By Nicole T. Lesson
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Copyright 2007 Sun-Sentinel Company
All Rights Reserved
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — The Pembroke Pines Fire Department is now better trained to care for your children in an emergency.
More than 90 percent of the department’s rescuers recently completed an eight-hour course, Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals, designed to teach them how to better assess and manage ill or injured children.
“We are so used to dealing with adults all the time and feel comfortable with that, but there’s a lack of familiarity with pediatric care,” said Michael Vincent, Pembroke Pines EMS battalion chief. “Their [pediatric patients’] vital signs, heart rate and blood pressure are different numbers than adults.”
The course, developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, included lectures, textbook work and hands-on scenarios. Participants were trained at Fire Station 89 in all aspects of prehospital care, from assessing the child’s situation and doing full cardiac resuscitation to identifying the signals and symptoms of child abuse.
Pediatric nurses and physicians from Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines taught the first responders.
“By having the physicians teach it, they are able to give more of the overall picture of the patient,” Vincent said. “We are able to see each others’ sides of patient issues, and it leads to more complete treatment of the patient.”
Population growth in Pembroke Pines has increased the amount of emergency calls dealing with children. Vincent said paramedics are responding to more pediatric calls than in the past. “We have an average of 100 pediatric calls a month,” he said.
In 2006, more than 31,000 pediatric patients went to the emergency room, compared with 12,000 patients in 1999, according to Rebecca Kordsmeier, nurse manager of the pediatric emergency room at Memorial Hospital West.
The Pembroke Pines Fire Department recently presented a plaque to the team at Memorial West, which covered the cost of the training materials and provided the hospital staff for training.
Last year, the hospital provided an eight-hour course in pediatric care to Miramar Fire-Rescue, training about 15 rescuers, Kordsmeier said.
Bill Huff, Miramar’s chief of emergency medical services, said there’s an added element of stress when dealing with a child -- and that this type of training can help relieve that pressure.
“The pediatric aspect is one of the most stressful, since we don’t encounter the real serious child cases on a regular basis,” Huff said. “Our best defense is to practice and keep our skills sharp. Having the knowledge, skills and abilities to handle these stressful situations make it a little bit better.”