Infection prevention starts in the field with emergency care and trauma treatment. Emergency medical care typically brings you to patients in a less-than-sterile environment, with exposure to germs and bacteria that you cannot control. Fortunately, there are areas you can control, such as wearing personal protective equipment and taking measures to protect the equipment you use daily, whether onsite or back at your transport unit.

According to the CDC, emergency medical technicians (EMT) and paramedics experience significantly more injuries than the general workforce. A significant portion are lower back injuries as a result of lifting, moving and handling incapacitated patients.

The incidence of stress disorders among first responders is significantly higher than the national average. Our recent blog about EMS post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reveals that 34 percent of EMS personnel were diagnosed as suffering from PTSD at one time or other. This statistic is from a University of Phoenix survey of 2,000 paramedics, firefighters, police officers and nurses. This information supports earlier work from the National Center for PTSD that 33 percent of survivors from mass shooting incidents develop acute stress disorders (ASD).

The FBI recently reported that there were 30 active shooter incidents in the U.S. in 2017, up from 20 in 2016. These FBI statistics show that there's an upward trend in the number of incidents each year, with 2018 being no exception. Because the number and severity of these incidents are increasing, it's imperative you consider what to do if faced with an active shooter incident.

Shooting and mass casualties - it feels like it's becoming a "when", not "if", it could happen in your town. For Fire Chief Joe Pulvermacher, it has happened twice in his small community already. A man in a bulletproof vest outside Milwaukee, WI charged into a third-floor room at the Comfort Suites, shoots his girlfriend and three others before surrendering - two did not survive. A Sikh temple prepares for lunch, as a domestic terrorist walks through the doors, shooting indiscriminately, killing six and wounding three people across this 17,000 square foot facility.

Mass casualties equal mass victims. There never seems to be enough first responders to meet patient needs. While we cannot yet prevent these mass incidents, we can help prepare with the right training and equipment.

The CDC lists multiple natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides and mudslides, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and winter blizzards. Each of these events can have mass casualties with high numbers of wounded. Combine these natural incidents with man-made scenarios such as auto pile-ups, building collapses, terrorist bombings, and mass shootings and it's clear that emergency personnel must prepare for a myriad of scenarios.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there were 160 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013 resulting in 1,043 casualties. Currently, there are more than 16 such incidents annually.

The original MegaMover® has been used by many fire departments and EMS services. These transport units have met the need to evacuate and transport patients from inaccessible areas for many years.

In response to evolving needs, Graham Medical launched two new MegaMover® patient transport products to expedite the recovery and rescue of victims during mass casualty and active shooter incidents. These portable units were developed in collaboration with EMS personnel from fire stations in Wisconsin. Their design is based on first-hand experience of incidents where victim recovery was required under dangerous conditions. These products will be on display at the EMS World Expo 2018 in Nashville, TN, from October 29 to November 2.