Our Bike Medic teams are used at festivles, outdoor concerts, they supplement the beach medic teams, carnivals, the county fair.
In order to be accepted on our team you have to pass an agility course. Its 4 miles long and tests the riders ability to safely negotiate all the different types of terrain. They ride uphill, down hill, through sand, across grass, gravel, dirt, cement, down sets of stairs, through small openings, in standing water.
They work out really nice because for instance, there is a fesitvle we have every year. The Mullet Fest. It attracts 10's of thousands of people from all over the country. While it can be done, getting an ambulance to someone who suffers an emergency in the middle of the festivle ground is extremely difficult. But the Bike Medics and go cross country and manuever a lot easier. It allows for ALS treatment to reach the patient in sometimes seconds, versus the time it would take to get the closest Ambulance to respond then make their way through the crowd.
They also help for those gatherings that are inaccessable by Ambulance. The bike medic team can get to the patient, have the patient ready for transport when the Medic Unit arrives. They can then load them on the stretcher and carry them out.
On the flip side, they can also assess, and treat they same as we can on the road. They have the equipment to administer D50. And we all know what a diabetic will do when they get their D50. Most of, if not all, of ours refuse transport. Our bike medic teams can take the refusal, thus not tieing up an ambulance.
As for supplies, ours carry....
bandage and dressing supplies
3 - 1000 bags of NS each, and the required drop sets
Various sizes of IV needles, at least 3 of each size each
Intubation supplies - ET Tubes, Styletes, Larygoscope, ect
BVM
pocket mask
AED
blood pressure cuff
stethoscope
glucometer
O2
NRB and NC
Sunscreen
"Sting Thing" (a commercial product for treating sea life stings)
PDA - for complete reports and obtaining refusals as needed
Paper copies of Refusals, No Injury forms, HIPAA forms
They all wear their helmets.
(I think thats it...I left my list on the truck)
And the most important piece of equipment that every good medic needs, whether they are bike, beach, wildfire, ski, S.W.A.T, any other special kind, or a road Medic...
SUNGLASSES!!!B) B) B)
