Woman dies during scuba dive off Wilmington

[Scubamedicjoe]

First off not talking about USCG I am talking about a EMT on the dive operators boat , such as NC based boat has a state certified EMT , most dive operators should have oxygen , most need AED's and all need CPR . so lets take it to next step and have them little more trained for better Airway control and have some advance .air way adjuncts , 99 % time that IV isn't the problem its airway control ect . I see minimum amount money for training and equipment is minimum including the training

Under the NREMT, the EMT-B are not allowed to start or maintain a line. As I said earlier, under "certain counties" EMT-B's are not allowed to intubate (even though they are trained to do so) Yes, they can administer certain drugs, but not through a line. The USCG EMT-B's are NREMT's, not state certified.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Again it is not about an EMT on the boat. It is about an arm of the US Military that has as part of it's mission statement to search and rescue. If they come and board the vessel, take over operations with their equipment, and that equipment is no good, empty, and the personnel do not even know how to hook up said gear it is inexcusable and they need to either up the training of their personnel or redefine the mission statement to reflect this built in incompetence.

At Joe's request I have obtained the name of the commander at the station in question and will be writing a letter to him. Not as a friend of Joe's. But as a taxpayer and scuba instructor who may or may not have need of emergency services. I want to know if it is a waste of time to call them for anything other than a taxi service. That they would have to wait for an EMT from the local fire dept is also inexcusable.

The training is yes simple. And for EMT B does really not take that long. But what was missing here it seems is even the capabilities of a basic first responder. In 4-6 hours one can be taught cpr, AED, and how to at least hook up an O2 bottle. Why is it so hard to train every CG crewman to do this? I will also be forwarding a copy of that letter to the Commandant of the CG. THat will be noted on the letter.

If there is no response the second one will go out with copies to ABC, CBS, MSNBC, and FOX. Perhaps even Reuters and the AP. Bet that will get a response from someone.

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

well as I agree , I am disappointed in our own USCG , I want to take it one step further to make sure there equipment and trained personal , believe it or not your on a air plane they have equipment and personal at basic level . I just wish how to make every USCG station a medical responder station, think only congress could do this or maybe the commander of the USCG.

 

[acwest]

First off not talking about USCG I am talking about a EMT on the dive operators boat , such as NC based boat has a state certified EMT , most dive operators should have oxygen , most need AED's and all need CPR . so lets take it to next step and have them little more trained for better Airway control and have some advance .air way adjuncts , 99 % time that IV isn't the problem its airway control ect . I see minimum amount money for training and equipment is minimum including the training

So you are suggesting that every dive charter boat should staff an EMT, possibly with training above what an EMT normally has? And how were you proposing that we pay for these people? Considering the rather low percentage of dives that have problems serious enough to require an EMT, it seems to make more sense to put these personal on fast boats that can respond quickly to emergencies. Something like the USCG...
-Craig

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

no our EMT's has advance air way skills from everything from intubations to blind insertion air way devices , like king airway personally don't think would cost much at all .
why not make captain or dive mast on boat since many charters have their own regular crews , as far as fast boats good luck there , even the level of medical responder be better than nothing , I personally have seen . USCG members who couldn't even perform CPR good much less maintain an airway , guess there no easy solution unless the USCG will actually step up to the plate which I doubt.
what happened in this instance in my book is inexcusable , but answers I got locally well they wasn't a rescue crew their primary was inspection and law . still makes me sick to my stomach . if anyone of my medics performed the way this unit did they would be fired. first off no excuse why equipment hasn't been checked much less knowing how to use it . that's all I going to say .

 

[PfcAJ]

First off not talking about USCG I am talking about a EMT on the dive operators boat , such as NC based boat has a state certified EMT , most dive operators should have oxygen , most need AED's and all need CPR . so lets take it to next step and have them little more trained for better Airway control and have some advance .air way adjuncts , 99 % time that IV isn't the problem its airway control ect . I see minimum amount money for training and equipment is minimum including the training

I think its a good idea, but what doctor is going to assume the role of medical director for a dive boat emt who rarely (if ever) gets to use and practice those more advanced skills?

Fwiw, NREMT-B's are not taught how to initiate IVs or required to learn/ perform ET intubation, only combitube or king. Your state emts might be different. This is how it was when I went through the course a number of years ago, and all the new guys in my unit experienced the same thing I did.

 

[Fish-R-Man]

It surprises me that the USCG team that responded in this situation arrived so poorly prepaired to deal with the emergency. I have to believe that it was a failure more so on the part of the local station as opposed to the USCG in general. I have commercial fished in the Bering Sea for close to 30 years. While not particluarly happy to see these guys when they are on fisheries patrol and board us for inspection, but very glad they were there when we had an emergency. I have been in four different situations where without thier rapid responce, the medical emergency we had on board the vessel would have ended up with a fatality. Each time a medical officer was dropped from a chopper, he was able to stabilize the crewman before he was flown out for medical treatment. Being part of the vessel management (chief engineer) I have taken a number of medical classes to be better prepaired to deal with the next incident that occures. These were above the standard CPR First Aid classes that are required for my license. I personaly believe that if I was an owner or operator of one of the larger dive vessels, I would take it upon myself to take a couple of these classes so that I would be better prepaired to handle a medical emergency. Even if a properly trained and equipped USGC or rescue vessel was available, time is always the deciding factor. They just may not be able to reach you.....

 

[Lone Wolf]

I went diving this weekend, the 1st time since Corrine's accident. It ranks as one the hardest things I've ever done. Dove with a friend I trust completely, and some friends from Blue Marble. Broke down after the dives, I sure hope it gets easier with time!!

 

[jeffloughridge]

Joe, I commend you for this first step; for looking that demon in the face and not blinking. Small steps are the key.

 

[manni-yunk]

Very sorry for your loss. Tragic.