With all the new businesses in the area and all the homes being built I wonder if there are any plans to build a hospital on the Pa/Md line. York is a long way to go if you suddenly grab your chest and keel over. For people who, say, live in Hereford, GBMC is also a long way off. Is there some other hospital or facility that I’m not aware of that’s close by? The Mason/Dixon Hospital. It has a nice ring to it. I think that name really sells.  

With all the new businesses in the area and all the homes being built I wonder if there are any plans to build a hospital on the Pa/Md line. York is a long way to go if you suddenly grab your chest and keel over. For people who, say, live in Hereford, GBMC is also a long way off. Is there some other hospital or facility that I’m not aware of that’s close by? The Mason/Dixon Hospital. It has a nice ring to it. I think that name really sells.

There was talk a couple of decades ago about GBMC building a satellite hospital in Shrewsbury which never came to fruitation. Even though the name “The Mason/Dixon Hospital might have a nice ring to it, millions of dollars are needed to build, maintain and staff a hospital.

I don’t know how old you are or what services your fire company provides to the public in the Hereford, Maryland area with respect to ambulance services and First Aid/emergency treatment until arrival at the closest hospital. I can safely say that Eureka Volunteer Fire & Ambulance companies have EMT’s who possess outstanding skills and have several years experience under their belt, some a decade or two+ experience. All are well versed in providing CPR to someone who is having or has had a heart attack or stroke. 

From time to time volunteer fire and ambulance companies as well as the American Red Cross and American Heart Association offer courses in First-Aid and CPR to the public. The more people in the public sector trained in basic First-Aid and CPR, the more valuable that person is in their community to their neighbor. They can provide those services until an ambulance staffed with EMT’s arrives. All volunteer fire and ambulance companies are always looking for volunteers.

I hope I’ve helped answer your question. 

Having a hospital closer would be a benefit, but I personally don’t think we need a Shrewsbury Hospital yet. The more people move up from the South though (which I was one of 10+ years ago) the more the desire for these types of establishments and amenities will increase. Just my $.02.

edited by: Chris_McGraw, Aug 03, 2005 - 02:41 PM

I don’t know how old you are or what services your fire company provides to the public in the Hereford, Maryland area with respect to ambulance services and First Aid/emergency treatment until arrival at the closest hospital.

Well I just moved from the Stewartstown area to just north of New Freedom. We’ve had a number of contractors, inspectors, etc from the area who had a difficult time finding my home and we are right on 851. So it occured to me that if I or my wife were having a heart attack, stroke, shot, on fire, the heeby geebys, whatever, that we might not make it all the way to York. I guess that’s the price one pays for privacy. Still, I think people in the area would benifit from having a hospital that’s a bit closer. There were certainly enough people on I83 who would attest to that if they were still here with us.
I have heard nothing but good things about the various Fire & Ambulance outfits in the area but as good as they are they can only do so much.
I figured since we were adding Walmarts, Home Depots, Cracker Barrells, and a slew of new homes, a small trauma unit might be a nice idea. But like you said it costs millions.

I am one of those EMTs that serves the area. One of the best things you can do to help us find you is to make sure your street number is posted clearly where we can see it from the road. So many times we have to break out a flash light to find the numbers hiding on a tree, or worse, on the house, 400 feet from the road.

If you live on a new road, you might want to make the fire company aware of the road. Often we are the last to find out about a new road until we get a call on it and can’t find it in our map or box books. Depending on your exact location, your provider would be Rose (Station 58, New Freedom) for fire and EMS or it could be Stations 61 (Shrewsbury) for fire. We (Eureka) would potentially respond if 58 was out. Glen Rock (#59) might also be a responder.

Another thing you could do to help the BLS/ALS crews that come to help is to make sure you have your medical information recorded on something we can take with us. Make sure it is kept on the frdige. We look there often. It reduces our on-scene time.

Unfortunately if you have a heart attack, it does not matter how close the hospital is to you. What matters is how fast CPR and ventilations can be started. If you go more than 4-6 minutes without intervention, you most likely will not recover fully. AEDs only work on certain heart problems. We have good paramedic support from York and Memorial Hospital to assist with these cases as well.

Maybe some day in the near future we will at least get a service like Memorial’s QuickER for the non traumatic injuries and illnesses. That would at least reduce our out-of-service time. Call volumes are rising as the population rises.

While it is not a hospital, I’ve heard that Baltimore County is going to build a new fire station just off Mt. Carmel Road and I83.  Till now the northern part of Baltimore County was served only by volunteer fire companies, but with the large increase in the number of homes, shrinking volunteers, they too needed to provide service closer to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border.

Jeff Bruening

edited by: CouncilmanBruening, Aug 03, 2005 - 06:19 PM

To Linus:

One thing I forgot to mention was that under our mutual aid agreements, we also get coverage from medics in MD in your area. This is used only when 97 or 102 cannot respond. They are usually very quick to get there and they know the area.

To all:

As I am sure you are aware, many stations these days have had to move to paid staffs at least part of the time due to lack of volunteers. I know New Freedom (58), Glen Rock (59) and of course Stewartstown (54) use paid EMTs part or most of the time. The volunteers are equally as important as many of us fill in shifts that need coverage or provide “second due” coverage when we need a second crew.

Volunteers are desperately needed to help reduce your taxes. That is for both fire and EMS. We have not had to go paid fire yet, but the time might be coming in this area. Lets try to keep the volunteer spirit alive… volunteers are equal to paid providers: same training, same requirements, same level of care expected.

Alex
Alex

Alex,
That’s really great advice. I’ could do a word document and put down....
All meds and how taken.
Who to contact.
Doctor(s)
DOB.
All pertinent medical history (Diabetes, Hypertension, family history, etc.)
Hobbies
I can just put it in an envelope and put “IN CASE OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY” and tape it to the fridge.
I keep the house numbers clearly marked and on the road where it can be seen, but I want to add better lighting. I’m taking a CPR course in Sept where I work. It might sound like I’m over doing it but there’s nothing like that helpless feeling when somebody hits the floor and you can’t help them because you don’t know what to do. You didn’t do a single thing to help the very people who can help you or a loved one.

Alex, what are the requirements needed to become a Volunteer? Any particular background?

To RSJ and all interested voluneteers:

In order to become an EMT you need the following traits or abilities:

1. Fairly good health that can endure less than desirable conditions. This includes heat, cold, wet, etc. We work outside quite often.

2. Ability to lift patients (with assistance). Ability to bend and flex somewhat. You might be climbing into or working in somewhat confined spaces. Imagine a compact car that has been made more compact by a telephone pole.

3. A strong desire to help others. Also the understanding that you will not save everyone no matter how hard you try - sometimes it is just their time. In other words, you need a good handle on your emotions, but you are only human - it is good to be upset about losing someone. We have counselors for that.

4. Be detail oriented but also be flexible in mind - thinking outside the box is an important skill to hone in this job.

5. No medical experience is required. We will train or help you get trained.

6. The ability to give time to learn, be on duty, learn some more, keep learning.

7. The knowledge and understanding that you will not be running solo overnight. This process takes time. It is a good process though and it ensures you understand what you need to know to provide the best patient care possible for our community.

8. One last important trait: the ability to keep your cool when all around you is going to hell. You might have to deal with emotional families, tons of people on scene at once, multitasking, being puked on (or worse), dispatchers giving only half the information, pysch patients (always a joy), lots of noise (vehicle rescue is very noisy)… but to be honest, I love it. It is a great feeling to make a difference in someone’s life.

How do you sign up?

1. I can put you in touch with the right people. Just PM me with your contact info.

2. You will have to become a member of the fire company. No charge… just a simple background check and interview with the membership/investigative committee.

3. You will interview with the EMS committee next most likely. They will help you get into the training you need.

4. You have to become certified by the state. The course is usually 6 months long (some meet more often making it go faster). It is 140 hours of lecture and hands-on. At the end of the course, you take a state written and state practical exam. This licenses you for three years.

5. During your classes, you can most likely run as a third person (once you complete CPR/First Aid for health care providers as part of your class). As a third person, you will gain insight and knowledge that will help you with class as well as with the real world.

6. Once you complete your certification, you will work with experienced EMTs in a precepting program that is designed to help you think outside the box (the book is good, but this is reality). You will go through scenarios, skill enhancement, and start teching calls and eventually taking over as crew chief, making the decisions for patient care. At some point, you will be signed off to run as part of a two person crew.

7. If you want to also be able to drive, you will have to take a state approved EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operators Course). We take care of that for you. Then you can start driver training with your trainer. The class is usually one weekend and includes a practical driving test - piece of cake.

8. Continuing Education: The state requires that you amass 24 con-ed credits every three years. There are some mandatory classes during this time frame as well. Class fees (if any) are covered by the fire company. Most classes are held locally at various fire companies. They might be 2-3 hours in length on topics such as traumatic brain injury, pediatric or geriatric concerns, sports injuries, rapid trauma or medical assessment, etc.

Required classes include: Bloodborne Pathogens and Infectious Diseases, Haz-Mat Awareness (both yearly). CPR must be kept up to date (every 2 years). We provide all three classes.

We run many classes in house as well. This helps to expand your knowledge. We often due joint training with the fire company on vehicle rescue (I highly recommend the state course to get a good understanding of vehicle rescue), fire scene rehab, etc. We try to have fun as well.

The fire company provides one set of uniforms typically (tee shirt, sweat shirt and pants). You need to provide your own boots (combat style, under $60 typically). The fire company often sells special shirts, jackets, etc. Heavy turn-out gear is available on each ambulance to use in cold weather or for vehicle accidents. Extra tee-shirts are available at a low cost (about $8 each). Often the fire company gives out Eureka shirst so you will have others available.