The need for advanced patient ventilation has been at the forefront of patient care during the coronavirus pandemic. The shortage of mechanical ventilators has also surfaced as an overall shortfall in many systems.

Many have raised the issue of why few prehospital response ALS Units are equipped with mechanical ventilators. JEMS Editor Emeritus A.J. Heightman reached out to EMSA, the ALS System serving Tulsa and Oklahoma City, a system that has mechanical ventilators in service for years, to discuss the topic.

Joining A.J. are Jeffrey M. Goodloe, MD, NRP, FACEP, FAEMS, and Tyler Wedman, NRP.

Jeffrey M. Goodloe is professor and chief of the EMS Section of the Department of Emergency Medicine at The University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine in Tulsa. He has the privilege of serving as medical director for the Medical Control Board in the EMS System for Metropolitan Oklahoma City and Tulsa, working with a multitude of agencies, including the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA), the Oklahoma City Fire Department and the Tulsa Fire Department. He started in EMS in 1988 as an EMT-B and has never quit learning.

Tyler Wedman works for Global Medical Response in its operations at EMSA in Oklahoma City. He serves as Director of Clinical Services for EMSA in the “Western Division” which is metropolitan Oklahoma City. He oversees new hire clinical onboarding, CQI, CME, and other clinical and educational duties.