I keep a list of things I want, or things I'd change, if I was the one who had the authority to make the changes.
Top on my list today is a portable, personal CO detector.
One of those that clip onto something would be great. We could clip it to the bag we carry in to every call.
I was just looking for information on them, to see the pricing, etc. The ones I saw would need to be turned on for each call, and we'd need to learn to do that.
I also saw some disposable detector cards. They last for 90 days, and change color in the presence of CO. Nothing to turn on or off. You can get them for about $3, so replacing them every 3 months would not be expensive. However, they don't have an audible alarm, so we'd need to look at them to notice the color change.
All it would take is one call that comes in as "sick person" and turns out to be "CO poisoning" to make either option worth it. Word is, our dept had such a call not long before we joined. Fortunately, everyone turned out okay, but it easily could have turned out differently. I might just get some of the cheapo disposable ones for myself, and go with that.
For a long time, a new KED, perhaps the K.O.D.E. 2, was on my list of things I want. The old KED we have is in desperate need of replacement, but right now, what I'd like to have even more is a set of good, clear, scientifically valid protocols for spinal immobilization.
I made my original list last year, at EMS Today.
Yep. Still moping that I can't afford to go this year.
Still... maybe I COULD go down for the day, check out the show room, get more ideas for things I want but won't be getting. Tempting. Very tempting, indeed.
I never thought much about Co detectors until we responded to a simple check on the welfare call. We foun a man doa in his living room. Wan't until we found his dead dog under the coffee table that we high tailed it out of there. Turned out he had an attached garage and left the door open to the house and the car running in the garage. Co detectors can be gotten with grant money. Ours cost about $300 dollars and the battery lasts 3-5 years and is replacible. Clips right on our bag, turn it on and you dodn have to touch it again unless the alarm goes off. It has alerted us 3 times since we got it 5 years ago so it's well worth the price
ReplyDeleteI agree it's well worth the price.
DeleteTrouble is, if I want one, I'm going to have to buy it for myself. The dept is, shall we say, "resistant" to anything I say or request. It isn't a financial issue, per se.
So I can do more research, though, would you mind posting what kind you have? And do you recall where it came from?
You'll have it tomorrow (Tuesday) I know of what you speak. For some reason Change, even when for the good of all seems to be a four letter word in EMS and those who tout it often fall into disregard. I often have to make others believe it is their idea and let them take credit for it. It sucks to have to play the game, but in the long run it's a game worth playing.
ReplyDeleteThey are Drager Pac 3500/5500 CO, H2S,O2
ReplyDeleteManufactured in Germany and distributed By
Drager Safety Inc
101 Technology Drive
Pittsburg, PA. 15275
1-412-787-8383
my boss can't remember where he ordered them from, so i took the above info off the manual for you
Thanks, Steve, and thank your boss for me, too.
ReplyDelete