OCFD, MSP practicing taking patients airborne ahead of busy Memorial Day Weekend
OCEAN CITY, Md. – Earlier this week, 47 ABC WMDT showed you how Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) treats their patients on the ground. But sometimes, the severity of injuries requires taking the patient airborne.
“Controlled Chaos”
The extreme level of coordination and skill necessary to safely and successfully pull that kind of operation off is impressive. Paramedics on the ground, and in the air, work through a highly orchestrated system of steps, to ensure that their patients get the best care possible.
“It looks like chaos, but I can assure you it’s very much controlled chaos,” said flight paramedic Sergeant Jonathan King of Maryland State Police (MSP) Aviation Command. “Everyone has a role, and everyone performs that role, and in the end, it all works out very well for the patient.”
Starting Care on the Ground
The often life-saving care begins with OCFD firefighter/paramedics rushing patients to an agreed-upon landing zone for MSP’s helicopter.
“Here in Ocean City, we’re empowered to do some fairly advanced life-saving procedures; things like airway management, we call it rapid sequence intubation,” said OCFD firefighter/paramedic Yvette Rode. “We would want to stabilize any injuries we see, control any bleeding. As you see in this particular simulation, we applied tourniquets, put him on a backboard, we started an IV, we’ve gotten him intubated.”
As all of that is going on, ground and flight crew are constantly communicating with each other.
“If we’re putting someone on a helicopter, we want to be more cognizant of how we’re packaging them, making sure that we have them organized and ready to go, they have all of their stuff with them, all of their information, their family knows what’s happening and where they’re going,” said Rode.
Taking Flight
MSP’s flight crew then carefully takes over.
“Any time that you can save after a patient is injured, every moment is critical. And, that’s kind of where we come in,” said Sgt. King. “Our role is rapid transport, and advanced care.”
It’s an operation that can be extremely complicated, and dangerous, for everyone involved.
“What we’re sitting in is a helicopter. But, it’s essentially an ambulance that can fly through the air very quickly,” said Sgt. King. “It’s a very loud environment. There’s a lot of vibration. That limits what we can do patient assessment-wise. So, we have to really rely on a full clinical picture, and a report from the ground providers; an assessment while they’re on the ground, before we get airborne.”
Staying Prepared
Complicated and dangerous as it may be, it’s a necessity that first responders must stayed prepared for.
“In the summertime, Ocean City becomes what essentially is the second-largest city in the state by population,” said Sgt. King. “It can be quite a long ambulance ride to the closest level three trauma center, or you’re talking several hours to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma.”
Traffic accidents are typically what require airlifts, says Sgt. King. “Obey the traffic laws, be careful, be aware of your surroundings, watch for motorcycles and pedestrians, especially here in Ocean City crossing the street,” he said.
Ocean City is heading into its first big tourism weekend of the year. First responder say playing it safe is the best way you can prevent the need for medical care. However, if you do need help, don’t hesitate to call for it; first responders are ready to come to you aide, says Rode.
“With the influx of people in the summer, we do see more calls that require us to use our partners like MSP,” she said. “It’s really important for us to continue our training with our partners, because something like this is a very orchestrated event.”
