1

This Week:

Simulations Start

Next Week 2

Medic Post 53

Reopen 3

AHA Classes

Moving to CPCC 4

New Stroke

Protocol for CMC 5

Military Support

Campaign 6

2nd Batch of Gifts

to be Sold! 7

Training Schedule 8

News From The Front Line August 30, 2010

The MEDIC Dispatch

ePCR Upgrade Follow-Up

Mecklenburg

EMS

Agency

The latest upgrades to the Siren ePCR software have been

completed with only a few minor issues, none of which affected the

functionality of the software. We are aware that some of the changes

caused confusion or misunderstanding. Below are the most common

issues that we have been made aware of, the reasons that the

changes were made and the accepted ways to work around them if

you encounter problems.

1. Duration of Chief Complaint and Duration of Second

Chief Complaint

This is a state-mandated data field. We had no choice in regards to making it a mandatory.

a. IF the patient has no second chief complaint, select none for second chief complaint and

document “0” minutes for duration of second chief complaint.

b. Currently the only entry that satisfies the mandatory is an entry under minutes. We are working on this

and hope to have it fixed in the near future. If the duration is hours or days, simply document that,

followed by a “0” in the minutes field.

2. Initial Assessment > Circulation > Bleeding

a. This is for patients who are hemorrhaging only. If there is no bleeding, then the buttons do not

apply and you do not have to fill anything out.

3. Protocols

a. The protocols were removed from the ePCR software because they were not up to date. We

are currently working on a way to more easily incorporate the protocols into the tablet and still be

able to easily update them when necessary.

b. You will effectively document which protocol you followed by documenting your primary

impression.

Please remember to carry your personal, printed copy of the protocols with you on duty at all times.

Thank you to everyone involved for their patience during this upgrade process. With the resolution

of the minor issues encountered this time, it is our hope that future upgrades will be integrated

seamlessly as we move toward a more user-friendly tool.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Melissa Garifo at ext. 6138 or Brian Shimberg

at ext. 6142. Thank you.

Dates to

Remember:

September 3rd

Deadline to

Schedule

Simulation

Appointments

September 3rd

Donation Deadline

for Military Support

Campaign

2

The next simulation center rotation will begin next Tuesday, September 7th, 2010. All Medic

EMTs and Paramedics are required to complete this simulation rotation.

Full-time employees of both Medic and Mint Hill will be required to schedule an appointment to

go through the simulation center with their partner (if one is currently assigned). If you are a new

employee riding in a third-person status, you should plan to go through the rotation with your

current crew. Part-time employees of Medic and/or Mint Hill can schedule to go through the

simulator with another part-time employee or fill an existing simulation center appointment

vacancy.

All certified personnel with Medic and Mint Hill Fire Department must contact Robin Pariso

(ext. 6143), Melissa Garifo (ext. 6138) or Brian Shimberg (ext. 6142) to schedule an appointment.

The deadline to schedule an appointment is this Friday, September 3rd, 2010.

Attendance is mandatory and provides (10) hours of continuing education toward

recertification. In addition, please keep the following in mind:

Do not sign up within two (2) hours of your 10-42 time.

Operations will follow the disciplinary process for a no call/no show to your scheduled

simulation appointment.

If you cannot attend the time slot that you signed up for, it is your responsibility to do a

switch and a find a replacement for your time slot.

A simulation center rotation schedule will be posted in Operations. You must schedule by phone. Please be

sure to remember the date and time that you sign up as we will not be sending out appointment

reminders.

Be dressed in your Medic/Mint Hill Fire Department uniform for your simulation.

Please contact a member of Medical Services if you have any questions. Thank you.

Simulations Start Next Week!

For the first time ever, Tom Porcelli has organized a B-shift golf outing!

The golf outing is scheduled for Monday, September 20th at the Larkhaven Golf

Course.

Registration begins at noon with a 1:00 pm start time. The cost to register is $50.00

per person and includes beverages.

Come on down to Larkhaven Golf Course for some fun on the green. Mulligans will be

up for grabs!

When: Monday, September 20th, 2010. Registration begins at 12:00 pm. Shot gun start at 1:00 pm

Where: Larkhaven Golf Course, 4801 Camp Stewart Road, Charlotte, NC 28215

For more information, please contact Tom Porcelli at thomasp@medic911.com or 704.577.9087. Thank you.

See you on the green!

Golf Outing

3

On Thursday, August 19th, mold was discovered in the air

conditioning unit at Post 53.

Gary Moore and Ted Wise quickly investigated the

situation and contacted a specialist in order to take care

of the mold and prevent it from returning.

After an air quality inspection, Post 53 is NOW

REOPENED to employees. The inspection showed that

the building is safe for crews to use.

Thank you to Gary Moore and Ted Wise for their hard

work and assistance throughout the inspection process.

Please watch for posting updates from CMED and your

supervisors.

If you have any further questions about the reopening of

Post 53, please contact Barry Bagwell at

barryb@medic911.com or via ext. 6170. Thank you.

Post 53 Reopens

Medic is excited to announce the rebuilding of Post 50!

A firm timeline has not been established for the start and

finish dates for the rebuild. Medic’s Lead Team will

continue to keep all employees informed as the process

moves forward. We appreciate everyone’s patience during

the project.

In addition, the Lead Team is currently negotiating a lease

agreement with Cornelius VFD. Medic is looking to lease

space for posting at Cornelius Station 1(located just off of

Highway 115). This means that Medic may eventually have

two locations for posting in the North End:

Cornelius VFD Station 1

The current Post 50 location (once rebuilt).

Please watch for further communications about the rebuild

and posting at Station I. Please contact Barry

Bagwell at barryb@medic911.com or ext. 6170, if you

have any questions.

Rebuilding Post 50

Laurie Feola has joined Medic as our

new, full-time receptionist. In her role

as the Receptionist, Laurie brings over

20 years of front office experience and

an upbeat nature to assist visitors and

callers at the front desk. When she is

not assisting callers, Medic personnel

and visitors, the New Jersey native enjoys making jewelry,

chocolate molding and reading.

1. What do you like best about your hometown?

The best thing about my hometown of Dumont, NJ are the

people.

2. Listener or talker?

Listener

3. Best Comfort Food

Chocolate

4. Favorite season?

Fall

5. What is the greatness personality trait to have?

Friendliness

Employee Highlight

Many of you may have seen Medic’s

newest EMS Fellow, Kelly Gahan out

in the field or around Post 100. The

Colorado native comes to Medic via

her recent completion of the

Emergency Medicine Residency

Program at CMC. Kelly’s role within

the Agency will be to lend her

expertise and assistance in the areas of quality assurance,

education and disaster planning.

1. What was your best subject in school?

Pathology

2. Favorite Song?

Jimmy Buffet’s “He Went to Paris.”

3. Paper or plastic?

Plastic

4. Who do you admire the most?

John Marx; he is an excellent clinician and humanitarian

5. What is your biggest pet peeve?

People who are rude to strangers

Employee Highlight

4

It is with sad news to report that EMT Rebecca Hamilton’s

husband will pass away in the very near future. This difficult

situation has placed a financial hardship on the family.

To care for her husband, Rebecca has already used most of

her leave time and will soon need to take even more time

off. Donations of leave time or financial contributions

would be extremely helpful to the Hamilton family during

this difficult period. Forms are available in the Operations

office for leave donations. Financial contributions to the

family can be made at Fifth / Third bank to: The

Hamilton Family Fund, c/o Ginger Thornton or

through Medic’s Benevolent Fund.

Over the next few weeks the family will also need people

to sit, not to provide medical care, with Rebecca’s husband.

They also need help with some routine household upkeep

such as cutting the lawn. They have lawn equipment. If you

would be interested in providing any type of assistance to

the Hamilton family, please contact David Bailey at

davidb@medic911.com. Thank you.

Assistance for One of Our Own

Central Piedmont Community

College will offer an online DOT

Paramedic Refresher course

beginning Tuesday,

September 7th until

Thursday, November 7th.

Participation in the course will

satisfy requirements for the National Registry and North

Carolina Recertification, but will not count as scope

practice for Medic employees.

All students must attend the first class meeting scheduled

for Tuesday, September 7th at 1800 at the North

Campus of CPCC in Room CJ 119.

For more information, please contact Robin Pariso at

robinp@medic911.com or via ext. 6143. Thank you.

Online DOT Paramedic Refresher

Please be advised that as of this Wednesday, September 1st, Medic will no longer offer any AHA classes in-

house. CPCC will be taking over as our AHA training site and will issue the appropriate AHA card. CPCC will send Medic

confirmation of your attendance to payroll for processing and to Robin Pariso for your training file. The following CPR,

ACLS and PALS classes have been scheduled through CPCC:

CPR:

September 10th / September 13th = 0900-1300

September 23rd / September 27th = 1800-2200

October 4th / October 7th = 1800-2200

October 18th / October 21st = 0800-1200

ACLS:

August 21st / November 21st = 0900-1300

PALS

August 22nd/ November 20th = 0900-1300

To register for CPR classes only, please e-mail Mary Ferracci at mary.ferracci@cpcc.edu.

To register for ACLS or PALS classes, please e-mail Mary Smith at mary.smith@cpcc.edu

All ACLS and PALS classes will be held from 0900-1300 on the CPCC Levine Campus

**For any questions, please contact Education Coordinator, Robin Pariso at robinp@medic911.com. Thank you.**

AHA Classes Moving to CPCC

5

On Monday, August 16th, CMC-Mercy and CMC-University initiated a new

stroke protocol. Both hospitals began administering thrombolytics to their acute

stroke patients. CMC-Pineville will follow suit on Tuesday, September 7th. This

will only affect Medic when these patients are transferred to Carolinas

Medical Center for further treatment.

Thrombolytic therapy falls within our scope of practice for transfer of patients.

There are four commonly used medications that may be encountered:

urokinase

alteplase

reteplase

Tenecteplase

They have distinct administration dosing which may include bolus, unit measurement

or mg/kg measurement. Please consult with the nurse or physician for accuracy.

These medications share common adverse reactions.

They may include:

intracranial hemorrhage

severe bleeding

reperfusion arrhythmia

anaphylaxis

orolingual edema

pulmonary embolism and,

cholesterol embolism

These patients may also have a beta-blocker, such as labetalol on board for blood pressure reduction. Please review the

blood pressure parameters with the physician prior to leaving the ED. Also, remember that you may contact a physician

for further orders at any time during transport.

This new hospital protocol has no effect on Medic stroke protocol or destination requirements. The hospital

asks that you start an 18 gauge IV if possible on initial transport of these patients to facilitate early administration of the

thrombolytics at the outlying facilities. Please contact Medical Services if you have any questions. Thank you.

New Stroke Protocol for CMC

As a reminder, all patients going to the Emergency Department for any reason must be scheduled through Medic’s pro-

QA (call taking) process; not the four digit non-emergency number.

The Agency’s non-emergency transport number (704.943.6190) is to be used only when scheduling patients that are being

discharged from a facility or for a doctor’s appointment.

Please contact Bryan Edwards at bryane@medic911.com or via ext. 6130 if you have any questions. Thank you.

Pro-QA Reminder

CMC-Mercy

CMC-University

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Many thanks to everyone that has participated in the Military Support

Campaign!

As you can see, we’ve collected huge amounts of both personal care and

snack items have been collected in support of our Medic employees

overseas. Your contributions exceeded expectations as we have

surpassed our initial goal of filling 12 USPS boxes to ship overseas.

While we have collected huge amounts, there are a few items that are in

need of collection:

Please be sure to join Jay Black and members of the Military Support

Campaign Committee as they will soon announce the dates and times of the packing parties! There will be a packing party

for each shift day (A-shift & B-shift). Anyone interested in helping to pack and ship the boxes full of goodies and personal

items to our Medic employees is welcomed to come.

For more information, please contact Jay Black at jayb@medic911.com. Your contributions have been greatly appreciated!

Military Support Campaign

Given the nature of our work, Medic employees can be susceptible to a Motor Vehicle

Accident while operating company assets. The following information can be used to help

explain what to do and what to expect immediately following a motor vehicle accident.

1. Notify Dispatch and the Supervisor on duty

a. The Dispatcher will – call the appropriate authorities (police, fire, etc.) if

needed

b. The Supervisor will – respond to the scene to gather all information necessary to process and investigate

2. Do not admit fault, accept liability, or make any accusatory statements

3. Make statements only to the police and the responding supervisor

NOTE: During the investigations process you may be directed by the Risk and Safety Specialist to discuss information

pertaining to the accident with Medic’s insurance company, attorney, or other agency. You may not discuss accidents

with anyone other than those authorized

4. Complete and submit the necessary paperwork within 24 hours of the accident. Each person involved is to complete a

supplemental explaining what occurred

5. If an employee is injured in the accident an “On the Job Injury” report must also be completed

The Operations Supervisor and the Risk and Safety Specialist will investigate and take action (if necessary).

For questions and/or comments about workplace accidents, please contact Amy Johnson, Risk and Safety Specialist at

amyj@medic911.com, ext. 6095 or at 980.395.3054 (cell). Thank you.

Workplace Accidents: The Aftermath

Lotion AT & T Long Distance Phone Cards Socks Batteries

7

The countdown for the 2nd Batch of Medic gifts is on! Please be sure to stop by the PR office

no later than Monday, September 13th to pick up your gift.

If you work nights or will be unavailable between the hours of 8:00 am – 5:00pm, please be

sure to send Kristin Young kristiny@medic911.com or Nikkie Perry nikkiep@medic911.com

an e-mail requesting your gift and we will be sure to place it in the OA’s office for pickup.

**IMPORTANT**

Any remaining gifts that have not been picked up or requested by e-mail by Monday,

September 13th will be placed in the Medic store for sale. No exceptions. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

2nd Batch of Medic Gifts Will Be Sold!

Mitchell

Neugebauer

Kimberly Cauble Missy Caldwell Lawrence Johnson Emil Ruiz Allison Brinzey

Darrell Love Jeff Glenn Megan Ruane Krista Howard Jake Lowe Tonya Whitesides

Tanesha Johnson John Burgess John Fisher Maureen Townes Dion Burleson Tim Ireland

Heather Teague Shawn Kersey Chateau Grace Don Creason Charles Gunter Donna Layton

Ronisha Black Treven Cherry Katti Beck Jennifer Strout Matt Campbell Chris Baucom

Chad Wilson Greg Sherrell William Gibson Keisha Boyer

The Gaston College Department for EMS Education will conduct a two-day training

(Saturday, September 18th, 8:00 am—5:00 pm and Sunday, September

19th, 8:00 am—5:00 pm) program for Emergency Medical Personnel on how to

operate in and plan for WMD (weapons of mass destruction) incidents.

Upon completion, participants will be able to properly perform patient triage, decontamination, treatment, and

transportation in the event of exposure to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) weapons.

Prerequisites:

Participants must complete the following two online courses at or before this course in order to receive a full program

certificate. Please visit www.teexwmdcampus.com and complete:

• Basic EMS Concepts for WMD Incidents

• WMD / Terrorism Awareness for Emergency Responders

Continuing Education Credits:

• Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS) 16 hours

• Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) 12.5 hours

• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) 14.75 hours

For more information on the course, please contact Kent Spitler at 704.922.6249 or via e-mail at gcems@gaston.edu.

Operations and Planning for WMD Incidents

8

August/September 2010 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

29 A

30 B

31 B 1 A 2 A 3 B

4 B

5 B 6 A

7 A

8 B 9 B 10 A

CPR Training

0900—1300

11 A

12 A 13 B

CPR Training

0900—1300

14 B

15 A

16 A

17 B

18 B

19 B 20 A

21 A

New Hire

Orientation &

Academy to Begin

22 B

23 B

CPR Training

1800—2200

24 A

25 A

26 A

27 B

CPR Training

1800—2200

28 B 29 A 30 A

Visit Us on the Web!

www.medic911.com

MEDIC Mecklenburg EMS Agency

4525 Statesville Road

Charlotte, NC 28269

Tel: 704-943-6000

Fax: 704-943-6001

In-Service

Training

Medic Events

Holidays

Recertification Testing

Medic Calendar 2010 Training Schedule

AHA Refresher Classes at CPCC

CPR

SEPT - 10, 13 = 0900-1300 / 23, 27 ** 1800-2200

OCT - 4, 7 = 1800-2200 / 18, 21 ** 0800-1200

PALS

NOV - 21 = 0900-1300

ACLS

NOV - 20 = 0900-1300

Stay Tuned to the Medic Dispatch for any

future date announcements!

NC Scope of Practice Recertification

Testing

**YOU MUST RECERTIFY DURING YOUR TEST

MONTH**

ALL CON ED must be up to date at time of testing.

To schedule a test appt date and time, email Robin Pariso at

robinp@medic911.com

OCT 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18 (Expiration Dates NOV, DEC 2010,

JAN 2011)

DEC 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20 (Expiration Dates FEB – APR 2011)

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES. ALL CLASSES HELD IN MEDIC AUDITORIUM