Ambulance Cabinet Organizers

[resq330]

I was just curious what type of 'organizers' your department uses to keep all of your equipment nice and neat (or maybe its not :unsure inside the cabinets. We're getting ready to get a new one and I'm just looking for some ideas. 3 of our units use Akro-Bins but those things are quite expensive. And I'm always looking for a better/neater way to do things. Thanks in advance.

 

[WolfmanHarris]

Each cabinet is labeled and they break down like this:

PCP (Primary Care Paramedic)
A - Airway
B - Breathing
T - Trauma
X - Don't know why it's labelled X. Holds burn kit, OB kit, some other supplies
PPE

Within each of these main cabinets are little blue bins, labelled with what is supposed to be in them. (i.e. NRBx4; King-LT (1x 3,4,5), etc)

The other, non-clear wall cabinets, such as the under bench storage are a little less organized.

The under bench holds
- extra KED and Sager
- tyvex suits
- cleaning supplies
- pedimate

Passenger side forward exterior cabinet holds
- KED
- Sager
- scoop
- pole stretcher
- MCI kit
- access to M-tank
- two shelves for personal gear (usually my bag w/ helmet, vest, coat, etc on one and I toss my lunch on the other when we get a call)

Driver side forward exterior cabinet
- two shelves for personal gear
- various vehicle supplies
- extrication pack (halligan and other hand tools) we never use

Passenger side rear exterior compartment
- two spine boards
- extra set of straps and head immobilizers

Driver side rear exterior compartment
Usually empty.

 

[mycrofft]

Been there seen and done that.

OK, you need to know your mission and devise your organizing scheme before you look for stuff to organize with.
1. Level of care.
2. Most likely length of transport.
3. What cases do you need to be most prepared for?

From these, determine your supply and equipment items and quantities.

Now, some tips which will affect your storage organization mechanism :
4. Buy items in the same form you would if they were going into a kit (individually packaged, tough pkging, with product name and any outdates readily visible); they will hold up longer against vibration, heat, cold and dirt/dust. Do not buy unitized supplies unles you are sure through experience they are adequate, often they aren't.
5. Consider the scheme of working from your kit(s) and use your storage as primarily resupply for supplies for the kits, or to supplement if things get hairy in the unit.
6. Use the basic rules: stuff you use goes where you can reach and see it, stuff you don't use often a little further out, and stuff you don't use...why keep it?

Do not be afraid of "white space", if you don't stuff every nook with stuff you can find the right stuff better. (Kits help with that too).

OK. NOW think how-to and hardware.
BOOKENDS: velcro on bottom and bottom of those shallow long shelves on the drivwer's side of some units. Use metal bkends not too high or wide.
LG FREEZER ZIPLOCS: use as dust cover, gatherer of pieces or trailoingthingees, and mark any outdates etc on the outside. We use them for an IV start kit, everything for one IV (stuff for two tries and one bag of solution) in one bag. Can see in. Seal it to detect kits having been raided for parts.
KITS: smaller kit bags for stuff like oxygen fittings, small tools kit, flashlights parts (bulbs and batteries, maybe a spare light). Osh hardware sells three piece zippered canvas bag set with belt loops and varying sizes, cheap.

BINS: go to Dollar Tree or something like that to buy them. Use glue-backed velcro (do not buy THAT at $tree) to hook them together, to the bottom of a tray ot shelf, etc.

CLEAR TRASH BAGS: dustcovers etc same as ziplocs.

 

[resq330]

Thanks for all the tips Mycrofft. Good idea on using the clear ziploc bags for kits.

 

[mcgrubbs]

All the ambulances in our locale use the white cardboard parts boxes from CarQuest. They work great.

 

[reaper]

We use the white boxes to. Ours are set up and wrapped in plastic. End of shift, you turn in whatever box you opened and get a new one. This makes for very easy restocking in a busy system. Plus, it keeps your cabinets organized.

 

[resq330]

All the ambulances in our locale use the white cardboard parts boxes from CarQuest. They work great.

Any way you could provide a link to these? Or are you saying you just use the boxes that you get parts in?

 

[reaper]

Here is a link to them.
http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/product_listing.cfm?CategoryID=10014

 

[resq330]

Here is a link to them.
http://www.packagingprice.com/forms/product_listing.cfm?CategoryID=10014

Thank you sir!

 

[Dominion]

We use whatever we can get our hands on. However I really like that IV start kit idea. It's a good idea to organize our medic bags...need an IV, just grab that and dump out the supplies. I tend to forget the little things and have to root around for it =/