Community Health Paramedicine

Based on nationally recognized and field-tested curricula from across the country, Community Health Paramedicine offers clarity and precision in a concise format that ensures comprehension and encourages critical thinking. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images or content found in the physical edition.

Based on nationally recognized and field-tested curricula from across the country, Community Health Paramedicine offers clarity and precision in a concise format that ensures comprehension and encourages critical thinking. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book is missing some of the images or content found in the physical edition.

In her new book, Infection Control Policies for Community Paramedicine & MIH, Katherine West explains how good infection control practices, vaccines and immunizations, cleaning and disinfection of equipment and work restriction guidelines can assist EMS providers and improve patient care. WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? --Hospital patients are being discharged without receiving or fully understanding discharge instructions. This omission can lead to readmission of the patient. With the basics in place, departments can move on to expanding services to the community. --Departments that are looking to expand services to meet the needs of the elderly, disabled and those living in rural areas where access to healthcare is not easily accessible, will need to refocus and expand infection control practices for the home care environment. --Medical facilities are looking to EMS as the possible source for patient infections. Documentation and compliance monitoring will serve as liability reduction and risk management tools. --EMS is now under the scope of healthcare associated infections (HAIs). The new term HAI is much broader and applies to more healthcare care delivery services.

The healthcare landscape in the United States is evolving rapidly but has largely ignored EMS, until recently. As the country focuses on cost containment and more appropriate methods to deliver services as a result of healthcare reform, EMS will need to undergo dramatic change to fill a new role in the healthcare system. The current traditional delivery method for EMS is financially unsustainable and will soon not be a viable option for care. EMS has a choice to make--adapt to the new environment or be left behind. A viable alternative to the current structure of EMS is Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH)--community-based health management that is fully integrated with the overall health system. Various programs like this have appeared across the United States, but a definitive resource that describes how to successfully implement such a program has not been available. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation fills this void by serving as a reference not only to the EMS community, but also to other medical professionals working toward implementation of a successful MIH program. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation provides a step-by-step approach for the identification of community needs, forming the appropriate partnerships, selection of staff, acquiring resources, patient identification, and overcoming hurdles to a successful program. Examples from successful programs across the country are included. The author team of Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation has developed and implemented a functioning, successful program. Their experiences with community partners and other healthcare specialists provide a broad-based view of the future of EMS in the healthcare industry. Mobile Integrated Healthcare: Approach to Implementation is written by leaders in the field of EMS who are committed to guiding the successful evolution of EMS. Their approach to integration should be considered by EMS management, hospital-based social workers, and community partners such as county health authorities, homeless coalitions, and psychiatric services. The type of care EMS providers give needs to evolve with the changing landscape of healthcare. This text describes how healthcare professionals and community partners can work together to facilitate that change and define a successful MIH program.

This evidence-based report examines expanding the role of paramedics in the community. It summarizes the various types of community paramedicine programs (characteristics, implementation, and funding sources in other jurisdictions) as well as the safety, effectiveness, and economic outcomes of these paramedic programs towards providing patients with alternate, non-emergency health or social services within the community, contextualized to the Alberta setting.

Welcome to the new gold standard in critical care transport training. Published in conjunction with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), Critical Care Transport offers cutting edge content relevant to any healthcare provider training in critical care transport. Like no other textbook in this market, Critical Care Transport thoroughly prepares medical professionals to function as competent members of a critical care team by covering the material that everyone—paramedics, nurses, physicians, and specialty crew—needs to know to operate effectively in the prehospital critical care environment. This book meets the curricula of major critical care training programs, including University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). It covers both ground and flight transport, and meets the objectives of critical care transport certification exams such as the Certified Flight Paramedic (FP-C) exam administered by the Board for Critical Care Transport Paramedic Certification. Content includes information specific to prehospital critical care transport, such as flight physiology, lab analysis, hemodynamic monitoring, and specialized devices such as the intra-aortic balloon pump. Standard topics such as airway management, trauma, and pharmacology are covered in the context of critical care. Chapters have been authored by leading critical care professionals across the country and represent the most current, state-of-the-art information on management of critical care patients.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical component of our nation's emergency and trauma care system, providing response and medical transport to millions of sick and injured Americans each year. At its best, EMS is a crucial link to survival in the chain of care, but within the last several years, complex problems facing the emergency care system have emerged. Press coverage has highlighted instances of slow EMS response times, ambulance diversions, trauma center closures, and ground and air medical crashes. This heightened public awareness of problems that have been building over time has underscored the need for a review of the U.S. emergency care system. Emergency Medical Services provides the first comprehensive study on this topic. This new book examines the operational structure of EMS by presenting an in-depth analysis of the current organization, delivery, and financing of these types of services and systems. By addressing its strengths, limitations, and future challenges this book draws upon a range of concerns: • The evolving role of EMS as an integral component of the overall health care system. • EMS system planning, preparedness, and coordination at the federal, state, and local levels. • EMS funding and infrastructure investments. • EMS workforce trends and professional education. • EMS research priorities and funding. Emergency Medical Services is one of three books in the Future of Emergency Care series. This book will be of particular interest to emergency care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the deficiencies in emergency care systems.