Former Beach EMS Chief receives Governor's Excellence Award

Bruce W. Edwards, retired chief of the Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services, received the 2017 Governor's Award for Excellence in EMS, the state's highest EMS honor, on November 11 in Norfolk during the annual Virginia EMS Symposium awards program.

After 49 years of service Bruce W. Edwards retired from the position of EMS Chief in Virginia Beach in 2016. He started as a volunteer with the Ocean Parks Rescue Squad in 1967 and went on to build one of the most innovative and agile Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems in the country.

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CHKD now a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center

The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk obtained conditional Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center designation by the Virginia Department of Health. In anticipation of this approval following a successful site visit in late July, the council’s Trauma Triage and OMD Committees revised and approved revisions to the Tidewater EMS Prehospital and Inter-Hospital Regional Trauma Triage Plan. The change is primarily the addition of CHKD to page 13 of the plan as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. For purposes of the regional plan, pediatric patients are those less than 15 years of age. The services include burn treatment as well. CHKD announced they will initiate the Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center services on October 2, 2017. EMS providers should immediately utilize CHKD as a destination for pediatric patients who meet criteria defined in the regional trauma triage plan (see pages 5-8). Facilities should utilize CHKD for transfers for pediatric patients with a trauma score less than or equal to 6 (see pages 9 and 10).

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What is the agenda for 2050?

The first regional meeting for The EMS Agenda 2050 to discuss the Straw Man Document created by a panel of subject matter experts was held on September 26, 2017 in Silver Spring, MD. The EMS Agenda 2050 is very public and intended to be as inclusive as possible; literally anyone can provide comment on the Straw Man Document or the process by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or using the link at the bottom of this article. The author, Chesapeake Paramedic Alan Perry, participated in the meeting and brings forward his observations.

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The “Six Rights” of medication administration for First Responders

Medication administration is an essential skill for EMS providers but it is also one of the riskier procedures because of potential adverse effects due to errors. One of the best ways to avoid mistakes is by using the "six rights" of medication administration. The six rights are easy to remember.

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