Emergency medical services sourcebook : basic consumer health information about preventing, preparing for and managing emergency situations ... / edited by Jenni Lynn Colson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Colson, Jenni Lynn.

Series:

Health reference series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emergency medical services--Popular works.

Emergency medical services.

Medical emergencies--Popular works.

Medical emergencies.

Emergency Medical Services.

Emergencies.

Medical Subjects:

Emergency Medical Services.

Emergencies.

Genre:

Popular works.

Handbooks and manuals.

Physical Description:

xv, 494 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Detroit, MI : Omnigraphics, [2002]

Summary:

A visit to the emergency department can be a frightening and stressful experience for patients and their families. Each year, car accidents, burns, heart attacks, strokes, poisonings, and other conditions cause an estimated 95 million Americans to seek emergency care. Annually, one in five children require medical attention for their injuries, and during the past twenty years injuries have claimed the lives of more children than all diseases combined. Not all emergencies can be prevented, however, the incidence and severity of many emergencies can be decreased by being prepared and by being educated about safety and rescue procedures.

This Sourcebook contains basic consumer health information about preventing, preparing for, and managing emergency situations including medical and household emergencies, emergencies away from home, and large-scale disasters. It helps readers learn how to recognize an emergency situation, when and who to call for help, what to do until help arrives, and what to expect in the emergency department. It provides information about the emergency medical team, tools of the trade, and patient's rights and explores current issues in emergency medicine. Also included is emergency information for parents and senior citizens as well as a glossary and resources for additional help and information.

Contents:

Part I An Introduction to Emergency Medical Services

Chapter 1 What Is the Emergency Medical Service System? 3

Chapter 2 The History of Emergency Medical Services 11

Chapter 3 A Statistical Profile of Emergency Medicine 17

Chapter 4 The Role of Emergency Medical Dispatch

Past, Present, and Future 21

Chapter 5 Ambulance Operators 27

Chapter 6 Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 35

Part II Preparing for Emergencies

Chapter 7 Evaluating Your Access to Emergency Care 41

Chapter 8 Getting the Most from Your Health Insurance Plan 45

Chapter 9 Planning in Advance for Your Medical Treatment 51

Chapter 10 An Emergency Preparedness Checklist 63

Chapter 11 Making a First Aid Kit 69

Chapter 12 Making a Disaster Supply Kit 71

Chapter 13 Your Family's Disaster Plan 77

Chapter 14 Tips for Creating an Emergency Health Information Card 83

Part III When an Emergency Occurs

Chapter 15 Emergency Departments: When to Use Them, When Not to Use Them 91

Chapter 16 What Is Urgent Care? 97

Chapter 17 Links in the Chain of Survival 99

Chapter 18 Make the Right Call for Emergency Services 103

Section 18.1 What Happens when You Call 9-1-1? 104

Section 18.2 Guidelines for Calling for Emergency Assistance 105

Section 18.3 Calling from a Cell Phone 108

Section 18.4 Tips for Parents of Young Children 109

Section 18.5 Tips for Seniors 110

Section 18.6 Tips for Inner City Residents 111

Section 18.7 Tips for People in Rural Areas 112

Section 18.8 Tips for Babysitters 113

Chapter 19 First There, First Care: Bystander Care for the Injured 115

Chapter 20 Preventing Disease Transmission when Providing Emergency Care 121

Chapter 21 Let Them through...It Could Be You: Making Way for Emergency Vehicles 127

Part IV Preventing and Managing Common Emergencies

Chapter 22 Medical Emergencies 133

Section 22.1 Heart Attack 134

Section 22.2 Breathing Emergencies and Respiratory Distress 136

Section 22.3 Stroke 137

Section 22.4 Seizure 140

Section 22.5 Choking 144

Chapter 23 Household Emergencies 149

Section 23.1 Poisoning 150

Section 23.2 Burns 154

Section 23.3 Electrical Accidents 156

Section 23.4 Guidelines for Water Safety 158

Section 23.5 Chemical Emergencies 162

Chapter 24 Emergencies away from Home 173

Section 24.1 Pedestrian Safety 174

Section 24.2 Bicycle Safety 176

Section 24.3 Motorcycle Safety 179

Section 24.4 Motor Vehicle Accidents 181

Section 24.5 Emergencies on the Farm 184

Section 24.6 Traveler's First Aid Kit 187

Section 24.7 Emergencies Abroad 190

Chapter 25 Weather-Related Emergencies 195

Section 25.1 Severe Weather Watches and Warnings 196

Section 25.2 Thunderstorms and Lightning 197

Section 25.3 Floods 201

Section 25.4 Hurricanes 206

Section 25.5 Tornadoes 210

Section 25.6 Earthquakes 214

Chapter 26 Large-Scale Disasters 219

Section 26.1 Large-Scale Disasters: An Overview 220

Section 26.2 Emergency Alerts 226

Section 26.3 Terrorism: How Can You Prepare? 228

Section 26.4 Power Plant Emergencies 232

Section 26.5 Finding Food and Water in an Emergency 234

Section 26.6 Search and Rescue 241

Section 26.7 After a Disaster 243

Part V In the Emergency Department

Chapter 27 How Emergency Departments Work 247

Chapter 28 Who's Who in the Emergency Department 253

Chapter 29 Tools of the Trade 257

Chapter 30 Your Visit to the Emergency Department 261

Part VI Patient Issues

Chapter 31 Access to Emergency Services 267

Chapter 32 Emergency Care

Know Your Rights 273

Chapter 33 Your Responsibilities as a Patient 279

Chapter 34 What Is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act? 281

Chapter 35 Power of Attorney 285

Part VII Emergency Information for Parents and Caregivers

Chapter 36 Children and Emergencies: An Overview 293

Chapter 37 Preventing Childhood Emergencies 299

Chapter 38 What to Do Until Help Arrives 311

Chapter 39 When Should You Take Your Child to the Emergency Department? 317

Chapter 40 The Do's and Don'ts of Transporting Children in an Ambulance 321

Chapter 41 Tips for Parents Communicating with Emergency Department Professionals 323

Part VIII Seniors and Emergency Care

Chapter 42 Personal Emergency Response Systems 329

Chapter 43 Issues Affecting the Emergency Care of Seniors 333

Chapter 44 Patterns of Emergency Department Use 337

Chapter 45 Principles of Geriatric Emergency Medicine 339

Part IX Topics in Emergency Medicine

Chapter 46 Medical Ethics in Emergency Care 345

Chapter 47 How Can Hospitals Improve Confidentiality in the Emergency Department? 351

Chapter 48 Emergency Department Overcrowding 355

Chapter 49 Emergency Department Waiting Times 359

Chapter 50 Emergency Department Technology 365

Chapter 51 Shift Work in Emergency Medicine 373

Chapter 52 The Costs of Emergency Care 383

Chapter 53 Terrorism and the Emergency Medical Service System 389

Chapter 54 Diversity and Emergency Medical Services 395

Chapter 55 Emergency Medical Professionals and the Media: Developing a Working Relationship 407

Part X Additional Help and Information

Chapter 56 Glossary of Emergency Medicine Terms and Abbreviations 417

Chapter 57 Helpful Medical Forms 423

Section 57.1 Personal Medical History 424

Section 57.2 Consent for Treatment/Child's Medical History 426

Chapter 58 Government Report on Emergency Medical Services 427

Chapter 59 Organizations, Websites, and Sources of Additional Information about Emergencies and Emergency Medicine 437

Chapter 60 State Emergency Medical Services Offices 445.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0780804201

OCLC:

50244333