Show 'vt i The list could run on endlessly pfr- One of the reasons the US victim has less chance for survival than the Vietnam soldier is speed The soldier is almost always scooped up quickly by helicopter At home it's not uncommon for a victim to lie in shock and pain for more than an hour before the ambulance arrives The soldier gets immediate first aid by trained medics at home the ambulance "attendant" may be little more than a car driver the ambulance simply a taxi rushing a victim "as is" to the closest hospital "Actually" says Dr Roswell K Brown of the American College of Surgeons "an ambulance should be more like an extension of the hospital's emergency room More important than immediate transportation is the immediate care — controlling hemorrhage splinting fractures keeping the breathcare ing passage open should be by trained emergency technicians and then transportation should be deliberate and gentle" cv P - -104 110:"16 1111PIPA:ad' °°J sal IIIII 1:bodZ -: 0 1 CI) -- illi rdi int - --- — ' - A A ' 1::- -tt ' "'' - r!:l 4:3 1 t‘ -- ' r-04" : - Atty 1111119 — - - - — ff-1- H 111 G - cAr- 1 111111114 1714Nf : - 1 ' -- TA ''''' 9' ' r - life-savi- 7 7" ' 41 f4 grade the attenddnts giving them higher pay and professional status as ''emergency medical technicians" Actually there's no excuse for poorly trained personnel At Fort Sam Houston Tex for example the Army turns out capable combat medics in six weeks In addition training manuals have been compiled by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons the American College of Surgeons and jointly by the US Public Health Service and the National Research Council Signs of progress are apparent but it is not enough We should use our voices and influence to insist that our communities fulfill their responsibilities in the vital field of emergency care and ambulance service You can easily dramatize the need Just ak yourself as you drive along a highway—if you had an accident and were injured who would report it? To whom? How soon? How long wou:d it take for help to reach you? Would the ambulance be a good one staffed by trained attendants with all necessary equipment? The questions could run on and on applied to each step from crash to hospital And the answers to them could spell life or death—for you and your family : - - - or 6st) p11i:Aorat4 st - '1tk'Mit ' 4 9' tA 4- 'r 4 t ':4 1 - - I''' 4:!S 44:C '':'44ar4:"'-:-' ''::-:':--- - Interior view of helicopter ambulance with "victims" strapped securely to cots Copter is also in contact with a hospital via a two-wa- y radio On-the-s- prevail Wages are too low to attract competent ambuiance attendants Also perhaps 50 percent of US ambulance service is operated as a "convenience to Need for more laws Since physicians and hospital officials are so articulate in defining the problems why do they persist? There are many reasons For example only 13 states have laws supervising ambulance service and only four require that at least ont crewman be trained in standard and advanced fist aid In many states attendants are not permitted to give blood transfusions or other forms of "medical treatment" Another reason is money Ideal ambulance service both in quality and quantity is expensive In many communities the public has not become sufficiently aroused to demand better service As a result low budgets chase emergency vehicles and equipment and partially subsidize service in small and remote communities Also federal agencies finance other research projects The University of California at Los Angeles is at work on a $1 million three-yeprogram to imall of ambulance service phases prove including use of helicopters Florida is busy on a $450000 test of an ambulance alarm system: motorists' headlights directed at roadside electronic beacons which autOmatically flash distress calls New Volt and California also are engaged in ambulance improvement programs with federal money New and better ambulances are on the drawing board but since service can't be much bettet than the men who operate it there's urgent need to up the community" by funeral directors who have no appetite for pumping money into the unprofitable sideline The emergency medical care problem—it affects both rural areas and our largest cities—has fortunately come to the attention of the federal government Under the Highway Safety Act of 1966 states must show improvement by the end of this year If not they may be fined up to 10 percent of their federal highway safety matching funds In addition for fiscal 1969 the Department of Transportation has $64 million available for states and localities to improve ambulance crew training pur 0-- — - ar - CHECK LIST How can you as a responsible citizen check up on the quality of the emergency medical service in your community? How can you assess its al)ility to save lives? For a free 20- point check list write to the Journal of American Imurance 20 N Wacker III 60606 Deive Chicago ' s C ':1 i "7---- t Ir -9 4 IV ti s 2 - 11 :'7 40 ' Alf 9 '' - ' ' " ' o - - 41 - tor 4 474 - - - i se '( : el -- -- "r--- a 442::::9 s Jig - - :- - - rill :40t r is - 4 0 MEM 0 or : 10 : de ) "' r ' 4 ill '"' s :1111hi'47:1 4 il at b' Nm W 11 i I : ‘ : IP '' 416 16( is I1 x t mmewalr - r 'r e4 ) v 1 111 yi 11 - Z J -- 4 AM - mi2k 4 Nor lt 0 "— N's" 11:3 ' - - AP ' 111 i i r 1111"1 4 ' - 0'11166""4411074: - ':"11r1r14 pr 'A t limo C3 14 ' - ' wi'- In Chicago test project Fire Department helicopter is being used for quick transfer to hospital emergency room of motorist in freeway cotPsion 9 |