Pike County Advanced Life Support, Inc.

On Monday, January 21, 2013, Pike County ALS Paramedic Unit 401-5 was dispatched along with the Milford Fire Department and the Pennsylvania State Police for a vehicle accident with entrapment on Route 6 in the area of John’s Mower Shop. Unit 401-5 arrived on-scene to find a three car accident with negative entrapments. All patients had minor injuries and were not transported to the hospital. Fire department personnel arrived and assisted with patient care, traffic control and operations. The Medic unit was placed back in service.

On Monday, January 16, 2013 at 23:30 hours, Pike County ALS Paramedic Unit 401-5 was dispatched along with the Shohola Township Fire Department and the Pennsylvania State Police for a vehicle accident on Twin Lakes Road in Shohola Township. Initial reports were of a vehicle on its side with a person unconscious in the vehicle. Personnel arrived on-scene to find a single vehicle accident with vehicle on its side in the middle of Twin Lakes Road. The driver of the vehicle was missing from the vehicle. A search was performed. State Police investigated. Twin Lakes Road was closed while emergency unit operated. Unit 401-5 was placed back in service at 01:19.

Pennsylvania’s Yellow Dot Program was created to assist citizens in the “golden hour” of emergency care following a traffic accident when they may not be able to communicate their needs themselves. Placing a yellow dot in your vehicle’s rear window alerts first responders to check your glove compartment for vital information to ensure you receive the medical attention you need.

The program is a cooperative effort among the Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation, Health and Aging; the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and First Responders and local law enforcement.

Participants complete a personal information form, which includes the participant’s name, contact information, emergency contact information, medical history and medications, allergies and the participant’s doctors’ names. A photo – showing only the participant’s head and shoulders – is then taped to the front of the completed information sheet.

The yellow dot decal provided in the program kit is placed in the lower left corner of the participant’s vehicle’s rear windshield. The decal should be no higher than 3 inches from the bottom of the windshield. This decal alerts Pike County Advanced Life Support (PCALS) personnel that vital information can be found in the vehicle.  All PCALS personnel directed to look for the Yellow Dot decal once arriving on the scene of an automobile accident.

Place the completed information sheet, with the attached picture, into the Yellow Dot folder, and then place the folder into the vehicle’s glove box.

You can request a Yellow Dot packet or pick one up at many locations in our area including both the Pike & Wayne County Agencies on Aging.  Yellow Dot packets are also available at Regional /County Health Centers. You can call 1-877-PA-HEALTH (1-877-724-3258) to find centers near you.

Dingmans Ferry – Delaware Township Volunteer Ambulance Corp (DTVAC) and Pike County Advanced Life Support (PCALS) were both awarded Pocono Medical Center’s STEMI Cup Award for an emergency incident that occurred in January of 2012 in which a patient had a heart attack in the Pocono Mountain Lake Forest Community. The award was presented by Dr. Peter Favini, Director of Pocono Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Department and Medical Director for both EMS organizations during a presentation at the Annual Pocono EMS Conference on October 20, 2012.

The ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) award was given to these organizations for its role in the “door to balloon angioplasty” time of 28 minutes. It is the fastest time for Pocono Medical Center in the 2011-2012 reporting year. Door-to-balloon is a time measurement in emergency cardiac care, specifically in the treatment of a STEMI, “heart attack”.  The interval starts with the patient’s arrival in the emergency department, and ends when a catheter guide wire crosses the heart blockage in the cardiac catherization lab. The lower the “door-to-balloon” time, the less muscle damage to the heart.

This time was significantly reduced because of the quick recognition of a STEMI on the cardiac  monitor by the EMS crews and quick transport time. The hospital’s cardiac catheterization team was notified and activated  before the EMS crew left the patient’s home and the catheterization team was waiting for the patient upon ambulance arrival at the emergency room.

Pocono Medical Center (PMC) has worked closely with EMS services in order to improve EMS notification times, subsequently reducing their door to balloon times.  PMC has received national recognition for superior patient outcomes and for providing world-class service in cardiac
cases.

For more information on DTVAC visit www.dtvac.org or call (570) 828-2345 and for more information on PCALS visit www.pikeals.org or call (855) PIKE-ALS.

We would like to thank everyone who assisted in responding to the effects of Hurricane Sandy in Pike and Wayne Counties. Because of the adequate warning time of the storm we had plenty of time to preplan for Sandy.  Pike County ALS increased its staff, placed additional units in service, and manned our phone lines 24/7 during the storm. Throughout the week Pike County ALS provided information to the public as we received it through constant Facebook posts and email notifications.  Although our stations were out of power for several days, Pike County ALS volunteers and employees were able to answer dozens of calls for public assistance in addition to emergency calls.

We now urge the public at large to focus on the people of New York and New Jersey that were affected by the storm. They are in desperate need of help. Several local groups have collected donations for the victims of Sandy. Right now you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation towards the relief efforts or donate via RedCross.org to make a donation of any amount. The Northeastern Pennsylvania Ambulance Strike Team was deployed to New Jersey for several days. We applaud their efforts. Our prayers are with the people of New Jersey and New York and the people that are helping in the relief efforts.

MILFORD — This week, Pike County Advanced Life Support (PCALS) will be mailing subscription notices throughout Pike and Wayne counties as part of their annual subscription drive. Annual fees are $30 for an individual, $50 for a couple, and $70 for a household, but the benefits are exceptional.

As a subscription member, you will not be billed for balances owed on services that are partly covered by your insurance carrier,
including co-pays and deductibles (with the exception of deductibles mandated by Federal Law). In other words, you are not responsible for whatever fees are not covered by your insurance, unless Federal Law mandates you pay.

President Mary Lou Corbett stated, “Unfortunately we have to bill our patients, but our annual subscription drive allows participants to
be protected from a large ambulance bill. The subscription drive also helps offset the cost of providing such high quality paramedic services.”

Pike County ALS is the main supplier of ambulance services in Pike County. PCALS has also served portions of Wayne County since 2009.

Without their dedicated staff and volunteers, many sick and injured people would suffer from lack of advanced emergency treatment
before arriving at a hospital. Fortunately, since 2003, PCALS has been providing advanced life-saving support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2011 alone, PCALS responded to over 1,800 calls with state-of-the-art technology, including 12-lead EKG machines, cardiac defibrillators, external pacemakers and bone drills.

Pike County ALS works with local ambulance services, which provide pre-hospital care to critically ill and injured patients in the
absence of advanced life support. Local ambulance services provide basic life-saving treatment like oxygen administration, splinting and transportation, but do not include cardiac monitoring, medication administration or invasive skills such as IV therapy and surgical airways.

For more information contact us.