Courtesy photo EMT, Ken Denning tends to Pioneer football player, Braydon Cline, during the EMT training.
There will always be two EMT personnel at the football games. They have the best seats in the house. They have 10 active EMT members Krystyl Kulbeck, Medical Director; Dusty Allderdice, Service Manager; Melanie Schwarzbach; Heather Pleninger; Paula Amsbaugh; Nathan Merrill; Maggie Cline; Tim Bahnmiller; Ken Denning, and Larry Ophus. Dusty Allderdice said, "we also get support from the Big Sandy Firemen. They help us when we need lifting assistance, vehicle accidents, or drivers." She also said that everybody does their part and that they have excellent coverage on all ambulance runs. They have between 8-10 ambulance runs a month.
During their last EMT meeting, they practiced taking a football helmet and football pads off a football player while stabilizing his neck. During the practice, they realized different helmets used different tools. They had all the tools they needed; they just needed to locate it.
Besides training for stabilizing the football player, they have also had training on head injuries. Concussions are the most common head injury, and they have been trained on what to look for after a hard hit. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, "People with concussions often cannot remember what happened immediately before or after the injury and may act confused. A concussion can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance, and muscle coordination. Paramedics and athletic trainers who suspect a person has suffered a concussion may ask the injured person if they know their name, what month/year it is and where they are."
The site also stated, "According to the University of Pittsburgh's Brain Trauma Research Center, estimates show that between four and 20 percent of college and high school football players will sustain a brain injury over the course of one season. The risk of concussion in football is three to six times higher in players who have had a previous concussion.
Dusty said, "we do the training to perfect our skills and hope we never use them."
They also discussed the offer by Angle Johnson, Chouteau County Health Department to come to Big Sandy and give booster shots for immunizations to all first responders. The booster shots are open to all fireman and EMT personal.
Larry Ophus has written a grant for a new ambulance in Big Sandy, and they will know at the end of August if they are receiving a new ambulance or not.
