Author Archives: Ron Fedele

You are driving to a call and find yourself behind a car that will not pull to the right, opposing traffic is heavy so you think " hey, I can just zip by him on the right!". Freeze that thought for a second and think back to Charley Brown, he is all psyched up to [...]

Why did you get into EMS?
I constantly ask this question of any new people I find myself working with. I rarely ask anyone of my "vintage" or older because I know what the standard answer will be.
"I used to sit there watching Johnny and Roy each week go out in squad 51 and I wanted [...]

We all do this business for our own reasons. Suffice it to say I doubt anyone is in it for the big bucks!!!! Sometimes though you can just get the feeling that you are under appreciated. Look at this picture and smile. Be sure to check out the logo! (click to see picture)

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Revatio® (Generic Name: sildenafil citrate)
Revatio (re-vah-tee-o) is a fairly new drug on the market used to treat pulmonary hypertension.  Pulmonary hypertension causes increased blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs.  Because of this, patients are not able to tolerate physical activity and exercise as they used to [...]

Problem
An ECRI investigation of a fire that occurred between an oxygen regulator and an E-cylinder valve revealed that the fire resulted from the use of two washers between the regulator body and the E-cylinder yoke. In this incident, a specific model oxygen regulator, which had a durable washer, had been placed [...]

Defibtech LLC, DBP-2800 Battery Pack for ReviveR AED™ and Lifeline AED® Semi-automatic External Defibrillators

Recall Class: Class I
Date Recall Initiated: May 21, 2010
Product(s): DBP-2800 Battery Pack for the Defibtech ReviveR AED™ and Lifeline AED® semi-automatic external defibrillators
Affects only DBP-2800 battery packs distributed prior to June 4, 2007 and used with the ReviveR AED™ and Lifeline AED® [...]

Physio-Control Inc., LIFEPAK 15 Monitor/Defibrillator
Recall Class: Class I
Date Recall Initiated: March 4, 2010
Product(s): LIFEPAK 15 Monitor/Defibrillator
See under Useful Links to search for affected devices by serial number.
The serial number is located on the underside of the device.
These devices were manufactured between March 26, 2009 and December 15, 2009 and distributed between March 27, 2009 [...]

Airgas South, Inc., a distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, today announced an expanded voluntary recall of medical gas products filled at its Chattanooga, Tennessee facility. The recall is being initiated as a precautionary measure because these products may have been manufactured under conditions that did not sufficiently comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices [...]

4 plus years ago a 49 year old man lost his life while blowing the snow off his sidewalk. A Paramedic (the patients son) witnessed the arrest and started CPR (and I am sure this would be the most wholehearted effort at CPR that he could do). In spite of his best efforts his father died, possibly due to the fact that the debibrillator that arrived with the first responding fire engine had a dead battery. To make matters worse the second battery was dead as well. Shortly thereafter this 49 year old gentleman was also pronounced dead.

An investigation has shown that these batteries were more than 2 years past the manufacturers suggested replacement date. There also seems to have been a failure to identify the dead batteries due to a regular checkout of the defibrillator. There has been a settlement of 3.2 Million dollars in this case (which would have more than paid for those batteries).

Beyond the dollars involved we must remember what got most of us (from the field provider to the administrator)  into this business - the desire to help someone.

Lets keep our eye on the ball and ensure we do everything possible to provide that high level of care we all talk about.

By the way, we may save our self a load of money on the side!

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