Amusement parks

[Pittsburgh Proud]

Anyone care to share any time they have done working at there local amusement parks in there area?
Looks like I am going to score some per diem work at one of our local parks this summer. I was told it was boring and be ready to hand out band aids and Tylenol all day long but be ready fora cardiac arrest at the same time.

Thought it might be interesting for per diem work.

It would be me as an EMT and a Medic in a gold cart working the first aid stand, full als and no transport.

 

[JPINFV]

I've worked as a basic for 2 seasons at a water park. In general, yea, its pretty boring so bring a few good books. Of course that depends on numerous factors such as weather, pests (we had a fair amount of bee stings), crowd size (9k guests a day was a rather constant flow my first year, but my second year the park was down to its normal 6k guests/day which meant normally a handful an hour).


While again, probably very water park biased, most of the guests that came to first aid wanted a bandage of some sort. These patients ranged from "can you just give me a bandage" to "whaa, I'm dieing" (directed at the adults who think a small cut is the end of the world, not the kids who understandably think so). There are relatively major events from time to time. I didn't have to transport anyone my first season, but ended up calling an ambulance (2 911, 1 non-emergent) 3 times within 2 weeks my second season. I also tended to get the genital injury guests. On the more serious end, first aid last year dealt with, from what I remember, an open fracture, shortness of breath, moderate dehydrations, moderate traumas, seizures (including 1 in the wave pool), and ALOC. In addition we allowed guests to store emergent (EpiPens) or temp sensitive (diabetic supplies) medications at first aid.

We did have over the counter drugs for employees (OTC drugs were also sold at the main gift shop next door), but since we were basics we weren't supposed to hand them out to guests. My rule was if a guest requests it, sure, but I never advised for or against. My supervisor was found of playing "mommy medicine" (her words). Besides those, we were relatively better stocked than most BLS ambulances (AED, adult, infant, child ambu bags, plenty of wound care/splinting material, oxygen supplies, triage tags, wheel chairs, stokes basket, list goes on).

It is vastly different than prehospital medicine due to not only a general lower acuity of patients, but also because you will be, in general, definitive care. For example, you can't backboard every patient who complains of back pain like you can in EMS since you aren't transporting. Are there patients who need to have c-spine precautions taken? Sure. Is every back/neck/head pain going to be back boarded? No. Similarly, while your park might be different (especially with the presence of a paramedic), first aid wasn't allowed to call 911. That responsibility fell to the senior park supervisor on duty at the time for two reasons. First, there is a need to coordinate an emergency response with the rest of the park. Are responding units going to be directed to the employee entrance (normal procedure) or the park gate? Make sure the parking director or security knows to be out there to direct traffic in case the fire engine driver or ambulance driver hasn't responded to the park before. Are we going to move the patient to the employee break room (which is at the employee entrance) or have responders meet us inside the park? Does the patient even need a response or were we stupid and hired someone fresh out of class (it's happened before)? I was skeptical at first of that set up, but I never had a problem getting an ambulance.

 

[emtwacker710]

I am currently working my first season at our local amusement park and the hotel that is a part of it across the street. I was told it is mostly basic 1st aid, but to always be ready for more than that, because of our area we get cases of heat exhaustion/stroke and many insect bites and stings (possible anaphylaxis in some) but over all it is basic 1st aid, last year I think they had to call the squad 14-16 times for transports to the hospital, and thats with 10,000 people through the park on an average day!

 

[Jon]

I routinely do special event standbys with my part-time employer, often at the local convention center. We usually just hand out bandaids, but we occasionally have other things... Chest pain/respiratory isn't rare... but I think diabetics are a little more common for our ALS emergencies. On the BLS side, we see sprains/strains.

 

[AJemt]

i spent a couple years at an amusement park doing first aid - one bls provider for entire park of ~40 rides, plus a water splash deck/play area (no depth so no lifeguard needed). average guest attendance was 1-4k occasionally getting as high as 6k on some rare weekends. the majority of the guest incidents were bandaids (kid running, trips and falls on blacktop), some stings, some i don't feel good/heat issues, my knee/wrist/arm/ankle/etc. hurts. also got a lot of ppl asking for tylenol etc. but we were not allowed to hand it out (but could direct them to the gift shop 20 ft away where they could buy it, lol). the other thing we got was what we called 'slide burn' - basically a friction burn from a very large slide that people had a tendancy to hold onto while they went down despite ride operator instructions to DO NOT TOUCH - little bit of burn gel and a bandaid and send them on their merry way. there were also the more serious broken bones, seizures (usually heat related), allergic reactions, heat exhaustion, syncope, and cardiac/respiratory or other medical issues. personally, i have had everything from cuts and scrapes and bruises to knocked out teeth to an employee who passed out and stopped breathing for a couple of minutes (long story - heat/dehydration etc.)
on the employee side you will get everything from i don't feel good to my stomach hurts to foreign objects *usually stuff in the eyes* to burns (food service ppl, hot oil), to employees who just want to get out of work early or don't feel like working that day at all, as well as sprains, beestings, etc. as well as the heat issues.
also there was a small fridge for keeping personal food as well as if guests needed to store medications (antibiotics, insulin, etc) and a cooler that got filled with ice each morning - since kids usually only use ice for a couple minutes then toss it its nto cost effective to use cold packs unless its a major issue or you are sending someone to the hospital.
you will prly also get people who will come up and ask you for advice on various medical issues as well as general BP checks (depending on your parks' requirements you may not have to document them - we didn't).
as bls we had a golf cart that was converted to permit a litter (no wheels just more like a portable cot) w/ or w/o a backboard on it, basic bandaging supplies, antiseptic spray/neosporin, tweezers, eye wash fishies, bp cuff, stethascope, O2 with all adjuncts (bls airways, cannulas, NRB, BVM, etc.), suction, AED, 2 adult 1 peds board, appropriate collars etc. as well as lots and lots of bandaids.

good luck and have fun!!

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

I'm also wondering on this issue. The parks I may work at have pooled together resources and between the three of them have between 17k and 25k visitors a day (This number may be misleading as a person visiting park 1 then going to park 2 counts as 2 people). They are practically adjacent to each other but all three are big enough that you need a golf cart/vehicle to be able to cover ground effectively.

At most times they have 1 Paramedic, 1-2 intermediates and 2-3 basics on duty for a total of 5 EMTs on weekdays and 6 EMTs on Weekends and holidays. I think that if I join them I will have more than enough to do since there are so many visitors but will I be overwhelmed?

 

[BossyCow]

At most times they have 1 Paramedic, 1-2 intermediates and 2-3 basics on duty for a total of 5 EMTs on weekdays and 6 EMTs on Weekends and holidays. I think that if I join them I will have more than enough to do since there are so many visitors but will I be overwhelmed?

Of course you will be overwhelmed. But only sometimes. In between there will be long periods of boredom.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Of course you will be overwhelmed. But only sometimes. In between there will be long periods of boredom.

Isn't that how all ems is? I was just asking whether or not i'd have those s--w periods at all.

 

[stonez]

Old thread this but....
I have being called out by the standby-by people at some entertainment theme park areas for various overdose calls.
I lot of vomiting etc thanks to alcohol and GHB!!!

 

[FLEMT]

I just got my EMT-B Certification and was wondering if Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World or Bush Gardens hire EMTs to work in the parks?

 

[EMERG2011]

I actually checked that out. Its not Disney World that specifically hires EMTs, but the Reedy Creek Fire Department (Reedy Creek is the "official" name used by Walt Disney when he incorporated in the State of Florida, so as to not tip off local investors, just a cool tidbit). The requirements from their website are as follows:

Must have a State of Florida EMT Certification

Must possess current BLS and Healthcare Provider certifications

Must posses upon hire or successfully obtain after hire the Orange County EMT certification

Must possess a valid Florida State Driver license and maintain insurability under the District's commercial vehicle coverage

Have and maintain sufficient physical ability to perform essential functions of the job and successfully complete and pass periodic physical examinations.

http://www.rcid.org/Dept_Emergency.cfm


Hope this helps!

 

[FLEMT]

Thanks for all the infomation, I will have to check out their site