On June 16, 1932 Clearfield Fire Company Number One
Ambulance service was pressed into action.
The first call was for an elderly woman with a fractured hip in
Bailey Settlement. At that
time Clearfield Hospital, then known as Memorial Hospital, was operating
an ambulance to serve the community.
It had broke down and was out of service when the call came in for
Bailey Settlement. Ever since
that time Clearfield Fire Company Number One has been providing emergency
medical services for the Clearfield region.
Clearfield Fire Company Number One member J. Bruce
Smith proposed the idea of Clearfield Fire
Company
Number One Ambulance Service in 1931.
He developed his idea after witnessing an ambulance in action in
nearby Lewistown. Mr. Smith
presented his ideas to the general membership of the fire company to provide this service to
the community. Always eager
to assist the community, Clearfield Fire Company Number One adopted the
idea and developed plans for the project.
The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and the Fire
Company was as strapped for money as everyone else at that time.
Treasure Orville Shugarts reported at this same meeting that the
Fire Company had $3.64 to its name.
Realizing the opportunity to serve the Clearfield community and
determined to establish an ambulance service, the Fire Company raised
$1,200.00 for the project.
This was a great accomplishment during this era.
The Clearfield Trust Company loaned the Fire Company the remaining
$1,295.00 needed to purchase the first ambulance, a Nash-Miller, from
Clearfield Auto Supply Company.
From this point forward the service grew at
unbelievable speed. In 1942
the service handled 221 calls covering 1,757 miles.
By 1950 the call volume had more than doubled to 507 calls and
4,729 miles. 1970 brought
about what many members had thought to be the maximum number of calls they
would see: 956 calls covering 20,000 miles.
Clearfield
E.M.S. has always been a fully licensed provider of Emergency Medical
Services through the Department of Health, since the inception of the EMS
Act, and our license has never been suspended or revoked.
Clearfield E.M.S. maintains and operates four advanced life support
ambulances that provide service to the Clearfield region.
Clearfield E.M.S. is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of
Health as an ALS / BLS ambulance service.
This licensure demonstrates Clearfield E.M.S’ compliance with the
EMS Act including the requirements for response times.
Our average response time for emergency calls in 1999 was 1.72
minutes. Far exceeding the requirement to respond to requests for
emergency services within 4 minutes.
The average time from dispatch to on scene in 2014 was 9.99 minutes
again below the rural standard of 20 minutes as set forth in the EMS Act.
This dispatch to scene average time is even below the 10-minute
guideline for urban emergency medical responses.
All of our Paramedics are certified by the
Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Much of our training exceeds the minimum state requirements.
In addition to their certification from the Department of Health
all Paramedics are also trained in the following: cardio-pulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric
Advanced Life Support (PALS), Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS),
Emergency Vehicle Operators Course (EVOC), and hazardous materials
awareness and operations.
Paramedics are also required to complete at a minimum 18 hours of
continuing education each year.
All Clearfield E.M.S. personnel function within the
standards established under the Pennsylvania EMS Act.
The EMS Act lists the following as the scope of practice for
Paramedics:
1.
perform pulmonary ventilation by the use of oral,
nasal, endotracheal or tracheostomy intubation.
2.
insert, in peripheral veins, intravenous
catheters, needles or other cannulae-IV lines.
3.
obtain venous blood samples for analysis, but only
for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
4.
prepare and administer approved medication and
solutions by intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intraosseous, oral,
sublingual, topical, inhalation, rectal or endotracheal routes.
5.
perform defibrillation and synchronized
cardioversion.
6.
perform gastric suction by nasogastric or
orogastric intubation.
7.
insert nasogastric or orogastric tubes.
8.
visualize the airway by use of the laryngoscope a
remove foreign bodies with forceps.
9.
apply electrodes and monitor cardiac electrical
activity including electrocardiograms.
10.
perform vigil maneuvers.
11.
use mechanical cardio pulmonary resuscitation devices.
12.
assess and manage patients in accordance with the
EMT-Paramedic training curriculum approved by the Department.
13.
perform thoracic decompression.
14.
perform criothyrotomy and pulmonary ventilation.
15.
perform central venous and intraosseous cannulation.
16.
perform external transthoracic pacing.
17.
perform urinary catheterization.
18.
access central venous lines and subcutaneous indwelling
catheters.
19.
perform other ALS services authorized by the
Department-approved regional EMS council transfer and medical treatment
protocols.
Emergency Medical Technicians are also certified by the Pennsylvania
Department of Health. In
addition to their certification from the Department of Health all EMTs are
also trained in the following: cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, Emergency
Vehicle Operators Course, and hazardous materials awareness and
operations.
All
Paramedics are required to work under the direction of an ALS Service
Medical Director. The ALS
Service Medical Director is a physician who monitors the quality of
services being provided, and is directly responsible for the care given in
the field. Clearfield E.M.S.
works closely with local physicians and our ALS Service Medical Director
to assure that we are providing the latest and best possible pre-hospital
care available.
Continuous quality improvement is an essential and
key element of Clearfield E.M.S.’ ability to provide the high level of
care that we provide.
Clearfield E.M.S. exceeds the minimum state mandated requirements for
quality assurance and continuous quality improvement.
Clearfield E.M.S. has a comprehensive and aggressive program to
assure that every patient receives the care that they deserve.
Every patient care record is reviewed by a Continuous Quality
Improvement group to assure that the care given was appropriate, that the
response met the EMS Acts requirements, and that local protocols and
standing orders were followed.
These patient care records are then forwarded to the ALS Service
Medical Director who again reviews them for compliance with all applicable
laws, protocols, and standing orders.
These cases are then used to identify trends and implement
continuing education to assure that the highest-level patient care is
being provided to the patients of Clearfield E.M.S.
The CQI process is successful due to its focus on education and
improved patient care.
Clearfield E.M.S. has always been committed to being
involved in the Clearfield Community.
We support, actively participated, and provided EMS coverage at the
following community functions: Clearfield
County Fair, Relay for Life, March of Dimes Walk America, Armed Forces
Awareness Days, High Country Arts Festival, Clearfield Borough Police
Awareness Day, Clearfield Fire Department Fire Awareness Day, and numerous
activities at local schools and senior organizations.
Clearfield E.M.S. has also provided free first aid training to the
Clearfield Area School District coaches.
The future holds many challenges for Clearfield
E.M.S. The insurance
industries transformation to managed care, combined with cuts in federal
program reimbursements challenges us to become more innovative and
proactive in obtaining reimbursements and exploring non-traditional
avenues for funding. We
already participate in numerous study programs exploring alternate funding
sources and non-traditional services to provide during crew down times.
We look forward to the evolution of Emergency Medical
Services into an integrated part of the health care system.
We will continue only meet the challenges of the future and
position ourselves at the forefront of this ever-changing industry.
A charitable non-profit, non-tax
Serving the
Clearfield Region Since 1932