Foothill EMS

https://www.medicsforlife.com/product-page/first-aid-cpr-aed-hybrid-course-august-9-0900

First Aid/CPR & AED Hybrid Course August 9 0900 | Medics For Life, Inc CPR/FIRST AID HYBRID COURSEDirections for completing the Hybrid course: Register and pay for the course Check your email. Within 24 hours a link will be sent to your email. Follow the link and complete online portion of course *Call 83-601-2494 if you have not received the online training link withi...

What a long, strange trip it has been! No better day then the 4th of July to announce a new beginning. We are officially moving back into our original location in Prunedale. 8022 San Miguel Canyon Road to be exact. Thank you all for your continued support and please spread the word. We are adding additional classes starting in August at the Prunedale location and as always we can bring any class to your location as needed.

How do I assess a patient with an LVAD?

If you encounter an LVAD patient in the wild, step 1 is to call the LVAD coordinator (the number on the device), even if they’re going in for a complaint unrelated to the device. Next, as always we’re going to look at the patient. Are they alert and oriented? How does the skin and capillary refill look? When you auscultate the chest, you should hear what sounds like a washing machine in the patients chest. This is normal functioning of the pump and is a good sign. Also take a peek at the patient’s batteries. There are two of them, ensure a good charge on each of them.

Remember, you can’t get a normal NIBP on these patients because they have minimal pulse pressure due to the continuous flow. The only reliable way to check a BP in the field is to attach a manual BP cuff, find the brachial pulse with a doppler, and inflate the cuff until you lose the signal. As you release air from the cuff, you’ll hear the brachial signal return. The pressure at which you hear the signal is the patient’s MAP. These patients are afterload sensitive and preload dependent. They like a MAP of 70-80, and REQUIRE adequate CVP (preload) and right heart function to feed the pump. Signs of right sided congestion like pedal edema and JVD should be taken seriously.

In the same vein, it’s also very difficult to get a reliable SpO2. As a result, you’ll have to assess the patient and make a judgment call to apply oxygen/PEEP/pressure support as you see fit. Capnography is a great tool in these patients as a measure of both respiratory and perfusion status. There isn’t one isolated metric for deciding when to apply oxygen etc, but this is the one time I’ll say it’s ok to empirically apply some oxygen if you think it’s appropriate. Next up: assessing and troubleshooting the device itself. Special thanks to for the VADer idea!

So you want to be a Paramedic. This is the level of didactic testing that occurs in the first 5 weeks of class. Just love grading and recording quizzes :) The interns take a quiz everyday that they are in class. https://foothill.edu/ems/paramedic/

Foothill College is also looking for a Full Time Tenure Track EMS Faculty.

Instructor, Emergency Medical Services

Foothill College is actively seeking Part-Time EMS Instructors.

PT Paramedic Instructor n/a

Foothill leads the way! :)

SCCFD would like to recognize Ruri Kobayakawa on the completion of her probationary year. She is one of five firefighters in the 2021-1 academy class that have completed the 12 months of intense training and evaluation that probation entails. Congratulations on this huge accomplishment.

is excited to announce an open recruitment for Firefighter/Engineer/Paramedic. Must have a passing score from the National Testing Network Oct 15, 2021-Oct 15, 2022 to be considered. Find, and carefully review, the job announcement at https://careers-sccfd.icims.com/jobs/1220/firefighter-engineer-%28assigned-to-paramedic-duties%29/job.