Never a dull moment..we were paged out yesterday morning around 4 am - as in before the roosters get up - 4 am. One of our police officers pulled over a vehicle for speeding. Apparently, they were on their way to the hospital at that high rate of speed because the passenger wasn't feeling well. I always wonder if they feel poorly, drive too fast and THEN get pulled over or do they start feeling bad as soon as they see the officer's lights in their rear view mirror? What a conundrum!
Anyway, I went home after the call and didn't fall asleep until 20 mins before my alarm went off..made for a very long day...which let to a long night for drill night. At drill last night we covered infectious diseases and blood born pathogens in detail. We talked about TB, Hepatitis, HIV, The not-so-common cold virus, RSV, etc.
There's been a lot of emphasis lately on staph infections and how to avoid exposure or prevent contamination. At the end of the day, the best thing you can do to keep yourself healthy is wash your hands with soap and water frequently. Also, try to disinfect common surfaces in your home...counters, light switches, door handles - esp. the fridge and microwave. I've gotten to where I just buy the Clorox brand wipes and disinfect everything when I close the kitchen for the night!
In EMS we are taught to use universal precautions - that is, treat everyone as if they have an infectious disease and use appropriate BSI measures - Body Substance Isolation. I've practiced this since becoming certified 5 years ago and never have to second guess myself after a call is over.
The rest of the drill was spent on R.I.T. training - Rapid Intervention Team. As a volunteer group this is not mandated, but it's something we're working towards and I think it's a great idea. It's always better to have the training and not need it, then to be in an emergent situation where you need it and don't have it to use.
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