Friday, August 12, 1988AThe Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
)
ns.H
Emergency care: What students should know
By Lucinda Orr
Reporter
Emergency medical care could
jjsomeday save your life or the life of
1 someone you love.
« There are a few things students
should know in order to receive full
benefit of the on-campus ambulance
ofiB services P rov *^ ec ^ by Texas A&M’s
^ Emergency Care Team:
1. What to do if an ambulance is
needed, and how you can help in an
emergency situation.
First of all, someone at the scene
must realize there is a need for med
ical assistance. If the decision
iuria whether to call for help is influenced
by concerns over costs, remember
that on-campus service is free to stu
dents who have paid their health
center fees. It is available 24 hours a
day.
The service is not just for life-
threatening emergencies. Emer
gency Care Team Lt. Sara Pogue
said that even if the call is a minor
one, team members want to help,
and it is good training for them.
“If there is any doubt whether to
call an ambulance, you should call an
ambulance,” she said.
At the emergency scene, someone
should take charge. Team members
said that if no one is present who is a
medical professional, certified in
first aid or otherwise officially capa
ble, then the person who actually
saw the accident is best qualified to
take charge.
This person can coordinate an ef
ficient emergency plan by remaining
calm and delegating responsibility to
bystanders. He should be specific in
his directions. (Instead of screaming
“Somebody go get help!”, he should
point at a particular person and say
“You — go call an ambulance.”)
After a brief assessment of the vic-
ylMBtim’s injuries, whoever is designated
to make the call should go to the
nearest 260- or 845-exchange tele
phone and dial 9-911. Other campus
phones require that you dial 845-
1111. (Students not on campus
should dial 911 for the Bryan or Col
lege Station ambulance.)
This general emergency call will
activate lines at the ECT squad
room, the Physical Plant and the
University Police Department, so the
store'
rfoa
even
Mk
itw*
:opt
d.U.
of>
woii
re at
witl
5 mit
klest
tal oi
rsek
atm
rsu
IkiE
e
an
ch
'fine
at oi
i tin
:d fa
,'hat
caller should immediately specify
that he needs an ambulance.
The caller should not frantically
recount the tale — the dispatcher
will ask for the needed information.
The caller will be asked to give his
name and the phone number where
he is, in case the dispatcher needs to
call him back.
The caller should give the exact
location of the scene, including any
descriptive directions that will help
the attendants find the patient. He
might be more familiar with the
building than the attendants and
could say, for example, which en
trance is closest to the elevator, and
that the room is on the west end of
the building. This can save valuable
time that would be wasted if the at
tendants had to wander around
searching for a room number.
Most importantly, the dispatcher
will ask about the patient’s condi
tion: Is the victim breathing? Is he
bleeding? Is he conscious? Is any
thing being done?
The caller should let the dis
patcher determine when the call is
completed, and then remain by the
phone until the ambulance arrives.
At the scene, the person in charge
should assign someone who will wait
outside, flag down the ambulance
and guide the attendants to the
scene. If needed, another person
should hold an elevator open to
avoid an unnecessary wait.
When the attendants arrive at the
scene to take over, after establishing
patient contact they might want to
talk to an observer to confirm or add
to the information obtained from
the patient.
The attendants will ask the patient
which hospital he prefers, load him
on a stretcher, transport him to ei
ther A.P. Beuter Health Center on
campus, Humana Hospital in Col
lege Station or St. Joseph Hospital in
Bryan, and turn him over to the cho
sen medical facility.
2. What to do if you are a motor
ist, bicyclist or pedestrian.
Recognize and yield to emergency
vehicles. The ECT has three: a Type
I (box) ambulance, a Type II (van)
ambulance and a supervisor’s vehi
cle, which is a white car with red
lights.
The newly acquired supervisor’s
vehicle will be used to transport
New ambulance to boost care team’s response
By Lucinda Orr
Reporter
Patients can expect improved response to on-
campus emergencies with the addition of a new
ambulance to the A.P. Beutel Health Center.
The ambulance service is provided by Texas
A&M’s Emergency Care Team, an all-volunteer
organization.
About 40 qualified Emergency Medical Service
members make up the ECT.
The EMS members have titles ranging from
“emergency care attendant” to “paramedic” —
the minimum and maximum Texas certifica
tions.
But even the most skilled members can’t be ef
fective with inferior equipment.
Two years ago, the ECT began trying to secure
the $85,000 needed for a new ambulance so the
health center would not have to assume the cost.
Lt. Sara Pogue, officer in charge of training, said
organizations such as the Development Founda
tion, Aggie Mothers’ Clubs and the Class of ’88
were asked to help but could not.
This February, the ECT arranged to make use
of donated equipment and money to lease an am
bulance from the Transportation Center. After
equipment installation and inspections, the new
ambulance went into service June 25.
“The thing that’s really got us most excited
about the new ambulance is that it starts every
time,” Pogue said.
When on-campus emergency service began in
1980, the center used an old station wagon-type
ambulance and a newer van-type unit. In 1982 it
bought a truck that the Friendswood Volunteer
Fire Department had modified for ambulance
use.
Pogue said the team needed a new unit be
cause the modified-truck vehicle was outdated
and “on its last legs.”
The new ambulance is bigger with more ad
vanced equipment. The center-mounted
stretcher allows for comfortable transport of two
patients and two attendants in the back. A diesel
engine will result in better maintenance.
The ambulance is classified as a “24-hour ad
vanced life-support system.” This isjust one step
below the highest class, a “mobile intensive care
unit,” which requires an all-paramedic crew.
The new unit also has its own ABCOR (mobile
ambulance-to-hospital phone) repeater, which
provides a stronger transmission signal.
The radio system can be accessed by people in
the back of the ambulance — not just the driver
and front passenger.
The ambulance has strobes instead of revolv
ing lights because the blinking action is more visi
ble, especially at night.
Pogue said that with good equipment, people
are more interested and more likely to volunteer.
The ECT averages two to three calls per day
and has answered more than 400 so far this year.
It handles all campus events including football
games, intramurals and the firemen’s training
school.
“We cover everything from ankle injuries to
full cardiac arrest,” Pogue said.
The service is free for any student with paid
health center fees who needs an ambulance while
on campus.
paramedics who are on call — but
not in the squad room — to the
scene, a 24-hour service which will
begin this fall. This car merits the
same respect an ambulance does, if
not more, because it will only be ac
tive in life-threatening situations.
Emergency vehicles operate on
different levels of urgency. If an am
bulance is on a relatively minor call it
will act like regular traffic, but if it is
en route to a life-threatening emer
gency, it will display lights and si
rens.
Pogue said that policy dictates that
lights and sirens are to be used only
in life-threatening situations, not to
show off.
“When you see lights and sirens,
we mean business,” she said. De
laying a lights-and-sirens ambulance
is endangering somebody’s life —
maybe the life of someone you love.
ECT member Cheryl Seils said
that when ambulance drivers are
trained, they are told that there are
four types of drivers, and “three of
the four are trying to kill you.”
Driver 1 pulls over to the right
and stops. This is the correct proce
dure. It is what the ambulance
driver expects.
Driver 2 pulls over to the left and
stops. Left is where the ambulance is
trying to go so as not to be boxed in
against the curb, so Driver 2 is in the
way.
Gil Richardson, who is an ECT
driver, can tell several “war stories”
starring Driver 2 that have hap
pened to him and other ambulance
drivers.
He remembered one incident
when the ambulance was stuck in
traffic because no one would pull
over. Finally the two lanes moved to
each side, forming a center path for
the ambulance. Driver 2 up ahead
saw the open lane and pulled out
right in front of the ambulance, al
most causing a collision.
Driver 3 weaves back and forth,
getting in everybody’s way. The am
bulance driver cannot predict his be
havior and though needing to go
faster, he is probably safer staying
behind Driver 3.
Driver 4 comes to a screeching
Fields criticizes steel company negotiations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep.
ack Fields accused USX Corp. on
Thursday of being greedy and anti-
ieni! * competitive for negotiating with Iraq
over the sale of steelmaking equip
ment from its closed Texas Works
plant when two domestic companies
are prepared to make comparable
offers.
thos
Fields said he was appealing to
President Reagan and a host of top
administration officials to stop the
sale of equipment from the plant in
Baytown that at its peak employed
2,000 workers.
The sale raises national security
concerns as well as questions about
whether USX, formerly US Steel
Corp., was attempting to “unlawfully
eliminate competition in the do
mestic steel industry,” said Fields, R-
Humble.
USX spokesman Ernie Glenn said
from Pittsburgh the company would
not respond to Fields’ allegations,
other than to confirm that USX was
negotiating with the Iraqi ministry of
industry over the sale of the equip
ment in Baytown.
Fields said he has asked the Jus
tice Department to investigate and
has sought support against the sale
from Defense Secretary Frank Car-
lucci and Commerce Secretary Wil
liam Verity.
Fields said two companies are in
terested in the plant and he believes
they are prepared to offer as good a
deal to USX as the Iraqi govern
ment. He identified those firms as
Major Financial Services Corp. of
Tallahassee, Fla., and Birmingham
Steel Corp. of Birmingham, Ala.
Major Financial was formed by
John Stocks, who with his family has
an estimated net worth of $120 mil
lion, to purchase Texas Works,
Fields said. Birmingham Steel cur
rently operates six steel minimills
across the nation and had a net in
come of $24 million in fiscal year
1988.
Fields said he believes USX is at
tempting to limit domestic competi
tion by exporting steel-making ca
pacity with the sale of Texas Works
equipment overseas.
“Once in Iraq, the plant could be
used to manufacture armorized
steel, which is used for tanks and
other military applications,” Fields
said. “We must address the question
of whether or not this loss in steel ca
pacity would affect the United
States’ ability to manufacture ad
equate military hardware in times of
war.”
Fields said Iraq cannot be consid
ered a friend of the United States, in
part because it attacked the USS
Stark last year in the Persian Gulf.
The plant is 20 years old, and the
buildings and land are not a part of
the negotiations, officials said. Fields
said 750 jobs could be created by the
sale of the plant to a domestic com
pany.
The plant was idled in the midst
of a contract dispute on Aug. 1,
1986, and USX announced earlier
this year it was permanently closing
the plant.
LADIES & Lords
at Texas 707
announces its
Topsy
Turv
-Upside Dow
4, =»'" V
Black Notch Tuxedos
(95
only .. .$99
pierre cardin & )4T^AiNfi^URENr
Shirts, Ties and
Cumberbund Sets
.. Ml
95
each
25 - 50% off every dress in the store—
including Dinner, Dressy Cotton,
Formal and Bridesmaids dresses.
While Supplies Last
M-Sat. 10-6 Thurs. till 8:00 (Next to Audio Video)
■ Mi Mi ■■■■■Ml cut he re l Mi Im ■■■■■■■■■
Defensive Driving Course
August 17,18 & August 26, 27
College Station Hilton
For information or to pre-register phone
693-8178 24 hours a day.
I Mi Mi Mi BM Mi Mil c ut here | ■■■■■■
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
LU
<
CO
LU
2 59™ 7$
LU
Contact Lenses
Only Quality Name Brands
(Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve)
00
$ 99 00
99°o
pr. *-STD. DAILY WEAR SOFT
LENSES
pr. *-STD. EXTENDED WEAR SOFT
LENSES
■STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES
DAILY WEAR OR EXTENDED WEAR
<
(f)
LU
<
CO
LU
—I
<
CO
LU
<
CO
y CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C.
< DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
LIMITED TIME OFFER
SALE ENDS SEPT. 9, 1988
SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES
CO
>
I-
m
co
>
r-
m
co
>
r~
m
co
>
m
co
>
Call 696-3754
For Appointment
co
LU
j
<
CO
. * Eye exam & care kit
not included
707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D
College Station, Texas 77840
1 block South of Texas & University
halt, so that the ambulance has to
maneuver around him.
Drivers 2, 3 and 4 should know
that the traffic violation “failing to
yield to an emergency vehicle” is a
Class C misdemeanor carrying a
maximum fine of $200.
Bicycles and mopeds are traffic
just like anybody else, and they too
must yield to emergeny vehicles.
Pogue said she recently encoun
tered a bicyclist who thought he
owned the road.
“I was pulling out of the parking
lot next to Heaton Hall, and I had
paused to check traffic at the park
ing lot exit, ready to pull out into the
street,” she said. “This guy on a bicy
cle rode right in front of me, as if he
had the right of way. When I
honked the horn at him, he flipped
me off. I thought, ‘Man, this an am
bulance.' People don’t respect emer
gencies as they should.”
One driver said that bicyclists of
ten will get in the way while trying to
beat an ambulance around a curve.
Pedestrians are also culprits of
ambulance delay.
Richardson recalls one time when
he was on a lights-and-sirens call.
“A lady walked in front of me into
the crosswalk with her two children,
and stopped in the middle of the
street to show them the ambulance,”
he said. “I could not believe it.”
Ideally, motorists, bicyclists and
pedestrians would respect emer
gency vehicles and cooperate to help
them reach their destinations as
quickly and safely as possible.
3. Available programs provided
by the ECT.
An organization or intramural
team that is having an event on cam
pus and would like to have an ambu
lance present can contact the ECT to
obtain that service.
Educational programs such as
courses in CPR and Standard First
Aid are offered periodically, de
pending on demand (no advertise
ments are run).
Those interested in the Team or
its programs may call 845-4321 or
845-1525, the ECT squad room’s
non-emergency numbers.
Committee’s draft of report
calls tax system ‘unstable’
AUSTIN (AP) — The Select
Committee on Tax Equity on
Thursday began reviewing a pre
liminary report that compares
Texas’ tax system to “a building
in need of repair.”
The draft report prepared by
the committee’s staff said, “Some
of the structure is still sound;
much of it is not” and called the
system unstable and unbalanced.
The committee, which has
been working for more than a
year, will take another look at the
proposed report to the Legis
lature on Sept. 22 and perhaps
come up with a final version.
Rep. Stan Schlueter, chairman
of the House Ways and Means
Committee, said the paper is too
extreme in its assessment of the
present system.
“You just can’t paint (with) a
broad brush and say the whole
system’s unstable,” said Schlueter,
D-Killeen. “I think it’s too
strong.”
But Rep. Dan Morales, vice
chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee, said the statement
prepared by the staff is accurate
and sound.
“Our existing tax structure is
still essentially a 1961 tax struc
ture. ”
Cash For Used Books
Northgate
(across from Post Office)
Redmond Terrace
(next to Academy)
Macintosh Plus
Now as Easy to Own
As It Is To Use.
Only $68.00 Per Month
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE
693-8080
2553 Texas Ave. South
©1988 Apple Computers Inc., Apple Macintosh
are trade marks of Apple Computers, Inc.
Authorized Reseller