Disaster Podcast

This week we decided to give the Disaster Podcast team the week off for the July 4th holiday. Since there are so many new folks in the group, some may not know all the insider tips and jokes from the team. For example, when someone mentions Dr. Joe Holley and a foley catheter in the same sentence you might wonder what a foley has to do with disaster and austere medicine.

Back in 2014, the team got into a look at the best supplies to carry when load and space is at a premium. Joe shocked the rest of us with the inclusion of a foley catheter in his list of things he can’t live without on deployment. He then began to list all the things it could be used for, including both medical and mundane uses. You have to listen to the whole episode to hear it all! Enjoy!

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Today with visit with Dr. Sam Ni, a third year emergency medicine resident and USAR Doc in Training. Dr. Joe Holley connected us with Dr. Ni so we could get an understanding about what draws some ER docs to this unique calling.

We chat with Dr. Ni about the process of her training. She shares what parts she enjoyed the most and what challenged her more than others. She also shares her understanding how this opportunity offers her a different look at emergency medicine and disaster medicine as two sides of the same coin. Dr. Ni will be returning to the show in the future as her training proceeds so we can follow up on the process with her.

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Drowning is the topic this week on the Disaster Podcast. We talk about the physiology and common causes of drowning, bringing our frequent guest and dive master Kevin Reiter on the show. Kevin and his wilderness training resources at the Wilderness Safety Institute can be found at WildSafety.com.

We also look at some of the common misconceptions and misnomers around drowning. Our friend, Dr. Seth Hawkins has numerous articles that can be used as resources to debunk the use of terms like “near drowning” or “dry” and “wet drowning.”

Articles on Drowning

Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Drowning

Drowning is never dry: Two ER doctors explain the real swimming danger kids face

Drowning in a sea of misinformation: Dry drowning and secondary drowning

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley, and co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

This week on the Disaster Podcast we talk about medical interoperability between state and federal units. Our guest is Tim Conley, a paramedic/fire fighter who is also a state DMAT member.

Tim discusses putting together teams, developing partnerships with other states and organizations, and putting the IDMC concept into action at disaster events like the Joplin tornado.

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley, and co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

In this week’s episode, the podcast team looks at several topics. Disaster meteorologist Becky Depodwin gives us an update on Tropical Storm Cristobol which may threaten the U.S. gulf coast early next week. She notes that though it is just early June, this is the third named storm of the year and that Gulf of Mexico surface water temps are already as warm as is normal in August.

Then we shift gears and discuss challenges facing the nation’s EMS providers who must provide care on streets filled with peaceful protestors and occasionally violent riots and looting. We talk about the challenges of treatment with ongoing COVID-19 concerns and what to expect after a week of densely populated protest events worldwide.

On the show were Dr. Joe Holley, and co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

FEMA released their guidance on disaster response for the pending Hurricane season during the COVID-19 era. The guide provides actions emergency managers and public officials can take to prepare for response and recovery operations during ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response efforts.

Specifically, the guidance:

* Describes anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19;

* Highlights planning considerations for emergency managers based on current challenges;

* Outlines how FEMA plans to adapt response and recovery operations;

* Creates a shared understanding of expectations between FEMA and emergency mangers; and,

* Includes guidance, checklists and resources to support emergency managers response and recovery planning.

On the show were Dr. Joe Holley, meteorologist Becky Depodwin, and meteorologist Dan Depodwin, along with co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

What do we do to manage evacuees, patients, and responders in the coming Hurricane season, during west-coast wild fires, midwest floods, or any disaster? This week we talk about how the U.S. Federal and state disaster response teams are adjusting their plans to address handling the COVID crisis in the middle of disaster events.

FEMA has released their guidance on disaster response for the pending Hurricane season during the COVID-19 era. The guide provides actions emergency managers and public officials can take to prepare for response and recovery operations during ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response efforts. Specifically, the guidance:

* Describes anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19;

* Highlights planning considerations for emergency managers based on current challenges;

* Outlines how FEMA plans to adapt response and recovery operations;

* Creates a shared understanding of expectations between FEMA and emergency mangers; and,

* Includes guidance, checklists and resources to support emergency managers response and recovery planning.

On the show were Dr. Joe Holley and meteorologist Kyle Nelson, along with co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Disaster Podcast hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley talk with Dr. Joe Holley once again for our tenth bonus update on the COVID-19 outbreak. Our understanding of the way this virus impacts our patients is still evolving. Watch for more of these updates a one or two times a week on top of our normal episode rotation as Joe has more information to share with us.

Here are the key points Joe covered on this call:

COVID-19 Antibody Testing:

* Fewer Signs and Symptoms leads to fewer antibodies produced

* Due to variability of Antibody Testing, this may lead to more false negatives

* Fever and Anosmia (loss of taste and smell) corresponds to highest instance of positive antibody tests. This makes these symptoms best early indicators of COVID-19 infection.

More Updates Soon

Stay tuned for more updates periodically in the coming weeks as Joe reaches out amidst his duties and busy schedule to share his viewpoint on the response with us as he is able.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

We invited EMS manager Chris Prutzman on the show again to talk about his recent draft proposals for EMS management. Included in them are both provider care and conduct standards, and community care and outcomes standards.

He points out how the fire service has created national standards adopted by the property insurance industry around fire safety and apparatus availability. Chris wonders if a similar care and outcome standard could be created for EMS to be used to drive more equitable medical insurance billing standards.

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley and meteorologist Kyle Nelson, along with co-hosts Sam Bradley, and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Disaster Podcast hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley touch base again with Dr. Joe Holley for our ninth bonus update on the COVID-19 outbreak. Our understanding of the way this virus impacts our patients is still evolving. Watch for more of these updates a one or two times a week on top of our normal episode rotation as Joe has more information to share with us.

Here are the key points Joe covered on this call:

COVID-19 STEMI Presentation:

* STEMI symptoms may be first sign of COVID disease in some patients.

* Seems to be related to inflammatory response in coronary arteries mimicking thrombotic STEMI and heart disease.

* EMS and Health Care pros should assume STEMI presentation may be COVID positive and take precautions.

COVID-19 Testing:

* New testing avenues coming out for COVID disease.

* However, many still show 7-10% false negative results.

* Asymptomatic individuals may have significantly higher viral loads than previously suspected.

Masks for Public vs. Masks for Health Care Personnel

* Masks for public use may be moderately effective for passing exposure in limited contact settings.

* Health care pros who become ill with COVID seems to be related to prolonged exposure to high viral loads.

* Therefore, ONLY N-95 or higher protection masks should be considered effective protection for health care professionals.

Question on Reusing Disposable Masks (cleaning)

* Question for Dr. Joe on cleaning N-95 masks between uses/shifts.

* Don’t use soap and water for disposable masks.

* Instead – place in oven on low temperature (170-200 degrees F or at least 77 degrees Celcius) for a period of thirty minutes.

* Include a separate pan of water to create a humid environment to assist in penetration of moist heat into fibers of mask.

More Updates Soon

Stay tuned for more updates periodically in the coming weeks as Joe reaches out amidst his duties and busy schedule to share his viewpoint on the response with us as he is able.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.