EMT basic refresher course offered
Paramedics provide vital care to residents
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Keeping their edge through continuous training is one way the paramedic unit in Ripley County provides top notch emergency care in your home.

Scott Huffman noted that the entire staff is constantly looking for training opportunities and are all interested in education.

Huffman, along with another paramedic, Jennifer Frye, will take a test on Thursday, and will be one step closer to being Primary Instructors. When they complete this training, they will be able to re-certify the other paramedics, which is a process that has to be done bi-annually. This will save money and make it more convenient for the paramedics.

Last week the paramedic service offered a training at the Osgood Town Hall where manikins were used. Here emergency medical personnel had the opportunity to practice on an infant and an adult. They established airways, did chest compressions and much more. The medical professionals acted out scenarios that might actually happen - a man falling a long distance, a baby who wasn't breathing. "This is what you'll see in someone's house," noted Huffman.

Those taking in the demonstrations given by the medical professionals included Commissioner Robert Reiners, Council members, Dephane Smith and Donald Dunbar, and Bill Dramann.

Along with personnel from the various area life squads, Emergency Room Nurse Roseann Buchanan from Margaret Mary Community Hospital was in attendance.

EMT's (emergency medical technician) must have annual trainings and up until now have gotten them a class at a time, here and there. For the first time in Ripley County and possibly in the state of Indiana, Huffman noted that a EMS Basic Refresher Course is being offered. "Mike Sieverding really had a lot to do with getting this set up," he noted, saying Sieverding, who is a paramedic, is aggressive about education.

The free course is being offered by Margaret Mary Community Hospital and Ripley County EMS and will take place on February 11, 18, and 25, from 9-4:30 p.m at the Batesville Volunteer Fire Department. This course will give First Responders and EMT's all the required skills and annual proficiencies in airway and de-fib.

Huffman is hoping the collective course will entice those who have been EMT's and let their certification lapse. "We can always use First Responders and EMT's," he noted. Those interested in signing up can call 689-6723 for additional information.

Saying the paramedic unit works together with all the rescue squads in the county, Huffman noted that the more trained volunteers in the field, the better. He said it's a collaborative effort of every agency working together for one common goal to save someone's life.

From education to hands-on experiences, those in the emergency medical field know that they only have a short period of time when they respond to someone's home to make a difference - sometimes the difference is between life and death.

The addition of the paramedics in the county has enhanced what the area life squads already had in place. Now, residents have a "rolling emergency room" when help arrives.

Huffman noted that when they arrive on the scene, whether it be at someone's home or an accident, they first assess the situation. They have the capability of hooking up a cardiac monitor, using an external pacemaker, establishing an airway and administering life-saving drugs and more. Sometimes the paramedics are actually giving emergency medical care to someone while they are being cut out of a vehicle. They can start IV's, which saves time at the hospital. They also draw blood and have it ready for doctors and nurses in the emergency room.

Paramedics are trained and certified to administer a number of drugs including those to help someone in a diabetic reaction, drug overdose, injections for allergies and a number of medications to help a patient in cardiac arrest.

Huffman noted that the paramedics work hand-in-hand with the life squads and depend on them for help setting up IV's and more. "We really rely on them a lot," he noted.

Sometimes the work of a paramedic is complicated and sometimes it's as simple as cooking breakfast. Huffman noted that Paramedic Don Bowman knows the signs of diabetes and sometimes all someone needs to do is eat. "He'll actually whip up some breakfast while he's at the person's house," laughed Huffman. On a serious note, he said they do whatever is needed to help people.

Huffman is proud of the paramedics, who are local people who care about their neighbors and friends. "They all passed their paramedic national registry exam on the first try." That's a feat, according to Huffman, who says it sometimes can take up to six times to pass this extensive test. Those serving Ripley County through the paramedic service include: Huffman, Jennifer Frye, Don Bowman, Mike Sieverding, Sue Carey, Greg Koehler, and the newest paramedic, Carmen Elliott.

Explaining that Ripley County has a unique emergency service system, Huffman said he feels confident that people get the best possible care. The paramedic unit responds along with the rescue squads when there is an emergency. If immediate medical care is needed, the paramedics can provide that. If a transport is needed, the rescue squads can provide that. It's a partnership that brings quality emergency service to the county.

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTO

Pictured from left, Melanie Flodder, Amber Knueven, and Randy Merkel, practice on a manikin at a training provided by Ripley County Paramedics at the Osgood Town Hall, on January 12.

WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTO

Paramedic Scott Huffman, who is the director of Ripley County EMS, shows the variety of medications that can be administered by paramedics in an emergency situation. Also pictured is the cardiac monitor that is used for patients complaining of chest pains. Someone can be quickly assessed and given life-saving medication through the paramedic service.