Tenn. ambulance ride gets rough rating
Emergency Management director Bobby Storey will look into air-ride vehicles or retrofits
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By Henry Bailey
The Commercial Appeal
DeSOTO, Tenn. — Odie Lofton lauds emergency officials for their quick action when he called Jan. 7 for help after finding his wife, Mary Lou, unconscious on the floor.
"The response time was great; everyone was very professional," said Lofton, 81.
It was the ambulance ride from his home in the Forest Meadows Subdivision in Hernando to Baptist Hospital-DeSoto in Southaven, with his wife strapped on her back to a gurney board, that riles him.
"That ambulance has the same springs as a truck," the advocate of air-ride vehicles told DeSoto County supervisors this week. "Every second she was strapped to that board was pure agony for my wife."
Lofton's wife suffers from lupus, arthritis and fibromyalgia.
In response to Lofton's urging and that of Supervisor Jessie Medlin, president of the board, county Emergency Management director Bobby Storey will look into air-ride vehicles or retrofits, although he cautions that costs are high and ride comfort may fall short of expectations.
"Air-ride" is a type of suspension, often used in heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks, powered by an engine-driven or electric air pump or compressor. The pump pressurizes the air, using compressed air as a "spring" in place of conventional steel devices. The aim of air suspension is smooth, constant ride quality, with self-leveling.
"I firmly believe the only way the county can give citizens the service they deserve in cases like mine is to provide air-ride systems," Lofton said.
Storey said the county has in its inventory "one ambulance with air-ride suspension, and it's caused us some problems." Among these, he said, "is when it comes down, it stays down."
Also, he said, retrofitting "just the rear" of the eight or nine ambulances across the county with air-ride would cost about $12,500 each.
Lofton said he also regretted that responders had to strap his wife onto the gurney: "All feet don't fit into one pair of shoes."
Storey said the procedure is the emergency protocol where X-rays and other diagnostic tools are unavailable or impractical.
"I agree 100 percent with what Odie says on discomfort, but I'm not sure air-ride will solve our problems 100 percent," Storey said of his longtime family friend. Still, the emergency chief says he'll look anew at providers "and see who offers the best ride."
"Just because we have one that doesn't work doesn't mean we'd get others that won't work," Storey said.
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Kristi Bailey Dahl Saturday, February 11, 2012 3:23:45 PM there is just no pleasing people, dosnt matter what we do someone is complaing. 
Jake Stein Saturday, February 11, 2012 3:42:38 PM Maybe addressing the board they placed her on would be more appropriate. No matter what you do to the truck, that board will be uncomfortable and can cause more damage. 
Jim Cogger Saturday, February 11, 2012 4:35:05 PM It's a known fact that back boards can be harmful to the very patients that require them.
a softer ride and or a back board that inflates after it is applied to the pt seems to be called for. Substandard care should never be an accepted course even if it is the best we have. 
Arthur Collins Saturday, February 11, 2012 5:28:46 PM putting the patients on a back board is a protocall for that type of call because she could of fell and had a spinal injury or a neck injury. the reason you are put on a hard back board is to help keep your spine form moving and causing more injury that is also why you get strapped to them plus the neckbrace. if the ems provider doesn't follow protocall then that leaves them open for a lawsuit plus the company they work for. trust me they don't put you on the backboard because they feel like it they put you on one because the protocall says they have to and if your consius then they will tell you its going to be uncomfortable or if your consius then they will tell you you have a right to refuse it. if you refuse the back board and your neck and spine get injured more then the company or the ems provider is not responseable. I'm not trying to sound like an ass just trying to help you understand why they put you on a back board I was a firefighter for 19 yrs and I was also on our med team for a few yrs. and when we trained we would take turns being patients and we have to get on the back boards and I agree they are uncomfortable as hell but its for your own good. Jake Stein Sat Feb 11 19:08:58 PST 2012 "for your own good"
So you still use the back board because that is the way you have always done it regardless of the EBM out there that is no longer advocating it and despite more comfortable methods available? What about the damage you cause by the board? Shouldn't you be held accountable for that also? Neckbrace? OMG.... Scary as hell!
Terry Dopp Sat Feb 11 19:23:06 PST 2012 protocols aside, new research indicates LSB's are causing more harm than good and many services are now restricting there use. pressure points, respiratory compromise and additional pain and discomfort. Evidence based procedures are more logical than traditional practices Arthur Collins Saturday, February 11, 2012 7:58:13 PM its also a known fact that if you go into water you can drown. they were doing there job protocall our put out by the state and you cant just push that aside if you don't follow them the ems provider can be sued for everything they own plus the companly can get sued to. when I was running with our med team just about every call we went on we had to use the backboard and we told the people that the ride would be vey uncomfortable and every one we trans ported never one complaind they always thanked your for helping them complaing to the ems provider isn't going to do any good if you want to complain then I suggest you go to your mayor and complain to them to change it. I give all the ems personell alot of credit because some times you have to deal with combative people wether its a head injury or drug and drinking related. when I would drive ambulance for the fire dept. that we worked with ive seen the ems people get kick punched and spit on and they still treated the patient with respect as all the ems workers do today don't complain about them and what they do or because it was a bumpy ride its not their fault they are just doing their job. you can not put protocalls aside they are put out by the state and they have to be followed to the t. 
John McCarthy Sunday, February 12, 2012 4:12:10 AM the backboard situation needs reexamined, does more harm than good.there is a time and place for every piece of equipment. most of us complain about low pay right? solution: create a new/better backboard system and dc the old plastic ones and patent it. as we knowit has to be reasonably priced. youll never have to worry about money again. I'm just the idea man.as far as air ride. we had them more complaints from patients about air shocks than springs. answer is once again create a better system. unfortunantly ems is money based and we do the best with what we have. some of the significant others hold on too tightly and have to let go some and as we know for some no amount of explaining will helpease thier grip on the loved ones. we prolong life the best and most confortably we can. being alive is the main thing secondary to comfort issues. 
Miles Kim Jase Morgan Tuesday, February 14, 2012 7:45:25 PM Slight correction for the article (Desoto County, Mississipp not Tenn.) If protocols have not changed over the years at this service, then it is standard practice to LSB, LBB, or KED (personally I like spinal motion restriction)all trauma victims. Barbaric maybe. Research tends to lean that way and we can debate research about spinal injuries after traumatic events..etc. However, it is a known fact that the cost of spinal paralysis is 1 million+ during the lifetime of a patient. Also you should know that most transports in this county are max 30 minutes. This Pt. had predisposing factors for pain. Also as before if said protocols have not been changed in the years then there is a "mother-may-I" approach to most medication delivery and was regularly denied or small dose alloments were given via radio orders. Before spending tons of money that I am certain is in short supply for the county, why not look into changing protocols to administer appropriate pain medications and doses. The cost of the medication over multiple years would save over the extreme cost in air ride retros and repairs. In this case the patient suffered a loss of consciousness during the event. That is significant and warrants extreme care in moving this patient. Also something else this article does not mention is that a large majority of the fleet is mini-mod type ambulnces. These ride is noticable ruff in these type ambulances. The road maintenance is not the best either in this area of the country. Additionally, as stated before, the patient had many previous conditions that encite pain on a normal basis much less after a traumatic event. I certainly think we should find process improvements for the care we deliver, but in this day and age I would rather cover my rump verses a lawsuit for negligence. This would also be an interesting conversation to have when we get roped into payment for patient satisfaction. Para Medic Tuesday, February 14, 2012 9:25:14 PM Alas poor Arthur, if you are so incapable of critical thinking, than maybe you do need to be in the medical field. Protocols are simply guides, a framework so to speak, to help reach appropriate treatment decisions. They are not the holy gospel sent down from up on high. I'll tell you what, let's go into a courtroom. On my side will be several expert witnesses armed with research data proving the dangers of LSB and c-collar use, on your side will be an expert witness that says "we do it this way because it's always been done this way" and no supporting data.
Instead of focusing on the suspension system of the ambulance, what we should really be looking at the care (or lack thereof) that this patient received. 
Mark Buie Wednesday, February 15, 2012 5:15:26 AM Why don't we look at the real problem of the roads. Pot holes and degrading roads are the culprit for rough rides to the hospital. Every time I have a patient complain about the rough ride I tell them my EMT can control side to side motion but can do nothing about the up and down motion caused by holes in the road. 
Joyce Lanpher Wednesday, February 15, 2012 5:37:30 AM We have an air ride ambulance her in Vermont and it is the worst ride ever! 
