Thank you.  It is a word not heard very often by EMS providers but definitely warranted.  That was not the case on the beautiful evening of March 18, 2008.  That was actually the theme of the evening during the Hopewell-Prince George Chamber of Commerce annual awards ceremony held at the Fort Lee Officers Club.  This year's awards ceremony featured a section honoring local public service heroes.  Among those honored were three of our very own.  Senior crewmen Kenneth Evans, Kyle Langley, and Samantha Bailey all received certificates of Valor for their extraordinary efforts in the line of duty.  Crewman Evans and Bailey received their awards for a call they responded too which by far was no walk in the park.  Both members were dispatched to respond for mutual assistance to Charles City for a vehicle accident with injuries.  Their initial dispatch information just revealed that there had been a car accident somewhere on Route 5 with only one person possibly injured.  While en route, they received further information advising them that are possibly more occupants that are unaccounted for.  Not only were they responding to a non-specific location but the crew also did not know how many patients there were and how badly injured they were.  On arrival, Evans and Bailey found a severely mangled vehicle and one person on the side of the road waving them down.  As Evans approached the scene, he realized that there was another individual in the car that they could not reach because of the extent of the damage to the vehicle.  He then called for additional resources.  While triaging the patient that was outside the vehicle, Evans and Bailey were told that there was one more person that could not be located.  After what seemed like several hours with only them two on a very stressful scene, further EMS & Fire backup began to show up to assist with triaging and treating patients.  At this time Evans & Bailey could focus on the patient they made initial contact with.  Extrication was performed for the individual that was entrapped within the vehicle but it was too late by the time responders made access.  The trapped patient was no longer viable.  Another patient was also found several feet away from the vehicle, he too was also not viable.  The two crewmembers promptly transported the survivor to VCU Medical Center where he was treated and released several days later.  An amazing effort put forth by two heroic individuals at a very chaotic scene.  Sr. Crewman Kyle Langley also received the same award for being extraordinary in the line of duty.  While performing administrative duties at crew headquarters one evening, Langley overheard a call being dispatched for a child who was unresponsive and unknown if breathing.  This dispatch information by itself would be enough to put anyone on edge but Langley, knowing he was the closest to the scene out of all available units, he hopped into an ambulance and responded as a one-man unit to the call.  On his arrival he was presented with a pediatric patient who indeed was unresponsive and not breathing.  He began performing the steps of CPR in an effort to save the young individual.  While Langley was beginning treatment, further ALS assistance arrived on scene to continue patient care.  He continued with the care, assisting the ALS crew with medication therapy, airway management, and CPR.  They transported the individual to John Randolph Medical Center where further medical care was rendered.  Today, the young child is alive and well thanks to the quick and selfless acts of one of our everyday heroes.  Had Langley not did what he did, the situation could have been drastically different and could have resulted in a life lost.  As the speaker closed his speech, he encouraged everyone present to take a moment and stop, look each public service worker into the eye, and with all sincerity, tell them thank you.  Everyone at Hopewell EMS congratulates our three honorees on a job well done and thanks them for their undying service to the community.

    Saving Lives One File At A Time                                                                            

When you call 911 and request an ambulance, the first thing responders are going to want to know is of the patients medical background.  For an unresponsive patient or one with altered mental status, it can be hard for EMS providers to gather a medical history.  A patients medical history can give the provider a lot of insight as to what may be going on with the patient and how they can treat the current illness and/or injury.  This information can be a lifesaver.  Hopewell EMS now offers File of Life.  File of Life is a compact file that an individual places all of their medical information on.  This includes past medical history, allergies, current conditions, current medications and dosages, insurance information and more.  It even includes a small comment section where you can leave comments for the provider when they arrive in the event you are not able to verbally communicate it to them.  Here's how it works.  You completely fill out the card with all information requested to the best of your knowledge.  Fold the card back up and place it in its red sleeve.  Post this entire file in a common place that can easily be found by EMS providers.  It even comes with a sticker that you can place on your front or back door that let's all EMS providers know that you have the File of Life as they enter.  The two most common places providers will look for this file is on the refrigerator or in the kitchen next to your medicines and on your bedroom door.  You can choose to place it wherever you would like, as

long as when its needed, it is readily available.  We are offering these to any citizen that desires one free of charge.  If you are interested in obtaining one or more of these valuable files, please click here to send an email requesting one or you can call our voice mail line at 804-458-3866 and leave a message including a contact number.  Someone will contact you promptly to get you your File of Life.

 

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  Hopewell EMS Receives Trauma Award