The potential threat posed by H1N1 influenza has again highlighted the important role of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals, especially with the advent of the 2009 EMS Week, May 17-23.
The EMS profession has come a long way from its roots in the funeral industry when local morticians would be dispatched to pick up a seriously ill or injured patient in a hearse. Today, EMS professionals are part of nearly every community in the U.S. and play an important role in the well-being of its citizens. The theme for 2009 EMS Week, "A Proud Partner in Your Community," recognizes the commitment that emergency medical personnel make on behalf of the communities they serve.
Midway through the week the profession called attention to the specialized need for pediatric emergency care to ensure that every child in the nation receives the highest quality emergency care possible.
Parents magazine recently named University of Iowa Children's Hospital as one of the best children's hospitals in the country and commended the faculty and staff in the Emergency Treatment Center at UI Children's Hospital for their high quality emergency pediatric care.
"We have a strong commitment to providing excellent emergency care to children and their families," says Charles Jennissen, MD, associate clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and division director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
The UI Trauma Center also recently became the first and only trauma center in the state to earn a Level I verification for its pediatric service from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The ACS also re-verified the UI Trauma Center as a Level I trauma center for adult services.
The UI Emergency Treatment Center (ETC) cares for more than 45,000 patients annually. Its medical helicopter service, AirCare, which turned 30 years old this year, made 1,075 life-saving flights across the region last fiscal year. The ETC is also home to the state's only residency program in emergency medicine.
Educators in the Emergency Medical Services Learning Resource Center (EMSLRC) help Iowa communities throughout Iowa by providing training for physicians, nurses, paramedics and other emergency care providers.
The Emergency Medicine Simulation Center, located in the EMSLRC, serves as a focal point for emergency medicine training. Computerized patient simulators have a pulse, a blood pressure, breathe, talk, and can undergo the same lifesaving procedures that are necessary to care for critically ill and/or injured persons.
The EMSLRC also has the state's only emergency medicine simulation lab on wheels. The Mobile Emergency Treatment Center, which features a realistic ambulance setting, is built within a 40-foot motor home and takes emergency medicine education to physicians, nurses, paramedics and other emergency care providers across Iowa.
"The entire University of Iowa Department of Emergency Medicine is proud to be part of the EMS team effort here within our state of Iowa and the entire region. We salute our EMS providers for their service, dedication and commitment to quality patient care," said Azeemuddin Ahmed, MD, ACEP, who serves as medical director of both AirCare and EMSLRC. |
