Advanced life support improves as Moody ushers in paramedics

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Eric Schloeffel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Team Moody can sleep better at night knowing paramedics teamed with the 23rd Medical Group are now working around the clock to provide first-response emergency services. 

The changes took affect Oct. 1 and include two civilian paramedics working 24-hour shifts to supplement Air Force emergency medical technicians. The experienced paramedics will make Moody a safer place during situations when emergency care is needed, said Tech. Sgt. Aimee Sullivan, 23rd Medical Group NCO-in charge of ambulance dispatch. 

"In the past, we had two EMT's operating the ambulances, but now Moody has access to the immense life-saving skills paramedics provide," said Sergeant Sullivan. "The overall benefit is now Moody can provide a higher echelon of care during emergencies." 

The paramedics, all contractors from Mid-Georgia Ambulance Service, are stationed at the clinic during the day but re-locate to the Fire and Emergency Services Flight's fire station for night shifts. 

The upgrade allows Moody to offer more advanced life support measures, as paramedics can administer a wider range of cardiac and other life-saving procedures many EMT's aren't qualified to perform. The result will include a much reduced response time for life-saving procedures, making it safer for those involved in emergency situations on-base, said Lt. Col. Terry Broussard, 23rd MDG chief nurse. 

"Prior to this, advanced life support had to come from either South Georgia Medical Center or the Hahira substation, which are both about 15 miles away," said Colonel Broussard. "In December, a Department of Defense standard was released stating all bases needed a response time for advanced life support within 12 minutes at least 90 percent of the time. The reaction time is now down to three to five minutes, which makes a big difference." 

In addition to improved response times, the relationship being forged between Air Force EMT's and civilian paramedics allows each side to learn new techniques and procedures, said Ben Hinson, president of Mid-Georgia Ambulance. 

"The Air Force has phenomenal training courses on medical, clinical and operational subjects, which is not the norm in the civilian world," said Mr. Hinson. "I'm quite confident our paramedics will continue to learn operational practices in the next few months that will be implemented in ambulances all over the state. I have 35 ambulances on-duty in many different parts of Georgia, and I'm sure they will operate better because of what we learn at Moody." 

During duty hours at Moody, paramedics will be expected to participate in Moody's exercises. This portion of the relationship will vastly improve emergency response if a real-world mass casualty event occurs, said Lt. Col. Broussard. 

"This brings the civilian medical community on-base and into our ambulances, so we can learn how they operate," said the colonel. "It builds a better posture if a mass casualty event occurs and our base medical response is overwhelmed. It will melt away some of the barriers, as the Air Force EMT's learn the language of civilian (medical operators) and vice versa." 

The merge has been seamless so far, as the civilian paramedics and Air Force EMT's mutually respect what both elements bring to the table, said Sergeant Sullivan. 

"All of our EMT's are really excited about the new system, and they will receive a lot of training from paramedics coming on-base," she said. "It hasn't been challenging getting our paramedics spun up; everything is working really well. Now we have the same level of care that downtown offers, and we're just ecstatic to have the opportunity to make Moody that much safer."