Author Archives: Canadian Paramedicine

BY DEBORAH TETLEY, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE, AB, STARS When the call came into the STARS Emergency Link Centre (ELC) that a glacier sightseeing coach filled with passengers had overturned, with many fatally and badly injured patients, crew members at all three Alberta bases jumped into action. In Calgary, transport physician Dr. Mike Betzner launched an urgent assessment of where all the STARS resources were, and a decision was made to dispatch helicopters to the scene from Grande Prairie, Edmonton and … Read More

Horse Powered Ambulances By: Peter Adsten In 1940 the armed forces of Germany invaded The Netherlands and soon after a shortage of gasoline and diesel fuel resulted in the closing of 9,000 of the Netherlands’ 12,000 refueling stations. The occupying forces also appropriated many of the motorized vehicles in The Netherlands, including ambulances. Although the call for ambulance service in The Netherlands was as great as ever, without fuel, the few remaining ambulances were useless. Ingenuity was required. Some ambulances … Read More

Hallway EMS By: Darrell Bardua   As EMS Off-load delays in the emergency department continue to plague systems across North America and beyond, are we prepared to meet the demands of our patients in this setting? Most paramedics are clinically prepared to manage patients in the hallways of emergency departments. However, there are more than just clinical implications. A new set of skills is often required to get through these extended delays in the transfer of care. Many of these … Read More

By: Steve Urszenyi, A-EMCA, ACP It’s 3 a.m. and you’ve been called to a residence for an 83-year-old woman who got out of bed to use the washroom. In doing so she tripped over a pile of laundry that was laying in the middle of her bedroom in her less-than-tidy little apartment over the Three Sheets Laundromat. Her 61-year-old daughter meets you and tells you that “Mum hasn’t been doing so well for the past few months, ever since getting … Read More

Article published in the 1996 October / November Edition Words by: Heather Mackenzie-Carey Consider the following scenario. You are dispatched for a conscious, breathing 45-year-old male patient complaining of chest pain. It’s a cold snowy night and you were on the phone to your “significant other” discussing the weekend plans when the call came in. Your partner is not your regular partner as he is off sick. You are attending so you ask the patient appropriate history questions while your partner … Read More