By Gail Peckler-Dziki ~ Correspondent
During the citizen comment portion of the last Silver Lake board meeting, when the agreement with Silver Lake Rescue was discussed, Silver Lake resident Colleen Dykstra asked, “Do you want paramedic service or do you want the Silver Lake Rescue Squad?”
When we call 911 we tend to think that the paramedics are coming but it’s a little more complicated then that.
There are four levels of licensing in Wisconsin, two for Basic Life Support (BLS) and two for Advanced Life Support (ALS). A service will hold a particular license level and that is the level at which the personnel of that department may operate.
The first BLS license is first responder and that requires 40 hours of training. The next BLS license is EMT (emergency service technician) –Basic and requires 110 to 120 hours of training.
The first ALS provider is an EMT-Intermediate, requiring 200 to 400 hours of training and the EMT-Paramedic with 1,000 of more hours of training. And all require consistent further education to help personnel keep up with new changes and innovations.
While some SLRS personnel hold a paramedic license and use it with another service, SLRS has an EMT-Intermediate license. That scope of practice allows SLRS personnel to offer intravenous therapy, defibrillate patients, administer medication and used advance airway management technique.
In western Kenosha County, there are eight departments that provide emergency services to residents. Every department participates in a co-operative effort called MABAS, and depending on activity and need in the area, one of these departments could respond to your 9-1-1 call.
Salem is the only paramedic service, Bristol the only intermediate; Silver Lake Rescue, Paris and Twin Lakes are at the Intermediate IV Technician level.
Wheatland is a First Responder that responds with Silver Lake Rescue and Twin Lakes. Randall is a First Responder that responds with Silver Lake Rescue and Twin Lakes. Silver Lake Fire is a First Responder that responds with Silver Lake Rescue.
The fire department first responders will often take an engine out to a rescue call. That serves two purposes. The fire engines need to be used in order to stay in good working condition and if the fire department receives a fire call while on a rescue call, they are already out on the road and ready to go.
No time will be wasted in heading back to the station to get the engine.
The EMT-P or paramedic license is commonly referred to as advanced life support (ALS) care. The ALS provided is the most highly trained and equipped EMS provider.
The provider offers defibrillation and cardiac monitoring, intravenous therapy, advance airway management and dedication administration. If a department wishes to provide this level of service, the state must be petitioned and the petition can be denied.
All rescue squads, whether part of a fire department or private, build a relationship with a hospital that receives transports and a physician who supervises services provided. Some departments become affiliated with an accredited college or university.
Departments have a quality management (QM) system and standard operating procedures (SOP). The SOP is developed by and in conjunction with the supervising physician.
SLRS attorney Frank Gagliardi did say at the June 19 Silver Lake board meeting that the SLRS is planning on working toward paramedic licensing. In order to reach that licensing level, SLRS must apply to the state, which can say no.