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12-14-2005, 08:20 PM
Michigan Township To Beef Up Medical Response
Updated: 12-14-2005 10:07:48 AM
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The Detroit News
via NewsEdge Corporation
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Select State: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Conn. Delaware. D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Okla. Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Two Macomb County fire departments are hiring firefighters with advanced medical qualifications who can bring many emergency room techniques to the patient on the scene.
Elected officials in Clinton and Chesterfield townships recently approved hiring eight firefighters who also are licensed paramedics, which means they can provide advanced medical techniques such as starting IVs, administering drugs, monitoring heart rates, intubating patients and communicating with emergency room personnel.
The specialty is needed because nearly three-quarters of calls Macomb County fire departments respond to are medical in nature, according to fire officials. And that number is expected to rise as the population ages.
"The majority of the baby boomer generation is coming of that age where they are in need of medical service," said Mike Metz, director of the Public Service Institute at Macomb Community College, which offers both firefighting and medical training.
"The fire department wants to meet the demand of the community; that is, to provide the best emergency service possible."
The efforts come as Macomb County's senior population is expected to grow from 107,651 in 2000 to 232,534 in 2030, according to Southeast Michigan Council of Governments estimates.
As the senior population continues to grow in the county, so does the general population. Chesterfield Township, for example, has grown from 37,405 in 2000 to 44,426 in 2005, according to the council.
To meet the climbing population, Chesterfield Township recently opened its third fire station and is planning for a fourth. The department has received approval to hire six firefighters who are licensed paramedics. With the addition of those six, Chesterfield will have 31 full-time firefighters. The department also has 11 paid on-call firefighters and plans to add five more, said Scott Messer, Chesterfield Township fire chief.
"We want the best-trained firefighters and highest-trained medical response," Messer said. "The residents are our No. 1 concern."
The township is considering upgrading the medical response of the entire Fire Department to advanced life support status, which means all new full-time hires would be required to have a paramedic's license.
Once the advanced life support program is approved by the state, the department's fire trucks would be outfitted with the communication and medical equipment needed to provide the service.
The trucks would respond to all emergencies, whether they involve a heart attack or car accident, and the paramedics would treat patients on the scene. Medstar, a private ambulance company that has a contract with the township, would then transport the individual to the hospital.
Natalie Clever, 36, a Chesterfield Township mother of three, is happy to have a Fire Department with advanced medical skills.
"It is better to have them overqualified then have to call in a second team (of ambulances)," Clever said.
The Clinton Township Fire Department, which recently received approval to hire two firefighters with medical training, has already started to offer advanced life support to the community through a 2002 millage approved by voters.
Nearly three-quarters of the 84 firefighters are licensed paramedics who deliver the first line of treatment.
The department began offering the advanced life support to its residents about 14 months ago, after many of the current officers went through an abbreviated program through Macomb Community College. The formerly yearlong program was condensed into a challenging and rigorous six months.
"That speaks to the commitment to the programs and the community (by the firefighters)," said John Murphy, Clinton Township fire chief. "This allows us to administer drugs and stabilize patients that we were not able to do in the past."
Updated: 12-14-2005 10:07:48 AM
E-MAIL THIS STORY PRINT THIS STORY
The Detroit News
via NewsEdge Corporation
Advertisement
Hot Features
New Podcast: Preliminary Facts in the Recent LODD of Pennsylvania Fire Instructor Robert Gallardy
Join Billy Goldfeder & special guest Ed Mann. » More Shows
Upcoming TrainingLIVE Webcast
Fire Apparatus 2006:
What We Are Doing Right & Wrong!
January 25, 2006 - 2pm(ET)
Mike Wilbur & Tom Shand
Register Free Today - More Webcasts
Get Local with Firehouse Network
Get the latest news, department links, forum discussions, job listings & more by state.
Select Your State and Click:
Select State: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Conn. Delaware. D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Okla. Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Two Macomb County fire departments are hiring firefighters with advanced medical qualifications who can bring many emergency room techniques to the patient on the scene.
Elected officials in Clinton and Chesterfield townships recently approved hiring eight firefighters who also are licensed paramedics, which means they can provide advanced medical techniques such as starting IVs, administering drugs, monitoring heart rates, intubating patients and communicating with emergency room personnel.
The specialty is needed because nearly three-quarters of calls Macomb County fire departments respond to are medical in nature, according to fire officials. And that number is expected to rise as the population ages.
"The majority of the baby boomer generation is coming of that age where they are in need of medical service," said Mike Metz, director of the Public Service Institute at Macomb Community College, which offers both firefighting and medical training.
"The fire department wants to meet the demand of the community; that is, to provide the best emergency service possible."
The efforts come as Macomb County's senior population is expected to grow from 107,651 in 2000 to 232,534 in 2030, according to Southeast Michigan Council of Governments estimates.
As the senior population continues to grow in the county, so does the general population. Chesterfield Township, for example, has grown from 37,405 in 2000 to 44,426 in 2005, according to the council.
To meet the climbing population, Chesterfield Township recently opened its third fire station and is planning for a fourth. The department has received approval to hire six firefighters who are licensed paramedics. With the addition of those six, Chesterfield will have 31 full-time firefighters. The department also has 11 paid on-call firefighters and plans to add five more, said Scott Messer, Chesterfield Township fire chief.
"We want the best-trained firefighters and highest-trained medical response," Messer said. "The residents are our No. 1 concern."
The township is considering upgrading the medical response of the entire Fire Department to advanced life support status, which means all new full-time hires would be required to have a paramedic's license.
Once the advanced life support program is approved by the state, the department's fire trucks would be outfitted with the communication and medical equipment needed to provide the service.
The trucks would respond to all emergencies, whether they involve a heart attack or car accident, and the paramedics would treat patients on the scene. Medstar, a private ambulance company that has a contract with the township, would then transport the individual to the hospital.
Natalie Clever, 36, a Chesterfield Township mother of three, is happy to have a Fire Department with advanced medical skills.
"It is better to have them overqualified then have to call in a second team (of ambulances)," Clever said.
The Clinton Township Fire Department, which recently received approval to hire two firefighters with medical training, has already started to offer advanced life support to the community through a 2002 millage approved by voters.
Nearly three-quarters of the 84 firefighters are licensed paramedics who deliver the first line of treatment.
The department began offering the advanced life support to its residents about 14 months ago, after many of the current officers went through an abbreviated program through Macomb Community College. The formerly yearlong program was condensed into a challenging and rigorous six months.
"That speaks to the commitment to the programs and the community (by the firefighters)," said John Murphy, Clinton Township fire chief. "This allows us to administer drugs and stabilize patients that we were not able to do in the past."