works. One of the most difficult aspects of her job was training new hires that were really not suited well for the job. For her leadership project, Etta met with her boss and came up with a process that allowed the dispatch leaders to be included in the hiring process to assure that the company was “hiring smart”. The process included training the dispatch leaders in the proper aspects of interviewing potential employees. During her presentation Etta stated that she was the type of leader that would rather just do a task and get it done rather than go through the process of delegation. Her leadership (Continued on page 24)

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learning’s included the development of teamwork in the hiring process, communication skills development and coping with change. As a result, the dispatch department now has a sense of belonging in the hiring process for her agency and a renewed commitment to helping new hires become successful.

Ken Cook: EMS Bike Team- Ken is the special events coordinator for the agency that he belongs to. The project he chose to complete was the development of an EMS Bike Team. When Ken started the EMS Leadership Challenge one of the areas he identified he needed to work on was the development of the skills needed to build a successful team. Communication skills, active listening, getting by in and becoming a champion for change, where areas of learning that he addressed during his self study phase. Ken prepared a pr o ject bus in es s pl an a nd presented the idea to his agency.

He sought out interested members for the team and identified funding streams to purchase needed equipment. He organized the team to develop needed operational protocols, team member expectations and responsibilities along with a plan for sustainability. As obstacles faced the team, Ken kept the Page

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group focused on success and the now team of 12 members are up and riding serving their community.

Erica Cutrona-Employee Recognition Program- As a medic for the agency she runs with, leadership skills only seemed to come into play for Erica during patient care. Erica’s supervisors, however, saw something different in her, a gift of compassion, support, and yes, opportunity for greater leadership. Erica attended the leadership challenge because she wanted help with time management. Her main duty to the agency was running calls and now she needed to learn how to balance those day to day duties with her new additional role. When developing her project she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

She thought if there was a program that would “recognize the little things that staff do”, moral around the stations would greatly increase. Happier members meant better environment and increased performance. She started asking fellow staff what would make them feel important, what they would like to be recognized for and how did they want to be recognized for their achievements, good deeds and doing their job well. She started an online recognition board that appears automatically on all computers, desktops and laptops used by the agency on a daily basis.

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This enabled every employee to see recognized employees. She designed a program that provides snacks-movie tickets-meal vouchers-uniform vouchers- an annual award banquet and other personal gifts for staff successes.

She is now looking at a way to link company benefits to employee rewards. And talking about time m an a ge m e nt… Er ica a nd h er husband found out 2 weeks after the summit they were expecting their first child….the balancing act for her is just beginning!

Darleen Ferguson: Officer, Member and Staff Role/Job DescriptionMost EMS organizations have a set of bylaws in place that serve as a guide to operating the organization. As a leadership challenge candidate, Darleen realized that her agency had nothing that provide the officers, members and career staff with expectations, roles or responsibilities identified in her agencies bylaws. “We started off slow; I went to each officer and drafted a one page document that spelled out what was expected of them”. Darleen spent hours at the station, becoming a role model for change. “I feel like we accomplished a lot, people tuck their shirts in now, they talk nicer to each other, they show respect and pride now. The curse jar (Continued on page 25)

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earned a lot of money the first couple of weeks it was in place”.

Darleen worked with her mentor to develop a spread sheet that recorded the challenges and successes of her project. She stepped outside of her comfort zone to enhance her leadership skills and by doing so set her agency, officers and membership up for success. After attending the summit, Darleen was elected by her peers to serve as the Chaplain to the VAVRS. Congratulations to her for her many successes in the program.

Wade Johnson: Basic EMT Training Program- Wade belongs to a rural volunteer EMS agency.

One of the major challenges for his agency is getting required basic EMT training available for current and potential members. For his leadership project, Wade worked on a program that provided basic training at a location within a few miles from the agency. When Wade started the leadership challenge his goal was to enhance his leadership skills to enable him to hold a leadership position in his agency, but what came from the completion of the program was far Official

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more outreaching than that one goal. Wade recruited an instructor, developed a budget request to provide funding to pay the instructor, secured a suitable location to host the class and to date has hosted one full EMT class. Wade also recruited two individuals that are willing to become EMT instructors and has set dates for upcoming classes to assure continuance in future years.

Althea McDaniel: Distance Learning Training Center-Althea is a supervisor at one of the outlaying stations for her agency.

Her role includes assuring that staff members have access to opportunities to receive continuing education hours. As a leadership challenge candidate, Althea began the program expressing that she needed some guidance developing her people skills, communications and ability to accept constructive criticism. Focusing on an opportunity to enhance her skills, during her self-study phase, Althea read the books, Whale Done and Putting the One Minute Manager to Work. “I learned how to simply say “Thank You” when someone offered me an unsolicited suggestion instead of letting it raise the hair on my neck, which took a lot for me.” Working with the IT department of her agency, Althea was successful in completing her project by developing a distance training center that offers training programs for not only the staff at her station but at surrounding stations as well. The center has a classroom which also offers online and video access for distance training during all hours of the day and night.

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Thomas McGowan: Developed an EMS Business Plan-When a candidate enrolls in the EMS Leadership Challenge, they don’t realize until they become involved in the program that the interaction they will have with fellow EMS leaders is key to their success.

Thomas is a team member in his agency with a role in the marketing department. What he does affects customer service, call volume and ultimately income for his agency.

Thomas is a perfect example of a candidate that was referred to the program by a past Leadership Challenge Graduate to assist him in the development of his leadership skills. While in the program, Thomas learned how to focus on his presentation and communications skills. He developed a Business Marketing Plan that is now being used to track visits to the locations that his agency provides service to. He hosts weekly meetings with staff to discuss customer service opportunities and special events.

He also empowers staff to develop additional services that will enhance the transport experience of their patients, the patient’s families and the care providers of the patients they serve. “I am not one to just walk up and introduce myself to people, but this program has helped me to have the (Continued on page 26)

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confidence to do that and in turn enhance my job skills”.

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station and wireless internet access to enhance the downtime and to encourage members to spend time at the station.

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Charles McLeod: Volunteer EMS Leadership Academy- Being a member of one of the highest respected Volunteer EMS agencies in the country, Charles had an advantage that many of the candidates in the Leadership C h a l l e n g e d i d n o t have….established leadership that supports and empowers their members to become passionate in the pursuit of their personal development and professional goals. Don’t think that made it an easy process for Charles to complete the program, it did not, because with support came accountability. Charles had to work hard and he continues to do so in the completion of his plan to host a Leadership Academy in January 2014. In the process, Charles shared through role play at the summit a “simulated radio show” that highlighted the antics of a struggling EMS agency trying to develop leaders who cared about the people and the service they provided. His project stresses the need for leaders to get out among the people and to become partners with the public to build an understanding and acceptance of the service EMS provides.

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Stephanie Palmer: New Member and Junior Membership Orientation Program- Stephanie hit the books running as a candidate in the Leadership Challenge. Reading Whale Done, How to Win Friends and Influence People and Monday Morning Leadership, Stephanie worked with her mentor to address her communication skills, and bias for change. A self proclaimed detail oriented perfectionist, Stephanie worked on her skills to allow others to take on roles within the orientation process for new members. She enlisted and organized a team of members to assist her in the development of a program that prevents new members from slipping through the cracks. Together they polled the current membership to identify steps to take to assure that new members received information, uniforms, training, and a complete understanding of the function of the squad and the expectations of all the members. They drafted and put into place a set of protocols and procedures for new members. She then took the program an additional step to restart the Junior program as well.

She contacted young people from the community to see what would entice them to volunteer and join the squad. The team added items like Netflix, horse shoe pits, a play Official

Bradford “Eli” Spangler: Construction Project- Eli is a new member to his EMS agency, in fact he has only been involved in EMS for 8 months. Signing up for the EMS Leadership Challenge was a huge step for Eli, one that some thought may be more than a person of his experience and age might be able handle. At the summit, Eli quickly showed us that his desire to develop his leadership skills was a challenge he was more than ready to take on. As a new member of an agency, Eli was full of excitement and wanted to do something that would make an impact on his new found passion. He became aware of a project that he thought had just been set off to the side but learned that it was actually internal conflict that had caused the project to be abandon for almost two years. Eli put his conflict resolution and team building learning to the test by asking to take on the project and get it completed. He got bids for contractor work, organized a team of members and set a date for construction to take place. He utilized the SMART goals he learned about in the program and partnered with a fellow member to (Continued on page 27)

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get the project completed and at the end of the day- had brought people together doing something for the agency and putting their personal feelings aside for the good of the organization.

Marcus Stone: Membership Recruitment Project- As a new leader of a struggling EMS agency, Marcus was faced with the daunting challenge to do something to increase membership or face the closer of the agency. He was becoming discouraged and considered leaving the agency when the possibility to succeed won over his fear of failure. As a candidate in the EMS Leadership Challenge, Marcus was introduced to other leaders that were facing similar situations. He set a goal-start a recruitment committee, he stayed FOCUSED-turned plans into ACTIONS-and got his desired RESULTS! Marcus organized a team to begin aggressively looking for ways to entice new people to join the squad. They created radio advertisements and recruitment brochures that were posted at local businesses and placed in church bulletins throughout the squad’s service area. Marcus then challenged each member of the agency to bring just one person to a membership meeting resulting in over 20 individuals stepping forward to join the agency. Marcus Official

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worked with his mentor and took an opportunity to visit and work with a squad in another area of the state to see firsthand how recruitment programs can and do work. At graduation, Marcus shared his leadership learning with the group, “I think the most important thing I have learned in this program is time management.”

Marcus’s wife Brittney confirmed…. “He now has more time to share with me- we actually spend time together and not just at the squad so this has been a good thing for both the agency and for us.”

Matthew Tanner: A Connected Workplace-Technology is used in multiple applications in EMS, but for Matthew, keeping providers “connected” is his primary role at the agency he is affiliated with.

When Matthew starting the Leadership Challenge he wanted to enhance his customer service skills. The customers he was working with were internal; fellow agency members and employees. He identified communications and bias for change as two areas he would need some assistance. His leadership project, A Connected Workplace, included placing GPS on all ambulances with the ability to automatically time stamp arrival and departure from pickup and drop off points, monitoring seatbelt use, and monitoring unit VAVRS

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idle time. Matthew was responsible for training crews on the new technology and that included getting their buy in to the new process. What some may see as “big brother”, Matthew lessened those emotions by demonstrating how the technology was designed not just to benefit the agency but to improve the crew’s performance.

Matthew’s training sessions verified to the staff that the technology tr uly suppor ted responsible crews. He engaged the staff in the change and incorporated other technology requests, such as improving work stations, updating computer systems and software programs and creating online accesses to all company forms and documents.

Upon completion of the summit, Matthew took on an additional leadership role with the VAVRS and is currently serving as the District 10 Vice President.

Paul Ruppert- No Medic Left Behind-Paul runs duty on the night shift for his agency. As a field supervisor he is responsible for assuring that new staff are trained on all the equipment and processes used by his agency.

What Paul recognized in the performance of that training was that although the staff may understand the processes required for working, many of them were (Continued on page 28)

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not prepared clinically to provide care in the field. Paul approached his agency leader and expressed his concern that medics were being cut loose to serve as AIC before they were clinically ready to do so.

A c c o u n t a b i l i t y …… i d e n t i f y a problem offer a solution…..Paul designed an assessment program that also serves as a training program to assure that medics were comfortable and competent in their clinical skill level. He took the program one extra step by having all medics in the agency being required to perform a “skills assessment” on a regular basis to assure retention of critical skills that are not used on a day to day basis. Since the program challenged both new and established medics, Paul had to utilize leadership training that included “assuming good intentions, creating excitement, attention to details and communications skills”.

“Our entire focus was not punitive but instead to be supportive of our medics and ultimately to provide the best in patient care.” He learned how to provide feedback, encourage success and to make hard decisions and stick to them.

“It was hard to tell a medic that they needed to have more remediable training in a particular area, for some it was their job, their income, but we committed to competency and now we are comfortable that each of our medics is at the top of their clinical performance. For us, it is all about quality patient care.”

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The final phase of the program is the execution of their Gold Standard Leadership Project, project results submission, and presentation or their project at the Leadership Challenge Graduation Ceremony. program by attending the EMS Leadership Challenge Summit in June 2012. During the summit, candidates engage in a variety of exercises that challenge their current level of leadership and identify areas that would benefit from enhancement. Candidates identify their level of competency in core leadership values based on the results from their personal MBTI assessment. As they work through the 2 day classroom practicum, candidates focus on the skills of team development, conflict management, stress management, leadership development, coaching/mentoring, and interpersonal skills development. They develop a personal mission and vision statement on a “One Page Plan” which serves as the outline for their Gold Standard Leadership Project.

The VAVRS is honored to provide this exceptional training program recognized by the Office of EMS as the Gold Standard in EMS Leadership training. The program is designed for individuals who are or who desire to become EMS leaders in the Commonwealth.

Application for enrollment and a listing of upcoming classes are listed on the VAVRS website.

At the end of the summit, candidates are paired with a mentor that follows them through the next phase of the program; the Self Study and Project Completion Phase. Together with their mentor, candidates work on their identified competency Official

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Concussions Submitted by: Lt. Brian F. Talty NREMTP, FPC Assistant Operations Supervisor Richmond Ambulance Authority ~It’s that time of year again, the weather is getting colder, chickens hide their wings and shudder at the smell of hot sauce while beer companies make more profit than Apple. That’s right, it’s football time again! However, along with the good food and cold beer of watching NFL, so comes the myriad of injuries of the NFL hopefuls.

Musculoskeletal injuries are the most common but are the least of our worries when it comes to long term or debilitating injuries. The most commonly injured part of the body, and as of recently the most widely publicized in the media is the fragile brain. TBI’s (Traumatic Brain Injuries) are far more common than most think and worse yet are often ignored are under diagnosed. It has been a hot topic of debate with all of kid’s sports and has led to new rules, safety industry changes and recently even the center of lawsuits in the NFL. ~Personally I hate reading statistics in educational material, but I found some startling facts from the CDC about sports related head injuries. Almost 10% of athletes will exper ience a concussion in any given sport season while less than 10% of

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those concussions involve a loss of consciousness. Football is the most common for males with a 75% chance of concussion and soccer is the most common for females with a 50% chance for concussion. 78% of brain injuries occur during a game as opposed to practice and females are twice as likely to sustain a concussion than a male.

The most commonly reported symptoms following a traumatic brain injury are headache and dizziness but as many as 50% of athletes report no symptoms after receiving a concussive blow. Speed of a boxer’s punch is 20 MPH, fo o t ball pl ay er tac klin g a stationary player is as much as 25 MPH and speed of a soccer ball being headed by a player can be as much as 70 MPH. ~A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by bump, jolt or hit to the head that can alter the way the brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth, like a passenger in a car accident. Even a mild “ding” to the head can cause a concussion and must be treated seriously. ~A concussion’s symptoms present themselves due to direct injury to the brain. Pathophysiologic cascade following a concussive injury include abrupt neuronal d e p o l a r i za t i o n ( b r a i n c e l l s discharge their energy all at once), release of neurotransmitters, ionic shifts, changes in glucose (sugar) metabolism, altered cerebral (brain) blood flow and impaired overall function. Symptoms include loss of consciousness (not always), confusion, disorientation, unsteadiness, and dizziness, VAVRS

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headache and visual disturbances.

These are called post concussive disorder symptoms and resolve on their own over time. These deficits occur with minimal detectable anatomical injury to the brain which means that concussions are based on temporary neuronal dysfunction rather than cell death.

This dysfunction can occur due to ionic shifts, altered metabolism, impaired connectivity or changes in neurotransmission. Oy, I think I have some dysfunction after reading that and trying to break it down into a semi comprehensible paragraph. ~The sports industry is responding to concussion recognition and care but more importantly prevention.

They are coming out with new and improved safety equipment and new ideas that would not have been considered years ago. Girl’s soccer is slowly starting to implement helmets for their players and some distr icts have mad e the m mandatory pieces of equipment.

There are concussion action plans in place in many districts and strict rules and guidelines when a brain injury is suspected. It is important to remember that since we have learned that a concussion is caused by neuronal dysfunction that takes (Continued on page 30)

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days to weeks to heal the worst thing for a concussion is another concussion. When a brain injury is suspected the player must be immediately removed the activity and not allowed to return until proper evaluation by a medical professional with experience in concussions. I case you were wondering, no, we as EMS professionals are not a healthcare provider that can allow a player to return even if they sign a refusal.

Since a secondary injury is extremely dangerous and potentially lethal, it is your responsibility to make sure the player, parents, coaches and whomever else may be present, fully understand that a player who has received a concussive blow with or without concussion type symptoms must not return to play until a proper neurologic evaluation has been performed. ~Now that you are able to recognize a concussion, what do you do for it? Well, hate to burst your bubble but not too much is to be done on our side. Along with many of the illnesses we discuss here the best treatment is supportive care. ~The first and most important thing is an accurate patient assessment with specifics to any neurological deficits what so ever.

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transporting to the ER. ~Next is immobilization. If the person struck their head hard enough to cause their brain to rattle around in the skull, chances are pretty good that there was enough force to create a spinal injury as well. Manual cervical spine immobilization followed by a CORRECTLY SIZED C-COLLAR. I emphasize that because despite

what I see day in day out on the streets, not everybody is a no-neck collar. Please be sure you are sizing the collar with the head in the neutral position. Remember, the point of a collar is to maintain the cervical spine inline and prevent hyper flexion or extension. It is not to keep the head from moving around, anybody roll their head around with a collar on. This is why it is imperative to appropriately size the collar. If you start off with the wrong sized collar than you are immobilizing the patient with their neck in the wrong position to start with. Not cool y’all……….. ~Along with maintaining the spine in an anatomically correct/natural position is the complication of Official

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protective equipment. Helmets should be removed if that is all they are wearing, i.e. a bicyclist.

However, if it is a football player and there are shoulder pads and a helmet then both need to stay on in order to maintain the spine in line. If you take the helmet off but leaves the pads on then the neck is severely hyper extended. I suppose you can pad under the head, but my preference is to leave it all on. All football programs have, or at least they should have clippers in order to rapidly remove the facemask from the helmet so you are still able to maintain the airway if need be. I am the first to admit that I am not the expert on helmet or facemask removal. I have hard of several different ways including cutting them off with special clippers, using a power screwdriver or cutting the mask off completely.

Below are two different articles that may help you to gain a better understanding. http:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC1317732/ or http:// www.jems.com/article/patient care/research-experts-debatehelmet ~On e mor e pet peev e on immobilization, the second set of straps on the spider, the ones just under the shoulder harness. Straps are supposed to keep people from moving around the board, more often than not I am seeing the second set of straps being put across the chest and secured in the handhold near the nipple line.

What is moving around so much right there that it needs to be strapped down? Nothing…….Those straps should start at the chest level, but when securing to the board they should come up under (Continued on page 31)

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Concussions continued (Continued from page 30)

the arms and secure in the same hold as the shoulder straps. Now those two spider straps are harnessing the majority of the body mass and preventing vertical movement. Other than that I think y’all got it when it comes to immobilization, pretty cut and dry. ~Keep monitoring your patient and frequent reassessment in order to monitor for neurologic changes.

They may not have had an immediate deficit on scene, but 20 minutes later there may be some inflammation going on that is now causing deficits. They will have most likely been sweating and since the majority of the population is chronically dehydrated, go ahead and pop a line in them and give them a fluid bolus. Monitor the airway and intervene as needed, I caution you to intubate a head injury without RSI though. Pain management is absolutely necessary and should not be overlooked. If they have pain, treat it. Just try not to overload them and depress their mental status anymore significantly that it already is.

decisions about their healthcare, our job is not to scold them, rather it is to educate them and hope they make the right decisions in the future. ~Sources: Me myself and I =) *This is supplemental educational material that is researched and distributed by Brian Talty. I attempt to ensure accuracy but there may be some instances of incorrect facts or material or grammatical errors that mislead the reader. These are written

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from experience, EMS books in my library and research done on the internet. These are meant to bring out things that you have forgotten in the back of your brain and to encourage critical thinking. The base of the subject is given here but the core must be researched on your own and application is pursuant to your agency protocol. These in no way replace your protocols and should never jeopardize patient care.

Please remember that I try to ensure 100% accuracy but I am human and mistakes may be sent out. If there is something that does not look right, question it or research it on your own to eliminate confusion. I may be reached at 804-874-8724 or by email, btalty@raaems.org. *

~Refusals are common when it comes to adolescents and head injuries. To be honest, most of the time it is perfectly fine for them to refuse even if they do have a concussion. As long as you are a patient advocate and make sure the patient and/or parents are well i nfo r m ed a nd yo u pr o v id e education on what to look out for and when to seek help, then I say you have done your job well in the best interest of the patient.

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EMS Captain Wins Governor’s Award Submitted by: Susan Palmer, Recruitment Officer Virginia Beach EMS

complete with screen shots to make it easier to submit national certification applications.

Virginia Beach EMS Captain Debbie Brennaman has received the 2012 Governor’s Award for Outstanding EMS Pre-Hospital Educator!

It is not just continuing education where Captain Brennaman makes a difference. It is common for her to take a struggling student “under her wing” in a one-on-one session during a daytime appointment or to stay after regular work hours to help.

New career medics are quickly brought up to operationready status under her command.

Captain Brennaman has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Advanced Life Support (ALS) and specialty patient care programs for the City’s first responders for over 25 year. The city’s outstanding and consistently increasing pre hospital cardiac arrest survival rates can be attributed to the level of training Captain Brennaman provides in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) classes.

During the ACLS updates this year, Captain Brennaman immersed herself in the new American Heart Association (AHS) literature so that she could understand each of the new changes and effectively deliver that information to the students. Doing so enabled her to explain the updates as well as the scientific basis for the changes.

She is currently doing the same for the updated AHA PALS curriculum. Anyone who has taken the ACLS, PALS, 12-lead ECG, or any ALS Continuing Education (CE) class from Captain Brennaman knows it is always professionally done.

To assist providers wading through all new National Registry recertification requirements last year, Captain Brennaman developed an online power-point tutorial Official

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Throughout the region, the name “Debbie Brennaman” is well known and highly respected. Serving on numerous committees, including the TEMS Protocol and OMD Committees, Captain Brennaman brings the finest representation to the Virginia Beach Department of EMS. Her focus is on education & training, and her standards are second to none.

One example of her work was her selection for the Regional Team that developed a 10-hour intensive training course for Rapid Sequence Induction (RSI) certification. RSI is a highly advanced multiple-skill technique used to secure a patient’s airway in the most critically serious of cases.

From time to time, other agencies have reached out to her for help developing their own training programs. It is for those reasons, and others, that Captain Brennaman was nominated for and has received the Virginia Beach EMS Educator Award, the Tidewater EMS Regional Instructor of the Year Award and the Gover nor ’s Awar d for Outstanding EMS Pre-Hospital Educator.

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“Congratulations Debbie” — “Well Done!”

Mark Your Calendars

VAVRS Rescue College June 8-16, 2013

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Photo Caption Contest

Here are your humorous captions to this photo of J. C. Phillips; From Alma Snowa, AVAVRS “Yes, J.C. you may be excused.”

From J. C. Phillips, “When you get old, you forget two things, One is when you forget the names of people you haven't seen in years and I forgot what Number Two was."

From Travis Goodwyn, Tappahannock VRS, “Can I have 2 cheeseburgers?”

From a Rescue Ranger at Forest View RS, “There are two things that I respect Fran for, but darn if I can remember either one of them???”

In each of the 2012 issues VIRGINIA LIFELINE we have been having a photo caption contest. This is our latest submission and we are soliciting your humorous captions to this photo of Lin Matthews, VAVRS Facilities Manager and Shirley Bagby, VAVRS Administrative Secretary.

All entries will be (after censoring) printed. Send your captions by email to gdalton@vavrs.com.

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Happy New Year Submitted by: Fern Puckett, AVAVRS President I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for any and all acts of kindness given to me during the past year. It has been an honor and my pleasure to serve as the AVAVRS President. I look forward to another great year. I hope to see many of you as I travel for Installation of Officers, District meetings and Spring Officers Workshop during this year.

Thank you to all the AVAVRS Officer’s for your dedicated services given to our members of this great association.

I would like to thank President, Bubby Bish and the VAVRS members for the support given to the AVAVRS during the year. We look forward to working together for the continued success and growth of our organization.

Congratulations to: AVAVRS Life Membership - Fern Puckett VAVRS

Auxiliary of the year - Glasgow Outstanding Service Award - Fay Browning, Henrico.

Emergency Care Trophy - Loudoun Co. Auxiliary, Scrapbook Awards District - 1st Place -Western, Place - Southcentral

2nd

Auxiliary Awards - 1st - Cave Spring, 2nd - Waynesboro, 3rd Bridgewater, 4th Greater Manassas, Honorable Mention - Glade Spring Since Convention, I have attended the Southwestern District meeting on October 20, 2012, and held the installation of officers.

On November 17, 2012, I held the installation of officers for Midwestern District, held at Floyd.

I s u b m i t t e d t h e AV AV R S President’s report for the AVAVRS Executive Meeting on November 3, 2012.

Looking forward to seeing each of you soon.

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Dear Rescue Ranger Dear Rescue Ranger, Has VAVRS initiated a new EMS wellness program? At this past EMS Symposium, I saw the VAVRS President, Bubby Bish, running, yes I said running, down the escalator as it was trying to go up. I wasn’t sure if this was a new wellness program or if Bubby just panicking at the thought of the responsibility at the top. Can you share any insight?

Matt T. Dear Mr. Tatum, I didn’t see it but I heard about it from numerous sources. The VAVRS does not have a new wellness program but we are trying to teach Bubby the difference between “UP” and “DOWN”. The sad thing is that the escalator broke and he was stuck between floors for over two hours.

Dear Rescue Ranger, You probably don’t remember me because you have saved so many lives in your illustrious career, but in 1972 you cleared my completely blocked airway by using one of your superb lifesaving techniques. You saved my life. I am now financially well off and would like to know if there is anything I can do to repay you?

Grateful Dear Grateful, Being a Rescue Ranger I cannot accept gifts... but you could marry my mother-in-law and move to Alaska, that would make me very happy!

Dear Rescue Ranger, Over the past several years we have responded to the same man’s house at least three times. In 2005 when his wife died after eating some poisonous mushrooms Official

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and again in 2008 when his second wife also died after eating poisonous mushrooms. Last week we were there when his third wife died from choking. What do you think is going on?

Befuddled Dear Befuddled, It appears that his third wife would not swallow the mushrooms!

Dear Rescue Ranger, I picked up a little weight over the holidays, how can I tell if I’ve gotten too fat to do EMS work?

Heavy Dear Heavy, You’re too fat if while carrying a piece of equipment from the ambulance you fall down and rock yourself to sleep trying to get up.

Dear Rescue Ranger, I have a been having hard time lately getting my elderly patients to give me a complete medical history. Have you had any experience with this problem?

Struggling in Staunton Dear Struggling, Yes, just the other day I asked an elderly man what medication he was taking, and he said, “What’s the name of the flower with a long stem and thorns?” I said, “You mean a rose?” He yelled out to his wife and said, “Hey Rose, what’s the name of that medicine I’m taking?”

principles, which one, hot or cold, is eliminated faster?

Wondering in West End Dear Wondering, That is easy, I am sure that hot is faster than cold. I mean, think about it, hot has to be faster because you can catch a cold.

Dear Rescue Ranger, One of our recent patients was complaining of experiencing diarrhea for several hours. The doctor at the ER told me he believed that the patient’s bowels were locked. How can that be?

Dismayed in Dinwiddie Dear Dismayed, Easy, they were probably locked in the open position.

Dear Rescue Ranger, I think my wife is having an affair with another medic. I found a stethoscope under our bed and it wasn’t mine.

Dan from Danville Dear Dan, You think that is bad, I think my wife is having an affair with a horse. Yesterday I came home and found a jockey under our bed.

Dear Rescue Ranger, What do you give a patient for diarrhea?

George from Glasgow Dear George, $1.00 a bucket, it’s good for my roses.

Dear Rescue Ranger, When talking about convection, conduction and other such the

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PO Box 279 2535 Turkey Creek Road Oilville, VA 23129 ISSN 0279-6023

NON-PROFIT ORGAN..

U.S.POSTAGE PAID WOODSTOCK, VA PERMIT NO. 82

Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads, Inc.

Phone: 804-749-8191 Phone: 800-833-0602 Fax: 804-749-8910 E-mail: vavrs@vavrs.com

"Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay down His Life For His Friends."

- St. John 15:13 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS FROM THE VAVRS TRAINING OFFICER By vote of the Board of Governors of the VAVRS at our recent convention the following is the VAVRS Course Fee’s Policy—Effective January 1, 2013, all VAVRS Classes, open or closed, will require on-line registration by all students and a $25.00 Administrative Fee which will be charged upon registration. Should the individual not be able to register on-line they may call the office at 800-833-0602 or 804-749-8191. Anyone registering for a VAVRS class must pay $25 by credit or debit card at the time of on-line registration. or money order or cashiers check which must be received 7 days prior to the start of the class.

All students mean: — First time students, refresher students, and *instructor candidate students (*note these programs are normally taught at the Rescue College and should one be offered outside that environment this fee would apply*) . The $25 will be billed to the credit or debit card at the time of the online registration. The class fee will be refunded to the credit, debit card, money order or cashier’s check with cancellation within 72 hours of class. Cancellation must be in the form of an email or fax document. Refunds will be made inside of the 72 hour deadline, in the event there is a family or personal emergency (illness, death, emergency work call-ins).

Documentation via email or fax would be required to be received in the VAVRS office within 24 hours of the course completion date. The credit or debit card used to register would be credited. Instructors, if you plan to hold an in-house program this is considered a closed class and registration as above is required for all students. *IF you should have a walk in student you will be required to obtain the $25 fee from them via cashier check or money order and forward with your paperwork.* No rosters will be processed if all fees for the class were not previously submitted. All classes require a 30 day notice whether they are open or closed the VAVRS Office must receive notifications for all November and December programs within that 30 day window (these can be emailed, faxed or sent by mail). Please do not teach a class in January and postdate the roster and or Scantrons for December.

The class notifications are required so that we can post on the website the programs whether open or closed.

The closed programs will state for members of “x” organization only; open programs will not state that information. We realize this will take some acclimation by all of us and appreciate your time, understand and assistance in meeting this opportunity. Scott Davis, VAVRS Training Officer