Water Park Operations

[TeamCutz]

Hey guys, unsure if I am posting in the correct section, but I wanted to get a second opinion as my team and I are heading in for an inservice this weekend.

So I work at a Water Park as the highest level of medical care, EMT-P and B's staff the team. We have plenty of syncopals, diabetic emergencies, and plenty of c-spines. But as we were running through scenarios, we realized that at our tallest rides (up to 5 stories tall) we would be clueless at how to evacuate a patient that is/needs to be fully immobilized. There are too sharp of turns to fit a backboard, the railing is about 3feet hight and lifting anyone 5 stories about ground above a railing is bad news. The slide is not just a straight shot down, it involves plenty of covered and uncovered turns... We understand the "hard" way is to Stairchair with a KED, but we also want to prevent our team from killing their back and possibly injuring another member.

Have at it! Please let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!

 

[NJEMT95]

If the pt is elevated and needs c-spine precautions, would it be possible to get in the ride sitting next to or behind the pt and have the ride slowly lowered to the ground where you can gain access with a backboard?
Otherwise if necessary, maybe request the FD.

 

[TeamCutz]

If the pt is elevated and needs c-spine precautions, would it be possible to get in the ride sitting next to or behind the pt and have the ride slowly lowered to the ground where you can gain access with a backboard?

Otherwise if necessary, maybe request the FD.

The side contains about 4 rotations and a steep drop. If we were to take the pt down, we'd need about 200ft of rope to keep us steady and have thousands of dollars in damages to the slide with a backboard shredding it up.

 

[JPINFV]

Probably your best bet would be the FD. Maybe you can, with the blessing of management, contact the fire department and get a plan in place in case something does happen.

Also, OC? Knotts Soak City or Raging Waters?

 

[TeamCutz]

Probably your best bet would be the FD. Maybe you can, with the blessing of management, contact the fire department and get a plan in place in case something does happen.

We do have FD nearby, we are considering this scenario to create the optimal situation for us and them. Most of the time, we have all of our patients packaged up and ready to go.

Raging Waters.

 

[JPINFV]

We do have FD nearby, we are considering this scenario to create the optimal situation for us and them. Most of the time, we have all of our patients packaged up and ready to go.

Raging Waters.

Having FD nearby and having a practiced plan in place are two different things. For example, albeit an extreme one, rescue provisions are on file for the new High Roller Ferris wheel in Vegas. The worst that happens is LACoFD says no.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...bove-las-vegas-theres-a-rescue-plan-for-that/

 

[exodus]

We do have FD nearby, we are considering this scenario to create the optimal situation for us and them. Most of the time, we have all of our patients packaged up and ready to go.

Raging Waters.

Get a stokes with wheels and a long rope. Shut off the water and guide the stokes down and extricate from the bottom. The wheels prevent damage to the slide.

 

[JPINFV]

Get a stokes with wheels and a long rope. Shut off the water and guide the stokes down and extricate from the bottom. The wheels prevent damage to the slide.

That's still going to depend on how sharp the curves are and how deep the run out pool is. If the pool is, say, 6 feet deep (I want to say this was the deepest run out pool at Wild Rivers, I know we had some deep ones), then guiding a stokes basket down the slide isn't going to work out too well. While I don't know about Raging Waters, a lot of our pools were too deep to lower a stokes into.

Also, if you go with that plan, then you need to practice the plan as well. The first time gliding a board down a slide shouldn't be with a real patient. Similarly, if you get a plan in place with the fire department, then the department managers (especially the executive staff and the lead aquatics managers, using Wild River's organization plan) will know how much space they need to clear for the fire department.

 

[NJEMT95]

Are we talking about a moving ride or a slide?

 

[Akulahawk]

What about a stokes basket, a winch, and a crane apparatus capable of handling about 1,000 lbs with a sufficient reserve for safety? I figure at most you'd be lowering the patient (on a LSB), the basket, and a harnessed attendant (if necessary) down 5 stories... Also, you should be able to move a packaged patient over to where the winch is on every level of the platform.

Getting the basket and supplies up shouldn't be a problem, it's extrication...

Just a thought.

 

[JPINFV]

What about a stokes basket, a winch, and a crane apparatus capable of handling about 1,000 lbs with a sufficient reserve for safety? I figure at most you'd be lowering the patient (on a LSB), the basket, and a harnessed attendant (if necessary) down 5 stories... Also, you should be able to move a packaged patient over to where the winch is on every level of the platform.

Getting the basket and supplies up shouldn't be a problem, it's extrication...

Just a thought.

So... a FD truck or quint...

 

[Akulahawk]

Or alternatively, an air-powered cannon. Spectacular extrication but the landing might be a bit rough.

Actually, I was thinking something to be added to the existing structure permanently. Would be good for raising and lowering equipment in addition to extrication purposes.

 

[JPINFV]

Actually, I was thinking something to be added to the existing structure permanently. Would be good for raising and lowering equipment in addition to extrication purposes.

There's generally not much equipment needed on a water slide, and plenty of other people who can be pressed into service as porters to carry any needed equipment up the stairs.

 

[TeamCutz]

What about a stokes basket, a winch, and a crane apparatus capable of handling about 1,000 lbs with a sufficient reserve for safety? I figure at most you'd be lowering the patient (on a LSB), the basket, and a harnessed attendant (if necessary) down 5 stories... Also, you should be able to move a packaged patient over to where the winch is on every level of the platform.

Getting the basket and supplies up shouldn't be a problem, it's extrication...

Just a thought.

I appreciate this idea because I also brought up the same idea to my manager. But I also have RSI/RSII and experience with ropes. My manager pointed out that I'd be the only one that could rig it all. Being we work for an insured/bonded corporate company, the only way this would happen is if we had guys like me on staff all the time or send all of our team to these courses...which means money

 

[JPINFV]

I appreciate this idea because I also brought up the same idea to my manager. But I also have RSI/RSII and experience with ropes. My manager pointed out that I'd be the only one that could rig it all. Being we work for an insured/bonded corporate company, the only way this would happen is if we had guys like me on staff all the time or send all of our team to these courses...which means money

Money for an extremely unlikely scenario (needing c-spine). That said, being able to extracate an unconcious patient is much more likely, and pretty much just as much trouble

 

[CentralCalEMT]

Honestly, it is probably best to work with your local fire department. It is great when, as an ALS provider I show up on scene and my patient is ready to go thanks to the first responders. (The area I cover has a national forest and wilderness areas so we do have forest service being first responders and we have similar problems getting people back to accessible areas thanks to steep hills/trails that you can't carry a backboard up or around.) However, any medic also realizes there are times that it will take awhile to get the patient back up or down safely. I am sure that you have many dedicated people on your team, however the scenario you suggest is one that involves technical rescue, and would be manpower intensive. With Fire's response times and being you are in an urban area with access to USAR and other resources in a relatively timely manner, wouldn't the proper FD resources be on scene relatively quickly, far quicker than any rope system could be set up? Most medical emergencies are not true life and death. (A slip and fall that has to be C-spined per protocol being one of them.) Wouldn't waiting a couple of extra minutes for the fire department so you have adequate personnel be in the patient's best interest rather than rapidly moving them? Again, you have to do what your management wants and follow protocols, but those are my thoughts.

Maybe you could train with Fire? Set up a drill with them to fine tune your plan. Also, one of the biggest problems with any response is the wrong resources or insufficient resources being sent. Make sure they respond a truck company when requested by your dispatch and make sure your dispatch tells 911 that it is a rescue call and not just a medical aid so you do not just get one engine.

 

[TeamCutz]

Honestly, it is probably best to work with your local fire department. It is great when, as an ALS provider I show up on scene and my patient is ready to go thanks to the first responders. (The area I cover has a national forest and wilderness areas so we do have forest service being first responders and we have similar problems getting people back to accessible areas thanks to steep hills/trails that you can't carry a backboard up or around.) However, any medic also realizes there are times that it will take awhile to get the patient back up or down safely. I am sure that you have many dedicated people on your team, however the scenario you suggest is one that involves technical rescue, and would be manpower intensive. With OCFAs response times and being you are in an urban area with access to USAR and other resources in a relatively timely manner, wouldn't the proper FD resources be on scene relatively quickly, far quicker than any rope system could be set up? Most medical emergencies are not true life and death. (A slip and fall that has to be C-spined per protocol being one of them.) Wouldn't waiting a couple of extra minutes for the fire department so you have adequate personnel be in the patient's best interest rather than rapidly moving them? Again, you have to do what your management wants and follow protocols, but those are my thoughts.



Maybe you could train with OCFA? Set up a drill with them to fine tune your plan. Also, one of the biggest problems with any response is the wrong resources or insufficient resources being sent. Make sure they respond a truck company when requested by your dispatch and make sure your dispatch tells 911 that it is a rescue call and not just a medical aid so you do not just get one engine.

LA County Fire and the staff will be meeting to plan ingress & egress routes throughout the park shortly and running different scenarios. We also plan on offering the nearby truck and quint units to train during off-seasons. We just wanted to see if anyone had ideas to simplify or add to the discussion.

All is much appreciated!

 

[kullivan]

This actually happened at a theme park last year. Check the link: levittownnow.com/2013/08/28/hurt-woman-plucked-from-rubber-duckie-ride-by-firefighters

The woman stopped halfway down the slide due to complaints from a previous back surgery and refused to continue down the slide. The EMS personnel rendezvoused with her in the middle of the slide (it has pods so it is not a straight shot down), backboarded her, and waited for the FD to come in with a stokes basket. It looks like quite the scene, and probably not the best PR for a water park, but it got the job done.

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

Outside of the truck, quint, and extra manpower, all I can offer is stairchair and time. Take all the time you need. Sometimes extricating the patients is the longest portion of your patient contact. Slow and steady and steady is fast.

 

[Handsome Robb]

That's still going to depend on how sharp the curves are and how deep the run out pool is. If the pool is, say, 6 feet deep (I want to say this was the deepest run out pool at Wild Rivers, I know we had some deep ones), then guiding a stokes basket down the slide isn't going to work out too well. While I don't know about Raging Waters, a lot of our pools were too deep to lower a stokes into.

Learn to tread water? We regularly did open water backboarding in 30+ feet of water without flotation. Better yet? Use flotation, guard at the bottom with two rescue tubes. One goes under the feet the next goes under the head. You can float em around with one hand.

It's doable without flotation but a lot of places hire any guard with a pulse and an ARC or E&A card and have god awful low fitness and swimming standards.

If management doesn't like that or the slide is truly impossible to navigate like that safely your best bet is getting with the FD, having them look at it since they do a lot more high angle rescue and extrication than you do and do whatever it is they ask you to do. I could see them requesting anchor points for belay/rappel gear and what not. That'd be pretty easy.

The evidence is showing that spinal motion restriction isn't any benefit and can cause harm so you might not be backboarding nearly as much in the near future.