Changing Times For EMS
By Doug La Rocque
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a lot of changes in the lives of our area’s first responders, both fire and emergency medical service personnel (EMS). When dispatched in the past, they usually had a fair idea of what they were dealing with and walking into. Now, sometimes Rensselaer County’s 911 center is able to warn EMS there is a history of COVID – 19 or perhaps there is a positive response to the dispatchers pre screening questions. Other times they respond, totally unaware the virus might be in existence.
So now, if there is any doubt, EMS personnel must first don personal protective equipment (PPE), which can consist of a full body suit, masks, often more advanced than the N95 masks that may be used by the general public and in other medical environments, perhaps a full face covering, gloves and head gear. Once the call is over, their work is still far from done.
In Hoosick Falls, the Town of Hoosick Rescue Squad has converted one of the bays in the building to a decontamination booth, which has all the equipment and supplies needed to completely clean and disinfect an ambulance that has come in contact with a COVID-19 patient. This can take upwards of 90 minutes to complete, meaning the vehicle is out of service until it is completely disinfected and safe to use once again. The Rescue Squad completed the installation of this decontamination booth in late March, and as one can imagine, has since been put to good use.
Fear All Around
The Eastwick Press was invited to view the booth on Monday, May 11, and spoke with Rescue Squad members Robert Bornt and Kelly Berkau about what it was like dealing with COVID-19.
Ms. Berkau told us when she responded to her first call, “I was scared to death.” What should I expect, how am I going to react? She also says all that went away when she looked into the eyes of the patient, and could see fear and apprehension. It was then, she says “I knew I had to help.”
One might think with the pandemic, the Rescue Squad’s call volume would go up, but Mr. Bornt says it has had the opposite effect. If fact, their call volume is down, something he attributes to people actually afraid to go to the hospital for fear of contracting the virus. It has had another impact, less volunteers. According to Mr. Bornt, a number of ambulance squads have seen some members become inactive, primarily because they may have some underlying medical conditions that might make them more susceptible to COVID-19.
Once the pandemic passes, whenever that might be, the new decontamination booth will not become obsolete. The Rescue Squad still has calls that involve blood or other bodily fluids, and it come in just as handy cleaning an ambulance then, as it does with COVID-19.