# Long Distance



## SwansonJohn99 (Mar 31, 2017)

Hey everyone. This is going to make a lot of you, especially those who work in rural areas or for companies that do these constantly, shake your heads in amazement. 

I've been in EMS eight months and tomorrow is my first prescheduled long distance, or as I'm calling it, super long distance. You see I work in Milwaukee running BLS 911s and short local transports. The longest transports I've run to date are about an hour long. This one is projected to be about an 8 hour day so I'm going to say about a minimum of 3 hours of having the patient in our care. So I'm looking for EMSHacks, tips, and what to expect. So hit me up guys and gals!


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## DesertMedic66 (Mar 31, 2017)

Nothing really exciting. Talk to your patient, bring a book, have some music, but still watch your patient. 

3 hour one way transports are pretty normal for us out here. The longest transport I have heard of for my area took about 26 hours round trip.


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## SwansonJohn99 (Mar 31, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> Nothing really exciting. Talk to your patient, bring a book, have some music, but still watch your patient.
> 
> 3 hour one way transports are pretty normal for us out here. The longest transport I have heard of for my area took about 26 hours round trip.


Sounds like fun, thanks for the tip


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## Qulevrius (Mar 31, 2017)

SwansonJohn99 said:


> Hey everyone. This is going to make a lot of you, especially those who work in rural areas or for companies that do these constantly, shake your heads in amazement.
> 
> I've been in EMS eight months and tomorrow is my first prescheduled long distance, or as I'm calling it, super long distance. You see I work in Milwaukee running BLS 911s and short local transports. The longest transports I've run to date are about an hour long. This one is projected to be about an 8 hour day so I'm going to say about a minimum of 3 hours of having the patient in our care. So I'm looking for EMSHacks, tips, and what to expect. So hit me up guys and gals!



Expect boredom and a stiff back.


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## luke_31 (Mar 31, 2017)

Do these every so often, often ends up being late at night. Just keep an eye on your patient, and like the others said bring a snack and entertainment.


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## VentMonkey (Mar 31, 2017)

*ENJOY* the break from the overrated craptastic 911 calls.

Also, FWIW, my service does them routinely multiple times a day. An 8 hour round trip isn't all too uncommon, 4-6 hour round trips are average, and 12-plus hours are also known to happen.

As a formerly active field supervisor in charge of assigning them while being stuck on a unit backfilling for the crews that were taken out of the system because of it, I'd never envied them so much. It definitely made me appreciate them that much more.

Edit: our BLS crews work their butts off running many of them now, allowing more ALS crews to remain in our system. That there exemplifies teamwork, and is worthy of a kudos.

@gonefishing, and @CodeBru1984 can vouch for this.


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## Akulahawk (Mar 31, 2017)

SwansonJohn99 said:


> Hey everyone. This is going to make a lot of you, especially those who work in rural areas or for companies that do these constantly, shake your heads in amazement.
> 
> I've been in EMS eight months and tomorrow is my first prescheduled long distance, or as I'm calling it, super long distance. You see I work in Milwaukee running BLS 911s and short local transports. The longest transports I've run to date are about an hour long. This one is projected to be about an 8 hour day so I'm going to say about a minimum of 3 hours of having the patient in our care. So I'm looking for EMSHacks, tips, and what to expect. So hit me up guys and gals!


Longest transport I had was about 8 hours ONE way... made for quite a long day, and might I add, that was just the patient transport time. Total day ended up being around 18 hours. For that particular trip, I brought a portable DVD player and headphones for the patient along with a ton of DVDs. I also brought a book for me. I also was able to bring along our ProPaq to monitor vital signs. While the trip was basically 100% boring, I still watched the patient closely. One of the benefits of this LONG transport was that I was able to really get into the patient's chart and really delve into why and how the patient ended up with me on this transport. This also made for a very detailed, yet concise, patient care report. It was one of the few times I had to break out a continuation sheet just to be able to record all the vital sign sets that we were required to take...

Three hours of patient contact time truly isn't all that much, but if you're used to transports that are all less than 30 minutes, it'll seem like it takes forever! How would you travel with kids? Do the same things (kind of) and you'll do just fine.


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## VentMonkey (Mar 31, 2017)

Akulahawk said:


> How would you travel with kids?


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## Akulahawk (Mar 31, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> View attachment 3675


I meant in a "non-Griswald" Vacation type of way...


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## NysEms2117 (Mar 31, 2017)

Akulahawk said:


> I meant in a "non-Griswald" Vacation type of way...


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## Akulahawk (Mar 31, 2017)

NysEms2117 said:


> View attachment 3676
> View attachment 3677


That's why I pretty much never did a LD transport with family in the back... especially if the family was a little brother or sister. That and finding crayons for the next 3 days...


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## johnrsemt (Apr 4, 2017)

Loved LD runs;   where I work PT every transport is at least 2 hours one way to the ED.   Sometimes 2-3 hours longer depending where the patient is.


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## johnrsemt (Apr 4, 2017)

Where I used to work, it hit the point they stopped asking me if I would go out of town.   They would just text me with the address and crew for the ones I was going on the next day.
22 hours one way twice in a month was my best.


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## hometownmedic5 (Apr 4, 2017)

It never seems to work out well for me. When i take them, the other crews do nothing all day. When i decline, i run my butt off all day.

Overall, I hate driving and I hate long car rides; so long transports dont blow my skirt up anymore. Back in the day, when it was pretty much a guarantee that you'd either do 15 calls or one out of state, I took the out of state calls every time.


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## Tigger (Apr 5, 2017)

Strong dislike for LDTs from me. Most days I start an AMR shift I look at the supe all angry like "do not under any circumstances send me to Denver. Or anywhere else." My regular job averages 45 minute transports and twice that is common. I don't need any more of those.

Make sure you have a plan for keeping whoever is driving awake.


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## EMT9396 (Apr 8, 2017)

DesertMedic66 said:


> Nothing really exciting. Talk to your patient, bring a book, have some music, but still watch your patient.
> 
> 3 hour one way transports are pretty normal for us out here. The longest transport I have heard of for my area took about 26 hours round trip.



how in the world are you doing a 26 hour round trip. from where to where?


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## DesertMedic66 (Apr 8, 2017)

EMT9396 said:


> how in the world are you doing a 26 hour round trip. from where to where?


It was a trip from SoCal to deep in NV somewhere (I was not on the call but saw the information and talked to the crew who did it). 

The transport was set up a week in advance. It was a BLS call and the BLS crew was given a type 3 ambulance. We had a 3 member crew so they could rotate positions: one doing patient care, one driving, and the last one sleeping. 

The crew was given a company credit card to buy food and drinks for themselves and for the patient.


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## Albert Reyes (Apr 10, 2017)

I've done a couple of those in my time!! Do your job and care for the patient. The blessing will come at the end when you get to your destination and you find a nice place to eat and relax for a bit. Your company might even get you a hotel!!!


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## S911S (Apr 13, 2017)

Sit back and relax, but don't get complacent with monitoring your pt. It would be super uncomfortable to realize you're pt is DOA as you're pulling into your destination.


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## Qulevrius (Apr 16, 2017)

S911S said:


> Sit back and relax, but don't get complacent with monitoring your pt. It would be super uncomfortable to realize you're pt is DOA as you're pulling into your destination.



Long distance BLS transports aren't for critical pts, the probability of something going wrong is usually very low. Nonetheless, complacency isn't an option. More of a situational awareness thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DrParasite (Apr 17, 2017)

I hated long distance runs..... I used to tell my dispatcher that I would do every psych transfer, 911 call, and ER discharge..... but try to keep me within the county boundaries, or at most 1 county away from our home base.....

If I'm being sent across state lines (either to Long Island or Philly), than I knew I was on someone's **** list (unless I was detailed to the CCT unit, than I knew I was being punished).  but If I was sent to NYC (or somewhere close to one of the tunnels), than we were definitely enjoying a good (albeit pricey) lunch and an awesome slice of pizza.


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## johnrsemt (Apr 18, 2017)

Some longer transports can be critical;  In Indiana we used to go to a small town hospital that was 75 miles one way to pick up serious to critical patients that they couldn't fly for what ever reason.   My personal best was 5 IV's hanging,  on a vent.
We also we to every state prison,  or the hospital closest to the prisons to get prisoners and bring them to Indianapolis.   158 miles one way with a patient on a vent,  nurse told dispatch that,  they 'forgot' to tell us.  Didn't have a transport Vent.    It has been over 9 years, and I still feel like my hands are cramped over that transport.   I taught the guard how to bag a patient.


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## Martyn (May 8, 2017)

Earlier this year I had to run lights and sirens for 110 miles...ER to ER transfer with PT who had a head on with a semi. Bilateral ankle FX right was open, four rib FX right side facial injury FX left hand possible pneumothorax. Bad fog stopped the chopper from flying. Our big rig ambulance went on an out of state trip that took 3 days there and back, can't remember where they went though. We get them now and then.


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## johnrsemt (May 8, 2017)

My company in Indiana was setting up a trip to Reno,  that I was going on if I had to bribe people to get it,  but the patient got better and could fly commercially.  I was bummed


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## E tank (May 8, 2017)

johnrsemt said:


> My company in Indiana was setting up a trip to Reno,  that I was going on if I had to bribe people to get it,  but the patient got better and could fly commercially.  I was bummed




Sheesh...what was in Reno that wasn't in 12 places between there and Indiana, let alone closer centers to the East?

Would have been a nice way to start the trip home, though...


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## johnrsemt (May 15, 2017)

It has been proven time and again people get better faster and spend less time in hospitals or rehab when they have family that visit:  proven enough that insurance companies including Medicare/Medicaid will pay to transfer patients back to hospitals/rehab close to home.
That patient was a long haul trucker who has a major stroke 2300 miles from home.

Transported multiple patients all over the Midwest, from or to Indianapolis due to that.  loved long distance transfers.

My company stopped asking me if I would go,  they would just page me with my partner/s and address where I was going (I stopped trusting dispatch for directions)


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## RocketMedic (May 16, 2017)

Working in Texas and New Mexico makes a lot of call long-distance. Ever transported seventy miles just to rendezvous with a helicopter?


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## PassionMedic (May 16, 2017)

While I don't condone sleeping, when I used to go on LDT's especially when it was unplanned/mandated OT, I would set alarms for every 15-20 mins if I was drowsy, to make sure I didn't doze off too far. But only on severely stable pt's. 

Bring a charger, headphones, snack.

Be prepared to drive back since your partner just drove all the way there. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Specialized (Jun 25, 2017)

If the LDT involves hills, make sure to eat more than a few hours in advance. I learned the hard way early Christmas day morning last December!


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## Cowboy (Jul 12, 2017)

Pt


SwansonJohn99 said:


> Hey everyone. This is going to make a lot of you, especially those who work in rural areas or for companies that do these constantly, shake your heads in amazement.
> 
> I've been in EMS eight months and tomorrow is my first prescheduled long distance, or as I'm calling it, super long distance. You see I work in Milwaukee running BLS 911s and short local transports. The longest transports I've run to date are about an hour long. This one is projected to be about an 8 hour day so I'm going to say about a minimum of 3 hours of having the patient in our care. So I'm looking for EMSHacks, tips, and what to expect. So hit me up guys and gals!


Patient stable bring a book, let them go to sleep, and you try not to fall asleep.


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