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Article was originally in the Pocono Record
on 5/02/08:
Keep EMS workers in mind whenever you
drive
By DEBBIE KULICK
May 02, 2008
This year marks the 35th observance of EMS week. The week is designed to honor EMS
providers and raise public awareness about health and safety issues.
Our local EMS workers are dedicated professionals who commit hundreds of hours to
providing emergency medical care to our community. It is amazing to believe that in a short 35-year span such significant
progress has been made not only in the technology that saves lives, but in the education of both EMS providers and the general
public.
May 18 through 24 is the time set aside to raise awareness and to thank those who
provide us with their dedicated life-saving skills. It is easy to see that those who do this work have not just the desire
to do so, but are carrying out a life passion as well. Their tireless efforts providing help at critical times of need often
go unrecognized as well as unrewarded. To each and every one of them, thank you.
After so many years of public education, we would expect that everyone would know
how vital some things are with respect to EMS. Today most people can tell you what CPR is or an AED, but amazingly enough
the simple act of yielding to emergency vehicles when driving seems to have been forgotten. Instead of waxing eloquent about
the emergency system its process, and its people, I asked a significant number of EMS providers what pet peeves they had about
the public as they try to do their job. Emerging from the list as a leading contender was the response of drivers to the moving
ambulance.
As a result of my interest in the matter, here are the top 10 favorite — and
familiar — pet peeves from ambulance and emergency vehicle drivers:
- Drivers who continue to drive, never pulling over and certainly never noticing an ambulance
is behind them.
- Drivers who continue to drive alongside the ambulance on the shoulder of the road!?
- Drivers who see an emergency vehicle approaching, note other cars have pulled over, allowing
for a great opening into traffic and then pulling out in front of the approaching emergency vehicle, thus securing their place
in traffic and perhaps history.
- Drivers who suddenly, without warning, hesitation or anything else, look in the rear
view mirror, see an emergency vehicle, then stop dead in the middle of the road!?
- Drivers who feel, that by some great power, they will outrun the ambulance behind them.
- Drivers who feel they have the right to ride on the coattails of the speeding emergency
vehicle through traffic, simply to beat the system.
- Drivers who develop deafness and blindness, they never hear or see anything behind them
... officially.
- Drivers who think, just because they are on the other side of the road they don't have
to stop, move over and wait. They feel exempt, because they're going in the other direction.
- Drivers who believe, by some mysterious act, all traffic is moving off the road ahead
of them to clear the way just for them.
And the No. 1 reason emergency vehicle drivers get peeved when drivers don't pull
to the side of the road and stop is: They know the patient couldn't possibly be someone from their family!?
This is the law: The law requires that all vehicles pull to the right and stop when
an emergency vehicle approaches.
This means either side of the road, except on a divided highway.
Likewise, note that many EMS personnel and firefighters use blue lights on their
vehicles to quickly and safely answer your call for help.
Although these are courtesy lights, please remember to follow the same procedure
when you see them approach. These volunteers are critical to the safety and welfare of our community. We want everyone to
get there and safely.
As a community we extend our thanks to everyone of our EMS providers no matter what
part you play in our chain of safety.
Thanks to: Bushkill Emergency Corps, Bushkill Fire Company, Marshalls Creek Fire
Company, Shawnee Fire Company and Monroe County Control Center.
You certainly all live up to this year's theme: Your Life Is Our Mission.
Reprinted from The Pocono Record on 3/20/08:
Bushkill Corp. remains primary
emergency provider for M. Smithfield
March 20, 2008
Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors unanimously
approved at its monthly meeting on Thursday last week a memorandum of understanding signed by the four companies that will
provide emergency services to the township with Bushkill Emergency Corp. remaining the primary provider.
The 12-page contract, settled after a 10-month period
in which there was no written agreement after the pact with Bushkill Emergency Corp. expired, came after months of meetings,
a $10,000 study by two consultants authorized by the state and their subsequent report and after all four emergency responders
agreed in a meeting last week on billing and response issues.
The arrangement will start on April 1 and will run
for a six-month trial. During that time, there will be monthly meetings to iron out any problems that arise.
Bushkill Emergency Corp. will be the first-due advanced
life support (ALS) for serious, life-threatening crises such as heart attacks or serious accident injuries, and basic life
support (BLS) provider for injuries such as broken legs and Suburban EMS second due for ALS. Marshalls Creek Fire Department
would provide basic life support vehicles as a BLS second due and Suburban and Med Mobile would complement the network and
provide transport services.
Supervisor Chairman Scott Schaller said the Monroe
County Emergency Control Center will assign BLS providers for secondary calls depending on which organization is available
when Bushkill Emergency Corp.'s resources have been exhausted. "When BEC is back in service for Middle Smithfield Township,
they will be dispatched for the next ALS/BLS call from the Control Center," the contract reads.
Furthermore, the contract states that "BEC hereby
acknowledges that its first due Advanced Life Support crew does not provide and therefore shall never be unavailable for emergency
calls as the result of performing non-emergency transports from a residents, medical facility and/or hospital."
Debbie Kulick, president of BEC, has assured neighboring
townships that the contract maintains business as usual for them and will not change its response service.
The contract stipulates that each provider maintain
each month detailed response statistics to meet the five-minute response minimum as well as "a monthly record of equipment
maintenance and service which record shall by supplied to the township upon request."
The contract also said that each emergency provider
must present a monthly financial statement and submit to an audit by the township when requested.
Bushkill Emergency Corps gets donation from Smithfield Rotary
for special chair
February 08, 2008
Bushkill Emergency Corps Financial Secretary, Barbara Kulick accepts a check for $2,200.00
from Bob Wehe, President of The Rotary Club Of The Smithfields. The donation was used to purchase a Stryker Stair Chair, also
seen at right, for the emergency corps. The chair is used to move patients from difficult locations such as rooms with tight
doors and down stairs where a traditional stretcher will not go and in many cases are dangerous to use. The chair itself will
not only create safer movement of patients, but will help prevent rescuer injuries and rush the patient to the hospital when
often, time is of the essence. Previously they would have to wait for additional ambulance personnel, the fire department
or the police to provide lifting assistance to get the patient from a difficult location.
This article originally appeared in the Pocono Record.
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| Snow tubing at Fernwood Resort |
Fernwood Resort Winter 2007/08
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Ray and Nancy Felmly Receive a donation from the Lehman Twp. Supervisors
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| Skiing at Shawnee Mtn. |
Shawnee Resort - Winter 2007/ 08
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The following article appeared on 1/11/08 in the Eastern Pocono
Community news:
M. Smithfield EMS decision goes full circle
January 11, 2008
A half year since Middle Smithfield began a search to sign contracts with emergency
care providers, it has gone nearly full circle.
The township supervisors are meeting 9 a.m. at the municipal building with EMS representatives,
state Department of Health officials and the Monroe Control Center to discuss what would work better than the recommendations
made in a $10,000, 10-page study released in the fall by consultants from the state Department of Health.
The township feels the findings are not applicable to its needs for Advanced Life
Support and Basic Life Support Services.
"The agreements on first and second responders don't go with the way our township
works," said Supervisors Chairman Scott Schaller, who commented at the last supervisors meeting that the findings were "flawed,"
saying the guidelines are too strict.
Under the recommendation, there would be a primary and secondary ALS provider and
a primary and secondary BLS provider. Bushkill Emergency was the top candidate for primary ALS with Suburban as the secondary
provider. Marshalls Creek Fire Department was considered a primary and a secondary BLS provider.
Bushkill Emergency and Marshalls Creek Fire Department scheduled a meeting to talk
about the issues but it was snowed out. They decided to delay rescheduling it until after they see what happens in Thursday's
meeting.
The report points out that Bushkill Emergency logged 250 hours of BLS a year, in
addition to advanced life support, but representatives of Bushkill said it actually is 250 hours a week.
Bushkill Emergencystill has not received its annual donation from the township, even
though it continues to provide services, but has gotten donations from Smithfield and Lehman townships.
And Marshalls Creek F.D. is uncertain of the future, even though it has upgraded
service.
With Bushkill Emergency's uncertainty of its future as the township's care provider
when its contract expired over the summer, many residents held off making their usual donation during the early fall drive.
Lower revenue than from the previous year and higher overhead with rising fuel, insurance and medical costs has created a
pinch for Bushkill Emergency. Only workers' compensation is paid for by the townships served by the corps.
As a result, Bushkill has done some cost-cutting. Since October, when it realized
the reduced contributions, it has strategically reconfigured its hours to hold the line on staffing costs, with volunteers
giving more time during the hours of greatest need.
"We will continue to serve the community," assured one spokesperson from Bushkill
Emergency, who asked not to be named. "We have no intention of abandoning the residents of our community. Service has not
been changed and we welcome help we get from the fire departments and other agencies as needed."
But has morale by volunteers and staffers suffered?
"They're resolved to continue to serve the area," said the spokesperson. "Has this
had a negative effect on how residents view the perception of the value of the service that they offer? Yes.
"But we do not shortchange patients and do not want to have a lesser degree of service."
Bushkill, Suburban and Marshalls Creek Fire Department can be put on hold for only
so long awaiting the outcome.
The following article appeared in the Pocono Record on 11/8/2007:
Letter to the Editor
Flawed study didn't show corps' true face
November 08, 2007
Editor, the Record:
How do we explain the actions of the Middle Smithfield Township supervisors?
We don't and neither can they. The recent report presented to the township residents about EMS service was an example of flawed
and manipulative use of factual information. The report focused on the current EMS provider Bushkill Emergency Corps through
the use of facts that the consultants admitted were inaccurate, incomplete and unavailable. The balance of the information
included about other organizations was simply a summation of generic information. The report included no general overview
or dissection of those organizations, thus leaving a gaping hole in its content.
Bushkill Emergency Corps has an investment in the community through
its 43 years of operations and has maintained its operations through both good and bad times. It has worked to accommodate
the growth of the entire community, not just Middle Smithfield Township, through its EMS services, public out-reach and community
involvement.
Mr. Schaller and his cohorts, Spano and Clewell, have set out on a
blatant witch hunt to discredit Bushkill Emergency Corps. What they uncovered was a community-based operation that has long
served us long before the enticement and illusion of the quick dollar to be made in 911 work. In addition Bushkill has continued
to dedicate its resources back in the community where it is based, with employment, use of local vendors and community interaction.
It would be a far better legacy for the Middle Smithfield Township
Board of Supervisors to work with Bushkill Emergency Corps than to continue to create the turmoil they have levied thus far.
I, for one, both appreciate and applaud their efforts and their professionalism
on behalf of the entire community.
JOSEPHINE FERRO
East Stroudsburg
Up untill this point Bushkill Emergency Corps has
only rerprinted articles found in The Pocono Record about our current status with the Middle Smithfield Township coverage
area. The following is a letter written by a long time member of our corps, Greg Turn. Greg, and many member of his family
have proudly served our community for many years and Greg is well versed in the inner workings of EMS. Thank You, Greg for
your thoughts.
PO Box 123
Bushkill, Pa
18324
November
2, 2007
Middle
Smithfield Supervisors
Gentleman:
As
member of the adjunct faculty at Northampton County Community College teaching Mathematics
and Statistics and as a member of Bushkill Emergency Corps and Bushkill Fire Company for over 30 years, I eagerly awaited
the EMS SYSTEM RIVIEW AND ASSESSMENT prepared for the township. Unfortunately, I found the review to be superficial in its
analysis and lacking any supporting documentation for the recommendations presented.
Specific
shortcomings:
- NO LISTING OF THE CONCERNS that prompted this review. There is therefore no discussion of the relevance or relative
importance of the concerns. There is also no way to determine if the proposal address the concerns and, without the concerns
to guide the evaluation of the current system, no way to compare the proposal with the default decision to make changes.
- FIGURES ARE PRESENTED WITH NO CONTEXT. The report states that 17% of the calls were handled by second due or mutual
aid units. Is this a responsible percentage given that it would be financially irresponsible to have sufficient equipment
and personal to handle 100% of the calls or is it too high? The report states that the reason for this figure is unknown.
Again, without knowing why 17% of the calls were missed by BEC, there is no way to determine if the proposal will reduce,
increase, or change this figure. There is some discussion of the finical of BEC but it is incomplete and lacking in both historical
perspective and perspective in the EMS system. I checked with the President of BEC and was
told that the IRS form 990’s for the previous years are available and would have been provided to the authors but these
were never requested.
- THERE IS NO DISCUSSION OF ALTERNITIVE PROPSALS. This is not the only proposal that could have been presented. At the
very least there is always the “make no changes” proposal. I would like to have seen what other proposals were
considered, why they were rejected, and what made the presented proposal superior.
- THERE
IS A COMPLETE LACK OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. If the authors of this report have done some analysis of the above issues
in preparing it, they have violated one of the cardinal rules of Emergency Medicine that it is pounded into the head of every
new EMT – IF IT IS NOT DOCUMENTER, IT WAS NOT DONE.
As
I look at the proposal itself, again I find major faults and omissions.
Taken
as a whole, the proposal:
- INCREASES THE FRAGMENTION OF A SYSTEM THAT THE AUTHORS
STATE IS ALREDY TOO FRAGMENTED. At the top of the 7th page
of the report the authors state in bold type the benefits of reorganization and the costs of balkanization. In their proposal,
however, they include no assessment of its effect on the EMS system. The Middle Smithfield
Supervisors may have the luxury of pretending that their decision on EMS service will only affect Middle Smithfield Township.
As members of the EMS system, BEC, MC Fire Co, Suburban EMS, Med-Mobile, and any other provider
who might come into MST do not.
- WILL REQUIRE A MAJOR INCREASE IN EQUIPTMENT AND PERSONEL to provide EMS service to
BEC’s coverage area.
- ALS – BEC currently provides ALS service to Smithfield, Middle Smithfield and
Lehman Townships with 1 truck based in Marshalls Creek. The
proposal restricts this truck to first due status to Middle Smithfield only, leaving Lehman and Smithfield Townships without first due ALS
service. Smithfield could be covered by Suburban EMS but neither of the existing possible ALS
trucks for Lehman Township (Suburban EMS
from the South or Pike County ALS from the North) is properly located to provide acceptable service to all of Lehman Township. An ALS truck would be required
in Lehman Township on Winona Falls Road, it would be the first due ALS truck for the Northern portion of Middle Smithfield Township
by Monroe County Control Center protocol.
- BLS – BEC currently provides BLS service to Smithfield,
Middle Smithfield, and Lehman Townships
with the ALS truck from Marshalls Creek
supplemented by a BLS truck that is the first due response unit for Lehman and upper Middle
Smithfield Townships when in
service. The proposal designates Marshalls Creek Fire Company to provide the first and second due BLS trucks, one of which
would be the first due to Middle Smithfield
Township only. This would leave the second BLS truck to provide first
due coverage for Lehman and Smithfield Townships.
THUS THIS PROPOSAL
WILL REQUIRE 4 TRUCKS AND AT LEAST 8 PEOPLE 24/7 to implement without considering whether Suburban EMS could handle Smithfield
Township ALS calls with its existing resources.
- WILL
REQUIRE A MAJOR INCREASE IN PUBLIC FUNDING to implement. From the meager figures provided, the present system is not self-supporting.
BEC ran a deficit of $50,000 for the year ending 6/2007 with payroll costs of $550,000. The payroll cost alone for the proposed
system would likely be at least $1,000,000 and possibly as much as $1,500,000 since the majority of personal will likely be
paid. The number of volunteer hours has been steadily dropping not just at BEC but at all Monroe
County EMS providers and most EMS and fire service providers statewide for many years, a trend that is unlikely to change.
The
supervisors have been ill served with this report and they will ill serve the township residents if they use it to make decisions
on EMS service in the township.
If
the supervisors are truly interested in addressing the concerns about EMS service, I would suggest that they contact the Mathematics
Departments at the East Stroudsburg North and South High Schools and see if one of the statistics classes at each would take the EMS REVIEW
AND ASSESSMENT as a class project for the spring semester. This would provide the students with an outstanding educational
experience and also, since the studied would be done under the supervision of experienced Mathematicians, should provide much
more through and well documented reports that the township could effectively use.
Yours
truly,
Ralph
Gregory Turn
Cc
Bushkill
Emergency Corps
Marshalls
Creek Fire Company
Suburban
EMS
Med-Mobile
Gary
Hoffman
Everitt
Binns
Lehman Township Supervisors
Smithfield Township Supervisors
The
Pocono Record
Lehman Township Supervisors, from left, John Sivick, Dick Vollmer and Paul Menditto present a donation to Bushkill Ambulance
Corps President Ray Felmley, second from left, and his wife, Nancy.
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