Rob McCartin

Greetings Everyone,

Our partners to the south of us at STEMS have provided sound advice when it comes to Ambulance Inspections. If you are scheduled for an inspection please refer to the following information, or give us a call.

NYSDOH Ambulance Inspections Prep

We want to ensure the success of all agencies in the region when it comes to NYSDOH Ambulance Inspections. Each agency should ensure they meet all requirements in Part 800 and the BEMS policies in preparation for their visit from the state.

The following items often are cause for a statement of deficiencies:

• expired medication (BLS and ALS)
• unsecured equipment – BLS Meds that are not locked or have expired
• policies not in place that are required in Part 800.21 (P) 1-15.
• expired disposable medical equipment
• O² cylinders being out of date
• medications not being kept at proper temperatures
• dirt and grime
• unsanitary patient compartment areas and equipment
• lacking infant and child manual B/P cuffs
• ripped or torn splints

BEMS policies and forms

• Part 800
• 10-03 EMS Agency and Vehicle Surveillance and Inspections
• 09-12 Storage and Integrity of Prehospital Medications and Intravenous Fluids
• 09-11 Storage and Safe Guarding of Medications Administered by EMT-Bs
• DOH-2695: Inspection Report for Certified Ambulance Vehicles
• DOH-3780: Inspection Report for Emergency Ambulance Service Vehicles

Resources for your agency

• Ambulance Inspection Guide
• 800.21 General Requirements Checklist

We hope these documents are helpful, and if you have any issues or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Greetings Everyone,

The following is a CME opportunity:

Please join the Division of Adult Care Facility and Assisted Living Surveillance and the Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems in a webinar to clarify the different adult care facility settings. This webinar is the second in a series to educate new providers about the nuances of the adult care facility landscape. The webinar will be recorded and posted to the Health Commerce System for future reference.

Registration is required, so please register at: https://meetny.webex.com/weblink/register/r2b65373d9c6f97dad231a2610d1f32e1.

Tuesday, Dec 13 2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
(UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

BEMS will offer CME credits for completion, a few days after the program you will receive an email to complete the CME process through Vital Signs Academy.

If you have any questions, please outreach the applicable Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems Branch office.

Thank you.

Edward L. Mager
Branch Chief/Investigator
New York State Department of Health
Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems

Greetings Everyone,

Attached is a flyer for a CME presentation on Respiratory Emergencies being taught by Dr McNamara at Miller Hose Fire on December 8th. Please check the flyer for registration.

http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Respiratory-Emergencies83.pdf

NYS Ambulance Agency Leaders,

Background:
In the wake of the record breaking snowfall event in Erie County, the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Section of the Bureau of EMS is conducting a survey to determine the availability of EMS agencies able to respond to a request for emergency assistance under the State Mobilization Plan. Agencies assigned to respond to this event will be contracted with Erie County, NY and NOT New York State.

Please respond to this survey ASAP. Results will be polled at 1000 hrs. on November 20th and the survey will close at 1800 hrs. on November 20th. 

Please consider the following when responding to the survey.

ALL AGENCIES ARE ASKED TO RESPOND TO THIS SURVEY REGARDLESS OF ABILITY TO DEPLOY UNITS.

1. Funding for this deployment is as follows:
   • BLS Unit $1,000/unit per day
   • ALS Unit $1,200/unit per day
2. The concept of operations is as follows:
   • 12 hour operational periods (0700-1900 and 1900-0700)
   • Accommodations including shelter & food will be available at the deployed location
   • Staging/Deployment location is TBD
   • All agencies will be covered by their own insurance
   • Duration will be up to 7 days or more depending on call volume and volunteer participation

DO NOT RESPOND AT THIS TIME, THIS SURVEY IS ONLY TO DETERMINE AVAILABLE RESOURCES. AGENCIES WILL BE CONTACTED IF SELECTED FOR DEPLOYMENT

https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubpal/builder/survey/2022-november-erie-county-snowst

Donald Trzepacz Jr.

District Chief / Investigator

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Greetings,

Attached is a flyer for an upcoming Stroke presentation being held at Twin District Fire on November 29th at 1900hrs. See flyer for more details.

http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Education-EMS-11-29-2211.pdf

Good Evening Everyone,

I wanted to take a moment and reach out to everyone and give a bit of information based on what I have been informed of. I am sure everyone is aware of the pending storm system about to move through the region, and it appears to be targeting Erie County and the City of Buffalo. It is difficult at times to exactly predict the outcome of most “lake effect” events, but what seems to be holding true is that it is going to impact us. Reports are indicating that this is putting its greatest impact in and around the City of Buffalo. While it is possible we can see less in other counties such as Niagara and Orleans, I don’t think they will be without their share.

The first thing that I want to mention is that as of 2000hrs tonight, the Erie County Operations Center will be functioning. Your Chiefs should have all the contact information for them, in case they require assistance. Additionally, as of 2100hrs tonight, Erie County will be under a travel ban. With that said, agencies outside of Erie County, please be careful when traveling to Hospitals within the area. I would even recommend calling a head prior to transport if possible to see if there is an alternative. For the agencies in the Erie County area, please be safe and use your resources.

I will attempt to keep everyone up to date as much as I can, but otherwise, slow and safe is going to be the message for the time being.

Thanks Everyone

Greetings Everyone,

Below is an FDA Alert shared by the Bureau:

Health care professionals should be cautious of possible xylazine inclusion in fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drug overdoses, as naloxone may not be able to reverse its effects. FDA is aware of increasing reports of serious side effects from individuals exposed to fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drugs contaminated with xylazine.

Xylazine is FDA-approved for use in animals as a sedative and pain reliever. Xylazine is not safe for use in humans and may result in serious and life-threatening side effects that appear to be similar to those commonly associated with opioid use, making it difficult to distinguish opioid overdoses from xylazine exposure. However, we do not know if side effects from xylazine exposure can be reversed by naloxone. Since we do not know if reversal agents regularly used in veterinary medicine (e.g., yohimbine hydrochloride, tolazoline hydrochloride) are safe or effective in humans, they should not be used.

Routine toxicology screens do not detect xylazine, and additional analytical techniques are required to detect xylazine when it might be involved in illicit drug overdoses, particularly when there are other signs or symptoms of xylazine exposure.

Health care professionals should continue to administer naloxone for opioid overdoses and consider xylazine exposure if patients are not responding to naloxone or when there are signs or symptoms of xylazine exposure (e.g., severe, necrotic skin ulcerations). Health care professionals should provide appropriate supportive measures to patients who do not respond to naloxone.

FDA issued a letter to stakeholders providing clinical information about the risks of severe, necrotic skin ulcerations from repeated xylazine exposure, possible withdrawal symptoms, and xylazine’s interference with successful treatment of opioid overdoses.

It is not known at this time whether the xylazine used in these scenarios is illicitly produced (unapproved) or diverted from the animal drug supply. FDA is continuing to investigate the source of xylazine in the illicit drug supply and will provide an update when new information is available.

Peter L. Brodie, BS, AEMT

Branch Chief, Data and Informatics Unit

EMS Data Manager

Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems

http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BOCES-Job-Announcement.pdf

Greetings Everyone

A message from Oishei’s:

Hi Everyone!

Please be advised that on Monday, October 24^th, our partners from Aceflag will be de-installing the banner from the OCH/BGMC bridge that crosses Ellicott St.  They will be getting started mid-afternoon, and likely working until early evening, with a plan to utilize a bucket truck that will limit the flow of traffic to one lane at any given time.  They will have flag people with them to support for the duration.

Greetings Everyone,

There is a scheduled EMT Core Refresher course being conducted on Nov 4, 6, and 6th in Youngstown. If interested please download the flyer for more information.

http://ubmdems.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/EMT-Basic-Flyer-Nov-4-20222.pdf