Thanks to new gear on its rescue squads, the Valley Volunteer Fire Department is at the peak of emergency services.The VVFD unveiled its point of contact ultrasound, or “POCUS”, Monday morning.The ultrasound is similar to what is seen in hospitals, but it is portable.Designed to plug into phones and tablets, the POCUS can be used pretty much anywhere, including in the backs of ambulances.It can spot things like internal bleeding and fetal heartbeats.It can show EMT’s and paramedics where to best put an IV and show them a heart while CPR is in progress.Emma Zeratsky is a Rescue Captain with Valley VFD and helped lead the effort to get the ultrasounds.She said at rescue scenes, the emergency crews go through a field of assessments and the POCUS will help in that.“This adds a whole new layer of certainty on top of those field diagnoses that really lead us down that path to confirm the path we’re going down,” Zeratsky said.The Valley VFD has been testing the POCUS for the past year and have used it nine times.Zeratsky said one of those times really showed her how important the unit can be.She recalled how she was at a scene with a mom who was 38-weeks pregnant.“Normally in pre-hospital, I would’ve had a stethoscope where maybe I’d be able to hear something but not really, with ultrasound I was able to look, listen and see everything and give that mother that reassurance and confidence that everything was going okay with her baby,” Zeratsky said.Dr. Shaila Coffey is an EMS physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and now the medical director for Valley VFD.“I think this is a huge game-changer for them,” Coffey explained by saying the POCUS will help in the diagnoses of the patient and help get them to the hospital most appropriate for their need.“If Valley can identify those patients that require bypassing hospitals to get to a more specialized hospital, that’s huge and that’s what ultrasound does, in my opinion, the most,” said Coffey.Valley checked around and thinks it is the first volunteer emergency rescue crew using POCUS in the country.They said they are already getting inquiries from other departments on how it has been working for them.The Valley VFD has 16-EMTs and 9-Paramedics.
Thanks to new gear on its rescue squads, the Valley Volunteer Fire Department is at the peak of emergency services.
The VVFD unveiled its point of contact ultrasound, or “POCUS”, Monday morning.
The ultrasound is similar to what is seen in hospitals, but it is portable.
Designed to plug into phones and tablets, the POCUS can be used pretty much anywhere, including in the backs of ambulances.
It can spot things like internal bleeding and fetal heartbeats.
It can show EMT’s and paramedics where to best put an IV and show them a heart while CPR is in progress.
Emma Zeratsky is a Rescue Captain with Valley VFD and helped lead the effort to get the ultrasounds.
She said at rescue scenes, the emergency crews go through a field of assessments and the POCUS will help in that.
“This adds a whole new layer of certainty on top of those field diagnoses that really lead us down that path to confirm the path we’re going down,” Zeratsky said.
The Valley VFD has been testing the POCUS for the past year and have used it nine times.
Zeratsky said one of those times really showed her how important the unit can be.
She recalled how she was at a scene with a mom who was 38-weeks pregnant.
“Normally in pre-hospital, I would’ve had a stethoscope where maybe I’d be able to hear something but not really, with ultrasound I was able to look, listen and see everything and give that mother that reassurance and confidence that everything was going okay with her baby,” Zeratsky said.
Dr. Shaila Coffey is an EMS physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and now the medical director for Valley VFD.
“I think this is a huge game-changer for them,” Coffey explained by saying the POCUS will help in the diagnoses of the patient and help get them to the hospital most appropriate for their need.
“If Valley can identify those patients that require bypassing hospitals to get to a more specialized hospital, that’s huge and that’s what ultrasound does, in my opinion, the most,” said Coffey.
Valley checked around and thinks it is the first volunteer emergency rescue crew using POCUS in the country.
They said they are already getting inquiries from other departments on how it has been working for them.
The Valley VFD has 16-EMTs and 9-Paramedics.
