Backboards are gone!

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nymedic9999

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anyone else here the great news? NYS is abandoning backboards!
 
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I believe they are going away where I live too. I'm sure it is currently service/ medical director dependent. I recently heard NREMT is going to be taking it out too. Anyone else hear the same?
 
One of the REMAC doc's I'm friendly with told me this, however I haven't seen any public announcements from the state yet... It's a coup set up by the REMAC's to overthrow SEMAC in the name of actual patient care! lol
 
The state has announced it. In fact, the trainings have already started. Info can be found at the following links. Basically there is going to be a Online Update (already did mine, ~1 hr) followed by a 25 question online quiz, and skills updates at the local level. The online update also covers the proposed Hemorrhage Control Protocols (Tourniquets!).

http://www.cnyems.org/documents/listings/faq letter 2015 nys bls protocol update.pdf
http://www.cnyems.org/documents/listings/spinal psychomotor skills.pdf
 
We still using backboards here in California. I wish they will be gone and just be c collars. Only benefit I see from them is a hard service for cpr....but we got cpr boards for that
 
justin1232 said:
We still using backboards here in California. I wish they will be gone and just be c collars. Only benefit I see from them is a hard service for cpr....but we got cpr boards for that
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It's completely county dependent in CA now. Some counties are not using them at all and other counties are still back boarding every trauma patient.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
It's completely county dependent in CA now. Some counties are not using them at all and other counties are still back boarding every trauma patient.
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Yeah I heard San Bernardino and riverside counties are just c spining....here in Orange it's every pt with " a potential injury". I do 911 in Laguna beach and anyone who get a hit b. Awaves gets a backboard -"-
 
justin1232 said:
Yeah I heard San Bernardino and riverside counties are just c spining....here in Orange it's every pt with " a potential injury". I do 911 in Laguna beach and anyone who get a hit b. Awaves gets a backboard -"-
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We have different criteria for what to do. We can either go with nothing, go with a C-collar, or go full immobilization
 
Kern County we are not allowed to even transport on a backboard. Only exception is if we used it to extricate a pt AND it would be detrimental to waste time to remove the board. We also are phasing in the X-collar once our normal collars finish. We dont even collar people in Low speed mva, falls under 3ft etc, even with cervical tenderness, neuro deficit , AMS.
 
Does that mean I can finally take a board home so I can use it as a sled? I've always wanted to throw that special someone down on one and push them down a mountain in the winter.
 
Now, when does NREMT get rid of backboarding & KED as a skill station...?
 
Ok I am an Intermediate on a private service in a small town. in fact we cover a couple small towns. our call volume is pretty low. I know this has probably been hashed over a million times on here but I am a non believer in doing away with the backboard. Before you tar and feather me I will explain. The current backboards I understand can do harm. however they do serve a purpose.. spinal immobilization.. We have several people every year here get thrown from vehicles down into ditches and into fields etc. We also have people who hurt themselves up in the mountains with an MOI the indicates full spinal immobilization.. how do we mosve these people without backboards? To me a redesign of the backboard is in order.. maybe a memory foam or something that fills and supports the voids? I dont know just my thoughts. Feel free to school me!
 
Tikkamike said:
Ok I am an Intermediate on a private service in a small town. in fact we cover a couple small towns. our call volume is pretty low. I know this has probably been hashed over a million times on here but I am a non believer in doing away with the backboard. Before you tar and feather me I will explain. The current backboards I understand can do harm. however they do serve a purpose.. spinal immobilization.. We have several people every year here get thrown from vehicles down into ditches and into fields etc. We also have people who hurt themselves up in the mountains with an MOI the indicates full spinal immobilization.. how do we mosve these people without backboards? To me a redesign of the backboard is in order.. maybe a memory foam or something that fills and supports the voids? I dont know just my thoughts. Feel free to school me!
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Short version: Nothing we do successfully "immobilizes" the spinal column. Even in cases of true SCI, the damage is already done when we arrive. MOI of ejection or injuries in the mountains are still not an accurate predictor of spinal cord injuries. If someone is complaining of neck/back pain post trauma and is still mobile, the best way we can minimize movement is allowing them to self splint and sit on the stretcher. Moving someone with a backboard (or better yet, a scoop stretcher or combi carrier) is perfectly fine, but they should not be utilized during transport in any attempt to prevent movement of the spinal column.
 
I can agree with that I guess.. not totally sold because old habbits die hard but I would like to read up on more studies about this. do you know of any that are worth looking up?
 
My region just started this last month. Collars and backboard to use for movement, but they do not stay on them.
 
Jdorr817 said:
My region just started this last month. Collars and backboard to use for movement, but they do not stay on them.
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So how exactly do you un-C-spine once you get to the ambulance?
 
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