EMS Week, May 15 - 21, 2005

Logan Regional Medical Center and Guyan Valley Hospital are pleased to be celebrating EMS Week (Emergency Medical Services) May 15 - 21, 2005. EMS Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of the medical 'front line' - Fire, Police, and Emergency personnel. This year's theme "Ready, Responsive, Reliable" captures the essence of the willingness to serve.

Did you ever wonder how 9-1-1, the three digit telephone number designated as the Universal Emergency Number for public use throughout the United States, came into being? In 1967 the FCC, Federal Communication Commission, met with AT&T, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, to find a means of establishing a universal emergency number that could be implemented quickly. In 1968, AT&T established the digits 9-1-1 as the emergency code throughout the United States. The number 9-1-1 was decided upon because it is easy to remember, can be dialed quickly, and it had never been authorized as an office code, area code, or service code.

Just as pharmacists have the mortar and pestle and doctors have the caduceus, The Blue "Star of Life" is the symbol for the EMS that is always seen on ambulances and EMS uniforms - the staff on the star represents Medicine and Healing. Each of the bars of the blue "Star of Life" represents the six system function of the EMS: Detection; Reporting; Response; On Scene Care; Care in Transit and; Transfer to Definitive Care

To show how far the EMS has come we must look back to the late 1800's in Brooklyn, New York. Horse-drawn ambulances, usually housed in a neighborhood stable, were staffed by a driver and a surgeon. Ambulance calls consisted of transfers and "Hurry" calls. "Hurry" calls, dispatched through police headquarters, were reserved for severe accidents or similar emergencies so that 'ambulance horses were not galloped needlessly' for the relief of a sprained ankle! The emergency call went something like this: ambulance drivers received calls; they rang the ambulance surgeon and then hitched the horses, the ambulance surgeon responded from the staff room and jumped upon the ambulance as it moved down the street! We've certainly come a long way.

Today's EMS is much more than an ambulance service and is made up of many parts called the EMS System. The system includes the call center which dispatches help, those who respond first (police and firefighters), an ambulance transportation team of EMT (Emergency Medical Technicians) and/or Paramedics, physicians and nurses who provide advice via radio or phone, air medical services (helicopters and small airplanes), and the hospital receiving facility.

"While none of us prefer to have to use the services of the EMS, we are deeply grateful to those that serve on 'the front line' to rescue us in our most desperate time of need. To that end, all of us at Logan Regional Medical Center and Guyan Valley Hospital are proud to be working at the side of these 'everyday heroes'. We commend you for your selflessness and dedication to your highly regarded vocation," commented Kevin Fowler, CEO of the hospitals.