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Spring 2018 Compassion, Excellence, and Community Service
F-M AMBULANCE SERVICE
VITAL SIGNS Save a Life Saturday
Did you know that every 90 seconds, someone dies of cardiac arrest? Nationally, approximately forty percent of pre-
hospital cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. In our community only about 33 percent of pre-hospital cardiac
arrest victims receive CPR. The longer a cardiac arrest victim goes without CPR, the lower their chance of survival.
Most people who experience cardiac arrest at home, work, or in a public location die because they don’t receive
immediate bystander CPR. By knowing CPR, you could save the life of someone in cardiac arrest.
On Saturday, February 10, 2018, F-M Ambulance teamed up with other organizations from around our community to
host the fifth annual Save a Life Saturday at West Acres. Participants were able to learn hands-only CPR in less than
4 minutes as well as how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). Over 400 community members participated
and learned hands-only CPR.
To learn more about hands-only CPR, please visit handsonlycpr.org. For more information on CPR courses please
visit www.sanfordhealthemseducation.org.
Local Heroes
A group of local heroes was recognized by F-M Ambulance Service in
February.
Adam Walker, Darlene Griffin, Danica Greer, Ryan Thompson, Laura
Schwab, Kimberly Schaper, Jenna Johnson and a group of employees from
Sanford Healthcare Accessories were all awarded the F-M Ambulance
Citizens Lifesaving Award. This award is presented to community members
who are instrumental in helping during an emergency. Jim Lehse was
awarded the F-M Ambulance Medal of Merit, which is presented to members
of public safety who perform above and beyond the call of duty.
Walker was presented the award after finding his neighbor, Randy Kirkevold,
unresponsive. Walker called 911 and began CPR, which helped save
Kirkevold’s life.
Griffin was with her cousin, Lori Washington, when Washington began
having difficulty breathing. Griffin called 911 and performed CPR on her
cousin before ambulance crews arrived, saving Washington’s life.
Greer and Thompson were working out at Family Wellness in Fargo when
they recognized that fellow gym member, John Bonicelli, needed help. They
alerted Family Wellness staff members Schwab, Schaper and Johnson, who
called 911 and got the AED while Greer and Thompson performed CPR,
saving Bonicelli’s life.
A group of employees from Sanford Healthcare Accessories received their
award for performing CPR and using the AED on their co-worker, Marcus
Stalboerger, when he went into sudden cardiac arrest in January 2018. Their
quick actions helped save Stalboerger’s life.
Lehse received his award for his help in resuscitating Ben Sherman, who
collapsed at the Hector International Airport. Lehse started CPR, which
helped save Sherman’s life.
“In situations like these, minutes count,” said Kathy Lonski, Quality
Improvement Advisor at F-M Ambulance. “These bystanders did exactly
what was needed in order to save a life.”
Kirkevold and his rescue team
Bonicelli and his rescue team
Sherman and his rescue team
Washington and her rescue team Stalboerger and the Healthcare Accessories rescue team
Magellan Tank Fire
Welcome to the Team!
Are you an EMT or paramedic who is
interested in working for F-M
Ambulance, Hillsboro Ambulance or
Thief River Falls Area Ambulance?
We would love to talk to you!
Check out sanfordhealth.jobs to see
what positions we have available!
Jamie Brotkowski EMT FMA Matt Henning Paramedic FMA Chris Liston Paramedic FMA Ryan Morrison Paramedic FMA Jesse Mott EMT HAS Kenneth Reed Paramedic TRF Matt Schauff Paramedic FMA Mason Schweinsberg Dispatcher FMA Doug Stagnaro Paramedic TRF
Matthew Steien EMT TRF
At approximately 5:45 a.m. on February 18, F-M Ambulance employees
received an all-page, which requested that all available personnel report to
Post 1 due to a fire at the Magellan tank farm in West Fargo. As black smoke
filled the sky, multiple ambulances arrived at the West Fargo location.
Mutual aid from as far away as Grand Forks responded to aid in the efforts
against the hazardous fire. While firefighters fought the fire, F-M Ambulance
EMTs and Paramedics stayed on scene in case there were any injuries
during the blaze and to help keep firefighters safe.
Additional personnel from F-M Ambulance were called in to staff the AmBus,
which is designed and equipped to treat and transport a large number of
patients. Fortunately, no evacuations were needed and no injuries required
transportation to area hospitals.
Many residents within a 5-mile radius of the fire received a Code Red alert
on their phone, encouraging them to shelter in place during the fire. “One of
our main concerns was that our vulnerable adult population – people who
have breathing problems, like asthmatics – are safe. The smoke in the air
could definitely make breathing a little more difficult to anyone with breathing
difficulties or other medical conditions,” said Operations Director Rick
Cameron.
Photo: Fargo Forum
Photo: City of West Fargo
Photo: West Fargo Fire Department
Photo: KFGO
Photo: WDAY
The Clinical Corner
Disaster Training
Would you know what to do to help someone who was bleeding? In
October of 2015, the White House launched a national awareness
program titled “Stop the Bleed”, which encourages bystanders to
become trained, equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding
emergency, before professional help arrives.
The most important aspect of any emergency is you – keeping
yourself safe is a priority. Once you have established that a scene is
safe, call 911 if the person needs immediate help. Then you can begin
to care for the patient.
Anything can be used to stop bleeding – if necessary, even clothes
can work. What do you need to do?
1. Find where the bleeding is coming from and put pressure on that
area – hard direct pressure is needed
2. Push as hard as you can until the bleeding has stopped or
emergency services have arrived
If you are interested in learning more about bleeding control, you can
visit bleedingcontrol.org. For more information on first aid or CPR
courses in our community, visit sanfordhealthemseducation.org.
Stop the Bleed
Lifesaving Awards
In January, Don Nelson, David Staples and Aaron
Haux were awarded the Citizens Lifesaving Award for
their help at an emergency in West Fargo.
Nelson, Staples and Haux went above and beyond
what a typical person would do and provided care in an
emergency situation. The emergency personnel who
responded to the call were very thankful for their help!
Did you know that F-M Ambulance provides basic
disaster training to our local long-term care facilities at
no charge? Every year we work with the facilities to
develop a tactical plan, which would be used in case of
an emergency such as a tornado, flood or fire. In
February, FMA staff spent the afternoon with staff from
Eventide in Moorhead going over a simulated mass
casualty incident.
Tours
Did you know that F-M Ambulance provides tours
and talks for community members of any age? F-M
Ambulance will send an EMT or paramedic to your
facility to do a 15-minute talk and tour of an
ambulance, or you can join us at our facility for a
talk & tour! Longer talks, including Boy Scout and
Girl Scout readiness badge talks, are available for
a fee.
If your daycare or group is interested in a talk or
tour, please call our education department at 701-
364-1750 to schedule!
Ready Wheels
For over 30 years, F-M Ambulance Service has been the
home to Ready Wheels, a professional, non-emergency
wheelchair transportation service. Ready Wheels is
designed to provide local and long distance wheelchair
transportation to anyone whose needs are not met by
other services.
Ready Wheels drivers are trained and approved using
Minnesota DOT Special Transportation guidelines.
Drivers are also trained in first aid, CPR, passenger
assistance, abuse prevention and customer service.
Advanced scheduling is always preferred to guarantee
times and availability of staff, but is not required. If the
trip is not scheduled in advance, times and availability of
units cannot be guaranteed.
For more information about pricing or to schedule your
trip, please call 701-364-1700.
2018 Open House
In celebration of National EMS Week, May 20 – 26,
2018, F-M Ambulance is teaming up with Sanford
AirMed to host the 2018 Community EMS Open House!
The open house will be held on Tuesday May 22, 2018
from 4:30 – 7:00 PM at the Sanford AirMed Hanger,
1801 23rd Ave. N. in Fargo. Join us to meet EMS
providers from around our community and enjoy the
bouncy houses, hot dogs and chips!
Did You Know…
In 2014 F-M Ambulance started a Community Paramedic
(CP) program, which was created to deliver in-home services
and care to people with chronic conditions that may otherwise
not be met by existing services. The CP program fills the gaps
in service for patients who don’t qualify to receive care from
home healthcare services and/or social services.
What type of patients do F-M Ambulance Community
Paramedics see every day? Here are a few examples:
A 72-year-old patient was recently diagnosed with atrial
fibrillation (an irregular, rapid heartbeat that causes poor
blood flow). Patients with atrial fibrillation are often
prescribed warfarin (a blood thinner) because the risk of
stroke is higher in a-fib patients. The goal of warfarin
therapy is to decrease the clotting tendency of blood, not
to prevent clotting completely. Therefore, the effect of
warfarin must be monitored carefully with blood testing.
Sometimes, because of transportation challenges,
patients are not able to get to a clinic or hospital. Instead
of having the patient go to a clinic every day, a CP from
F-M Ambulance would go to this patient to check their INR
(a test that shows how long it takes for blood to clot). The
CP can report these blood test results directly into the
patient’s chart, so they have real-time communication with
the physician, and depending on the results, the patient’s
warfarin dose may be increased or decreased that same
day.
A 63-year-old patient has a history of diabetes and has
been hospitalized three times in the past two months for
diabetes-related complications. She has recently been
having issues with her blood pressure – it is much higher
than her physician would like it to be, and she has been
prescribed hypertension medication. This patient is on a
limited income and has transportation challenges; she has
consistently missed appointments with her physician in
the past. Due to her multiple medical issues, this patient
needs to be monitored closely. Our CP will visit this patient
A 58-year-old patient with a sedentary lifestyle and multiple medical issues has a post-surgical wound that isn’t
healing. A CP from F-M Ambulance will visit this patient daily, every other day, or weekly as needed to check the
wound and do dressing changes until the wound is healed.
The CP program is less visible to the public than a normal paramedic is, but is still a vital part of our community. The
program helps reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions. It helps provide treatment and
promote health and healing in response to identified community needs. The F-M Ambulance Community Paramedics
go beyond the core health care service that F-M Ambulance normally provides to care for a high-risk group of patients
in our community who may otherwise have difficulty receiving the care that they need.
to show her how to use her blood pressure monitor and make sure that she feels comfortable using it every day.
The CP will also make sure the patient is checking her blood sugar levels on a daily basis.
We hope that you have enjoyed this edition of Vital Signs, a quarterly newsletter distributed by F-M Ambulance. An electronic edition of Vital Signs can be found on our website, www.fmambulance.com. If you have any ideas, questions, or comments about Vital Signs, please contact Kristi at 701-364-1759, or [email protected].
The Sanford Health EMS Education (SHEMSE) team
has been busy! Check out all of the exciting things
happening!
Our EMT class has hit a record – this semester we started with
77 EMT students! This is the largest class that we have ever had
at a single time. Some students are participating via video sites
from across North Dakota and Minnesota, with labs being done
in Fargo, Thief River Falls, and Luverne.
Our other courses are busy too – we are teaching 24 paramedic
students, 26 EMR students and hundreds of CPR and first aid
students each month!
SHEMSE has had a busy conference season so far:
o Tom Dobrzynski presented and manned a vendor booth
at the Arrowhead Conference in Duluth; he also manned
a booth at the Long Hot Summer Conference in
Minneapolis.
o Tyler DeKrey and Bob Klein held a pediatric pre-
conference session while Bob Siefert and Tom Taylor
presented at the North Dakota Southeast Regional
Conference in Jamestown.
o Ron Lawler has presented and manned vendor booths
at the North Dakota Northwest and Northeast
conferences in Minot and Grand Forks.
o We will again be holding an EMR preconference,
presenting at the Instructor/Coordinator Refresher, and
having a vendor booth at the North Dakota EMS
Association State Rendezvous in April in Bismarck.
Kyle Janssen attended the International Meeting on Simulation
in Healthcare (IMSH) in California. He will be implementing what
he learned into our labs and his work with SIM-ND.
Lawler was once again a group leader for the 12th Annual Fisdap
Research Summit in Minneapolis. His group is focusing on
research relating to the education of paramedic students on
airways and obstetric clinical encounters.
Recert courses are done! Watch our website, www.shemse.org,
for next year’s classes, which will start in August.
Lawler at the Fisdap Research Summit
Part of our large EMT class
Busy keeping all of our equipment clean