EMS Programs
RIDE-ALONG PROGRAM
Keeping in the tradition of supporting education, we offer this in-field program geared toward training future medics. Students from all around Iowa, as well as North Dakota and Minnesota, learn and practice skills under the direct supervision of a paramedic preceptor. We also offer in-field observation for those interested in finding out more about the EMS field. Contact us to request a time. Click Here to download a Waiver/Brochure that must be fully read and signed prior to ride time. Contact our office for more information.
CHILD SAFTEY INFORMATION
Pete the Paramedic Visits
Pete is a fully automated, talking ambulance replica that speaks to children about safety related issues including helmet use, seatbelt usage, crossing the street safely, calling 911, and many other safety issues. Pete likes to visit schools and daycares, or most any function that involves teaching safety. Both are well received by children and are very important members of our crew. Contact our office for more information.
Child Safety Seat Loaner Program
Iowa law states a child under 6 years of age who is being transported in a motor vehicle shall be secured during transit by a child restraint system. This program is designed to meet the short-term needs of our citizens who may have a grandchild or significant other coming to visit that require a child safety seat. These seats are on a first come, first serve basis and can be reserved by calling our office or contacting us.
Bike Helmet Program
Helmets are a very important aspect of child safety. Unfortunately, many helmets are rendered useless due to poor fit or breaks in structural integrity. In keeping with our commitment to promote community safety, WDM EMS has instituted this program in order to provide helmets free of charge to those with damaged or worn helmets or to those who do not have one. Helmets will be distributed to any child who is out on wheels without a helmet in West Des Moines, including skateboarders and roller bladers. A damaged can be exchanged at our office. Working together we can make outdoor activities as safe for our citizens as possible.
SPECIAL EVENTS UNIT
Many events for which Des Moines EMS provides coverage consist of large crowds in large areas. Our ambulances, needing a quick exit route in case of other emergency responses, are parked on the perimeters of the events, sometimes forcing citizens to walk long distances in the event they need medical attention. Our Mobile Unit allows a First Aid Station to be centrally located at an event for easy patient access. Its interior has been modified to include a patient care area, office space, heat for winter emergencies, air conditioning for summer emergencies, and electric power in times of outages. Big enough to haul the Special Emergency Response Vehicle and the Bike Patrol, it is a valuable tool in providing complete, quick medical response to any situation and location.
SPECIAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE VEHICLE
Originally conceived as an electric golf cart, this versatile vehicle has been modified to carry Advanced Life Support supplies and personnel directly to those patients in hard to reach areas. Not only does it allow for more immediate care and treatment of the sick and injured, but by fitting it with a stretcher it is able to transport the victims quickly and safely to the Mobile First Aid Unit or waiting ambulance for rapid transport to definitive care. Now called the "SERV," it is a valuable tool for transporting injured persons from off-road conditions and an integral part of our search and rescue operations.
BIKE PATROL
The newest additions to our emergency vehicle arsenal are four 24-speed mountain bikes to be ridden by medics during crowded community events and on the bike trails and parks. Their small stature and off-road capabilities allow them to zip quickly through large crowds finding injured persons in hard to reach areas. Stocked with equipment such as cold packs, splints, and dressings, cyclists provide initial first aid until an ambulance arrives. The bikes are also able to carry more advanced life support equipment including oxygen, airway adjuncts, defibrillators, and medications in saddlebags attached to the backs of the bikes, the same equipment found in ambulances.
SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM
Commonly referred to as SWAT teams, these programs have been a vital part of law enforcement agencies for decades, but not until recently has EMS been involved in the operations. Pro-active law enforcement agencies, like the one in West Des Moines, have adopted the idea of including medical personnel as a way to increase the safety of its officers, the innocent hostages or bystanders, and the subjects of the SRT objective. The WDM SRT has two medics on the team, each having completed the rigorous Federal Counter Narcotics Tactical Operations Medical Support (CONTOMS) training program sponsored by the Department of Defense. Although the role of the medics is primarily medical support, they are armed for their protection and are positioned at the discretion of the SRT commander as the situation dictates.
PUBLIC ACCESS DEFIBRILLATION PROGRAM
According to the American Heart Association, a person's chance of surviving sudden cardiac death decreases by 10% for each minute that defibrillation is delayed. It takes West Des Moines EMS five to six minutes to respond to calls, even longer when the victim is in a large office building or shopping mall. In an effort to tip the scales in favor of heart attack victims, automated external defibrillators have been placed in the shopping mall, office buildings, golf courses, gyms, schools, recreation centers, churches, and police cars.
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The Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program allows lay people to shock a heart attack victim's heart back into a regular rhythm. Several workers at each location have been trained according to American Heart Association guidelines to operate the units and perform CPR. In a cardiac arrest situation, two pads are placed on the victim's chest and the machine automatically analyzes the heart rhythm, deciding if a shock is needed. If so, the machine charges itself and a voice prompt lets the operator know what to do. The machine only shocks the heart if it detects an inappropriate rhythm, making it virtually impossible to defibrillate someone by mistake. Cardiac monitoring remains constant while the pads are in place and are interchangeable with the manual machines carried in the ambulances.
While the movement toward PAD has been ongoing nationwide for some time, this is the state's first community-wide program. WDM EMS organized the campaign for the machines due to the city's diverse composition, which includes many office parks, shopping malls, and various other public facilities. Funding for the program is through donations from various businesses and the healthcare community, whose response to this program has been outstanding. Over 100 AED’s are in place throughout the community. For more information on donating to this ever-expanding program, contact our office.