Secondary Injury Protection
for You
Your Back Your Knees
Your Choice
Looking for an Easier and Safer Way
to Package and Transport Patients ?
How many of you have suffered a knee or back injury while lifting a patient. How many of you know someone who has? How many of the injured first responders were volunteers? How many of you have at least intermittent reoccurring pain at the injury site long after the initial injury? How many of you feel you deserve to have a patient transport device that makes it much easier for you to lift and carry patients while helping to reduce your likelihood of you suffering serious knee or back injury.
If you are among the vast majority of those first responders who believes they and their crew members are worth it, study the attached informational material carefully. It is intended as an instructional aid to help you fully comprehend some of the many and varied advantages new technology has to offer
Your Self Protection.
Study the pictures carefully. Pay particular attention to the angle advantage for you at both the knees and back. Notice that that angle benefit for you exists when lifting at either end of the stretcher. Calculate the percentage of angle advantage you gain in each position. Identify the position that provides you with an angle advantage more than twice that of conventional backboards along.
BONUS ! ! Notice this! You do not have to walk backwards any more when you carry the patient at the head end of the stretcher. Talking about icing on the cake!! Imagine how much easier and safer it will be for you be able to face the direction you are traveling. Get together with others and make a list of all the situation where easily seeing where you are going provides unparalleled protection for both you and the patient at the same time.
You and your employers should study this informational material carefully. Adequate time for discussion and questions during run reviews should be made available for everyone involved. Particularly, for those who as part of their employment duty are designated as responsible for rendering medical assistance where the likelihood of serious burn, trauma or bloodborne pathogen cross contamination can be reasonably anticipated to occur. Cost to benefit calculations based on actual records should be generated to clearly demonstrate the potential for huge medical cost savings, reduction in time lost from the job by employees and lost productivity. Discussion should be adequate to insure that all involved realize the Imminent danger posed by continued use of traditional patient transportation methods alone.
The first credo of the EMS is to protect the self first. What better way to insure continued service for the people you direct, then to do so while providing the best possible transport for the patients. Make a Change for Your Own Self Protection. Before it’s to late again !
PS If you know of anyone else who would benefit or be interested in this information, please pass a copy along to them. Thank You