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New Ulm ambulances now equipped with ventilatorSince the transition to an Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance Service and the corresponding introduction of paramedics in New Ulm over nine months ago, Allina Medical Transportation has put into operation new ways of doing business. The most significant is that ground ambulance transfers to larger, metro facilities that used to be done by an outside ambulance service are now done by New Ulm’s ambulance staff. “We are averaging 70 runs a month, compared to about 45 to 50 prior to ALS starting in New Ulm,” said Patrick Stone, supervisor for Allina Medical Transportation (AMT) in New Ulm. “We have seen greatly improved patient satisfaction in that area. In the past, if a patient had to be transferred by ground ambulance, they would have to wait for Gold Cross to come over from Mankato to pick them up.” Similarly, patients who are required to be intubated and on a ventilator during transfer previously had to be transported either by helicopter or Gold Cross. Recently, the New Ulm Medical Center Foundation made the purchase of a $4,300 ventilator for the AMT ambulances in New Ulm. “This is a piece of critical care equipment,” Stone said. “It’s not something that you find on every ambulance in the state.” Any patient who needs their breathing performed for them would utilize the ventilator, Stone explained. This piece of equipment will be especially significant on those days when the weather prevents a transfer by helicopter. Rather than having to wait for an ambulance with a ventilator on board to arrive from Mankato to pick up the patient, New Ulm will now have the ability to safely transfer that patient. In addition to training for the use of the ventilator, the New Ulm paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have also completed joint car extrication training and ice rescue training with local fire departments. Stone said the new paramedics in town and the EMTs are melding into one team and the crew is spending time getting the new face of Allina Medical Transportation out into the community. “One of the biggest challenges has been for the community to get used to the way an ALS ambulance service operates compared to what they were used to with a BLS service,” Stone said. One of the most noticeable changes is the amount of time that a paramedic spends on the scene, while being in constant communication with a physician in the New Ulm Medical Center Emergency Department. “With the former Basic Life Support service, the focus was on ‘stabilizing and transporting’ the patient. Now with Advanced Life Support, we spend time at the scene assessing and treating a patient right there,” he added. “For example, at the scene of a car accident or heart attack, we’ll do all we can for the victim – this might include splinting a limb or administering medication – right at the scene, before moving them to the hospital,” Stone explained. “If a patient is already deceased when we arrive, we generally do not transport them to the hospital or funeral home unless we are asked to by the family,” Stone said. Conversely, there may be times when paramedics are called to a scene and are able to offer assistance without ever transporting the patient to the hospital. “We don’t want to take someone to the hospital unless it is necessary,” Stone said. “We don’t want to cause someone to have an emergency department bill when it isn’t necessary. More often than not – unless we dispense medications from the ambulance – if a person is not transported to the hospital they will not get an ambulance bill. If we give them medication, say to an asthmatic person for example, they will receive a bill for that medication.” “In general, the community is beginning to recognize the benefits of having an ALS ambulance service in town and that change comes along with that,” Stone said. |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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