Keeping our first responders (EMT paramedic, police and fire) as healty as possible is paramount during a pandemic.
Does anyone have a line on panflu training specifically designed for our first responders? It will need to include prepping for their families/loved ones as there is a very high risk of them bringing the flu home, possible shortage of PPE’s, mandatory overtime etc etc etc
Found only this on-line: http://www.merginet.com/index.cfm?pg=medical&fn=flu0506
Please-police, fire/rescue-advise us of any comprehensive training you know of and can share to help keep others safe…..
bump
Grace-When I attended the BDLS/ADLS courses in April, H5N1 and PanFlu were in the program, but folded in the All Hazard approach. The specific slides, about 4, were a quickEd or virology, history, symptoms and treatment. A rather quick overview. There was no Big Picture. Most ParaEMSs would say they are prepared for PF5.1 after attending this course. The encouraging part was the references to web sites containing more information, which I noted people jotting down. Most of us feel we will be “on our own” during the pandemic, but I think, to some extent, we are already on our own. The whispered shouting will be evidence that we were warned and the fact that only the really good listeners are hearing it makes the numbers more manageable.
rrt- re: “whispered shouting”
i had a feeling it would be like that- we can’t afford to lose a single first responder ever- and especially during a pandemic.
I’m following up on an online class I heard that addresses EMT’s- will post it asap if I get it. There are aspects of panflu that need extra attention to details that All Hazard training- as I understand it- doesn’t cover. (DH had All Hazard training and was a trainer, but sees the details in panflu as seperate)
rrteacher:
“The whispered shouting will be evidence that we were warned and the fact that only the really good listeners are hearing it makes the numbers more manageable. “
May I ask what you mean by making numbers more manageable?
Few are preparing. If everyone began prepping today, it would cripple our economy. Perhaps the government is hoping for a sliding scale that makes the response to awareness manageable. An thought of the CFR being a matter of pre-selection gives me the willies. But when I look around, I see a little more awareness each day. Maybe the sliding scale theory.
Grace RN-
My uncle in law enforcement says no specific AF training but it will probably break down into the Biohazard training which they do practice.
There is no way that I can see prepping for first responder families—Either they do it or it isn’t done. Law enforcement and paramedics and nurses and doctors will come home to their families—it’s the only clear option. There is no place where they could be housed in safety—seperate rooms etc because of the sheer numbers. Uncle said, “No way am I going to work 12 hour shifts then sleep on a cot in the civic center, with firemen, paramedics and the homeless.”
Also, there were several nurse blogs who took their family into the hospitals in NO and recorded a seven day nightmare and seperation after rescue. My own city doesn’t allow family—period.
Besides if you take your family into these compounds aren’t you held hostage to the company or corporation’s decisions, schedules, etc? What if your family decide they want to leave and go home because they never see you anyway? And if the company is providing for you and your family should it be deducted from your pay?
The IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters, have issed a report and suggestions for emergency responders”What First Responders Need To Know About The Avian Flu” and can be found here http://www.iaff.org/academy/online/modules/avian/01.htm. For those that do not know the IAFF is the international union, that most fire departments are connected with in the United States and elsewhere in the world. They constantly bring legislation to increase the safety of its members and this report should be looked at for the use by first responders. When in the fire service, from the first day I started to the last day, was a member of the IAFF.
Thanks for that Gary. My middle son’s best friend has already finished his fire training and is now taking his EMT classes. I forwarded the link to him and hopefully he will go through it all and then give it to a few more in his class.
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