New Orleans Emergency Medical Services

New Orleans
Emergency Medical Services

Established	1947
Headquarters	New Orleans, LA
Jurisdiction	City
Dept. type	Full-time Paid
Employees	116
BLS or ALS	ALS
Ambulances	20
Medical director	Jullette Saussy, MD
Responses	55,000
Website	New Orleans EMS

New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (New Orleans EMS) provides basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS) ambulance units throughout the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Mission Statement: To provide the highest quality pre-hospital emergency care to individuals living in and visiting New Orleans. As public servants, our sense of purpose will be reflected solely in our time sensitive, medically sound and respectful, compassionate delivery of professional emergency medical services.

History

Emergency medical transportation began in the city of New Orleans with hospital-based horse-drawn ambulances in the early 1900s. Charity Hospital was one of the first hospitals in the nation to provide emergency medical transportation. The current EMS agency began in 1947 as the EMS division within the New Orleans Police Department. The ambulances were staffed with emergency medical technicians beginning in the 1960s, and the first paramedics started in 1979. The EMS division was transferred from the police department to the New Orleans health department on July 1st, 1985. After Hurricane Katrina, the management of New Orleans EMS was changed to the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Public Safety. The department still resides within the health department, but the Office of Homeland Security and Public Safety maintains control of the operations.

Administrative Staff

Directors

Jullette M. Saussy, MD- Director

Carl Flores- Deputy Director

Cliff Washington- Director of Operations

Barbara Ireland- Director of Communications

Yolanda Wilson- Director of Planning, Human Resources, and Finance

Jacob Oberman- Director of Training and Special Operations

Shift Supervisors

Daryl Richardson

Kevin Hoag

Lyn Ramagos

Clarence Bradley

Administration

Ken Bouiver- Administrative Liasion

Jeb Tate- Public Information Officer

Cedric Palmisano- Planning Coordinator

William Niemeck- Education Coordinator

Elizabeth Belcher- Community Outreach Coordinator

EMS Fellows

Jeff Elder, MD

Special Event Coverage

New Orleans EMS, as the sole provider of 911 emergency medical services in the City of New Orleans, is responsible for the provision of medical care at several major events every year. To adequately cover these special events and provide medical coverage to all areas of the city, New Orleans EMS relies on several types of highly specialized response vehicles (SRVs) and highly trained emergency medical technicians and paramedics.

Bike Teams

The New Orleans EMS Bike Team consists of pairs of emergency medical technicians and paramedics who have taken the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) course for Emergency Medical Services. The bike teams are utilized at outdoor festivals, music events, and extensively throughout the French Quarter. The bike teams carry an automated external defibrillator, cardiac monitoring equipment, and all the medications and supplies necessary for any medical or traumatic complaint.

Special Response Vehicles

New Orleans EMS operates three special response vehicles (SRVs) at various times. These vehicles consist of one modified John Deere Gator and two Alternative Support Apparatus (ASAP) Off-Road specialty vehicles. Both the Gator and the ASAP are used to extract sick or injured patients from areas with limited accessibility or large crowds. The Gator and ASAP are often used in parks, along parade routes, in the area around the Louisiana Superdome, and especially in the French Quarter where narrow streets and large crowds can make it difficult for full sized ambulances to maneuver. The SRVs are equipped with all the equipment found on a full-size ambulance and can transport a patient from the confined area to an aid station or transfer care to a waiting ambulance for transport to a hospital.

Emergency Medical Surge Unit

In February, 2010, New Orleans EMS acquired a medical ambulance bus (MAB) from Sartin Services, Inc. The MAB was named Emergency Medical Surge Unit (EMSU)-1 and has the capacity to transport 18 patients on stretchers and litters and 2 wheelchair patients, as well as 6 emergency medical technicians or paramedics. EMSU-1 was debuted to the public during the New Orleans Saints Superbowl XLIV Championship Parade on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

EMSU-1 saw extensive use as an on site treatment unit in support of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon, serving to greatly expand the ability and capacity of New Orleans EMS, and allowing on site delivery of acute medical care by emergency physicians and personnel.

Community Outreach

Led by Elizabeth Belcher, the Community Outreach Program of New Orleans EMS is focused on "preventative health and safety education for the citizens of Orleans parish. The overall goal is to develop and implement interactive programs to aid in the mission of saving lives. New Orleans EMS believes that prevention is key in this mission, and strives to supply the public with the knowledge and tools necessary to stay safe and healthy."

The Community Outreach Program teaches children safety and awareness through the T.A.S.K (Teaching Awareness and Safety to Kids)in child care centers, schools, and community centers. The Community Outreach Program is developing a program to target senior citizens and those with limited mobility and provide education and resources regarding environmental modification and fall prevention. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics with New Orleans EMS also mentor local students, teach public cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid classes.

External links

• New Orleans EMS Official Website