M AY 2 0 2 0
PMREMS newsletter
RegionalResource
y a d y r e v e
! s e o r e h
The POWer of EMS & Beyond...
W
e all know some amazing everyday heroes. Those who go above and beyond to respond to situations out of the norm. During this time of COVID-19 something we have seen is an awesome outpour of generosity
IN THIS EDITION
2 Every Day Heroes Recognizing EMS & YOU
and selflessness. From PMREMS professionals to our friends and businesses throughout the community; we would like our readers to see what we have witnessed.
4 Staff Spotlight Special Sharing Inside Appreciation
Be well. Be safe. Thank you all.
6 Subscription Signups Extension
5 St Luke’s COVID19 Readiness
7 Lehigh Valley Health A COVID Safe Experience P oco n o M ou nta in R eg io n a l E m e rg e n cy M e dica l S e rv ice s Headquarters135 Tegawitha Rd, Tobyhanna, PA 18466 WebPMREMS.org
Phone570.839.8485 EMAILINFO.PMREMS@gmail.com
8 2020 Event Updates Changes during COVID
Stay connected
for videos, photos and up to the minute news
y a d y r e ev
! s e o r e h Every day throughout our nation heroes have come forward during the COVID-19 situation. From familiar faces like Pocono Mountain Regional EMS and our fellow frontline responders; to behind the scenes professionals like store employees, deliver drivers, mechanics and more. As we continue to receive amazing actions and words of appreciation our organization would like to share thanks to PMREMS professionals that have really gone above and beyond; with a list of friends from the community detailing how they too have come through. Let’s start with PMREMS pros: Jackie Tringali, Brandon Thorngren, and Miranda Neiswander who contributed homemade sanitizer to PMREMS. While ordered supplies were never compromised, the trio’s two gallons of mixture consisting of alcohol, and aloe vera sunburn gel bought by themselves and made on their own time was much appreciated. “It was a great supplement for the crews, whether to take home for their families, or to use while at work and in the station, or on the go, as the sanitizer containers we have are attached to the truck,” smiled PMREMS ALS Coordinator, Lee Rosato. Rosato too came through, along with his son Xander and Leon Prince applying engineering know-how to create countless PPE 3D printed parts. Dedicating hours at home on 3D printers, face shields, nebulizer filters, bag valve mask and intubaton filters unavailable for purchase were produced for PMREMS staff.
e s e h t e lik POCONO MOUNTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICT
KASA’S PIZZA
LAKE NAOMI CLUB
THE NATIONAL FFA
Fogger use to help disinfect PMREMS Fleet
Supplies: Bleach, paper towels + 600 Donation $
Discount for EMS Week crew lunches Food donation
POCONO RACEWAY
WILLOW TREE
SILVERBACK DISTILLERY
BOB BOSSUYT
LOWE’S - MOUNT POCONO
ANNETTE & RICH CROCONO
CAMELBACK
KAREN & CURTIS STEPHENSON
FRITO LAY & UTZ
SUSAN JAPPENIN
BURKE’S TAVERN
THE NEISWANDER FAMILY
MONROE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
JUSTINE & DEBBIE ROACH
STATE FARM INSURANCE
ETHAN WEBB/BOY SCOUT TROOP 101
105 Duckbill masks + 250 Surgical masks
Gift certificate
Hand sanitizer
100 surgical masks
Hand sanitizer + Sanitizing sprayers
Several lunches for crews
Gloves
Lunch for crews
10 Cases of chips
Essential oil products basket for crew
Lunch for crews
Masks
Several $10 Barley Creek & Perkins gift certificates Lunch for crews
2 Cases of water
Heros card expressing appreciation
PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE Lunch for crews
! POW
THE
EMS
ER OF&
! d n o y e b
special
Segment created by TJ Prince & Sunshine VanGorder
Emergency A career dedicated to serving the community, Medical Responders instinctively react to crisis situations with speed and professionalism. Recognizing those frontline men and women, fellow Pocono Mountain Regional EMS Paramedic Lee Rosato wrote thoughts to share the feeling of working with such professionals during COVID-19. “The PMREMS staff that worked during these months are some of the best providers I had the privilege of working alongside of during this healthcare nightmare. When the guidelines of PPE use or patient treatment care changed, they adapted. Whenever CDC policies and procedures changed, so did our providers! I want to give special recognition to some of our providers who went above their regular duties. Supervisor Antionette (TJ) Prince. She has sewed and made over a hundred homemade N95 and surgical masks for our staff. Paramedic Brandon Thorngren, EMT Jacqueline Tringali, and Paramedic Miranda Neiswander. They purchased ingredients & bottles to make hand sanitizer for our staff at no charge. Xander Rosato and Leon Prince (TJ’s husband) for their 3D engineering expertise and continuous hours of manufacturing the needed face shields and viral filters on their 3D printers at home. Supervisors Susan Kulick, Antionette Prince, and Michael MacArt. They communicated daily with the crews to make sure they had the proper PPE supplies to do their jobs. They also made sure the teams received and understood the most recent CDC guidelines. But most of all, they made sure the crews were emotionally fit for duty under these extraordinary circumstances.” - Lee V. Rosato, PMREMS ALS Coordinator Another Special Spotlight includes recognition to an amazing EMT put into an unfamiliar position as patient– Hector Rios Diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March, PMREMS EMT Hector Rios experienced the patient side of emergency response taken by ambulance and admitted to St.. Luke’s Hospital Monroe Campus April 3rd. Just six days later, his wife Madys, also battling the virus, gave birth to the couple’s son, Victor Lorenzo Rios, by emergency C-Section at St. Luke’s Hospital Anderson Campus. Still under hospital care, he could not be by her side to see his son arrive. As Hector continues on the mend, his PMREMS family, friends and the community send well wishes and thanks for earning the rank of Emergency Response excellence.
St. Luke’s is working tirelessly to ensure our hospitals and facilities are as safe as ever: is working tirelessly • St. WeLuke’s are all masking for you
to ensure our hospitals and facilities are as safe as ever: • We screen all patients for COVID-19 prior to appointment and convert positive screens to virtual appointments
We are is all working masking fortirelessly you St.• Luke’s to ensure our hospitals • We limit the number of people in our waiting rooms • facilities We screenare all patients foras COVID-19 and as safe ever: prior to appointment and
and maintain social distancing convert positive screens to virtual appointments •• We allguests masking youperson and mask all guests Weare limit to for 1 per • We limit the number of people in our waiting rooms •• We screen allpatients patients for COVID-19 priorpatient to appointment and maintain social without distancing We provide COVID-19 rooms thatand are convert positive screens to virtual appointments safe and separate from other patients • We limit guests to 1 per person and mask all guests •• We the number of people infor ourmedically waiting rooms Welimit make special arrangements compromised patients •and We providesocial patients without COVID-19 patient rooms that are maintain distancing safe and sure separate fromisother patients • We make our staff healthy and fever-free • We limit guests to 1 per person and mask all guests Weprovide make special arrangements medically compromised patients • • We virtual registration andfor check-in as well as online payments • We provide patients without COVID-19 patient rooms that are Weand make sure our staff is healthy and fever-free • •safe We offer a blend of appointments (in-person and virtual) separate from other patients We provide virtual registration andmedically check-in as well as online payments We maintain high levels of infection prevention, repeatedly cleaning •• •We make special arrangements for compromised patients and disinfecting all waiting and exam rooms We offersure a blend of appointments (in-person and virtual) • •We make our staff is healthy and fever-free The care you trust. Nowof more thanprevention, ever. • We maintain high levels infection repeatedly cleaning • We provide virtual registration and check-in as well as online payments and disinfecting all waiting and exam rooms • We offer a blend of appointments (in-person and virtual)
The care you trust. Now more than ever.
• We maintain high levels of infection prevention, repeatedly cleaning and disinfecting all waiting and exam rooms
The care you trust. Now more than ever.
sluhn.org/COVID-19
pocono mountain regional ems
subscription
DRIVE
EXTENDS SIGNUPS Pocono Mountain Regional EMS has extended it’s annual Subscription Drive signups thru June 2020! Comprising nearly 10% of revenue sources, our annual Subscription Drive is not only a critical part of PMREMS revenue; it enables families to pay a fee of just $75 for emergency ambulance transpor t coverage June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.
Responding to nearly 6900 emergency calls shows an elevated need. As call volume increases, so do operating costs which include building and vehicle maintenance, equipment purchases, and training classes for our medical professionals. To help offset these costs and continue to give the quality of care you deserve, we turn to our community for help. While fundraising isn’t a new thing, we see it as an opportunity to not only subsidize operational expenses, but also cut costs for residents.
SEE HOW HELPING US HELPS YOU YOUR $75 Subscription
WITHOUT
•
Covers your household
•
•
Unlimited medically necessary 911 transports
•
PMREMS bills your insurance directly
•
No co-pay or deductible associated with your medical insurance coverage -plus- you will not be billed for the portion not covered by insurance
•
Accepted by ambulance services providing mutual aid to PMREMS A Note to Medicare Beneficiaries
Billed for the portion not covered by insurance that could mount to hundreds of dollars
Medicare pays 80% of their fee schedule leaving the patient responsible for a 20% balance
•
20% Medicare balance waived
•
Billed 20% Medicare Balance
Medicare beneficiaries may still be billed for co-payments & deductible if required by law
download a subscription Drive form
today
Did You Also Know
PMREMS is a nonprofit 501c3 donations may be tax deductible* *Consult your tax /financial advisor to see how
donate
here
ne side milar to a
Issue
When to See a Neurologist
When someone suffers from migraines for long time, it’s easy to dismiss every headache as a migraine. Serious brain bleeds have been missed as a result of this. It is very
When headache stops responding to over the counter pain medications, becomes too frequent or starts affecting your school or work performance, it’s time to see a neurologist.
ACOVID-SAFE
EXPERIENCE
h Kapoor, MD, is Board certified by the American of Internal Medicine for Internal Medicine and WITH merican Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for ogy. He is currently accepting patients at the Neurology practice in East Stroudsburg, for the ng areas: Stroke, seizure disorders, multiple Lehigh Valleydisorders, Health Network (LVHN) sis, neuromuscular infections of thehas a legacy of providing safe care. Offering “Non-COVID Care Zones” in all our hospitals demonstrates our unwavering commitment to deliver safety in remarkably new s system, neurodegenerative disorders,that spinal ways. People can feel confident the LVHN team is here to provide safe access for every member of the family, whether it’s in the hospital or the office setting. sorders, headaches and neuropathies.
Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono
And during the past few weeks, many Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) practices and ambulatory services - including those here in the Poconos - have reopened to help patients who have paused their care. Thanks to the advanced virtual care options in place, LVHN can now commit to same-day appointments. In our practices and ambulatory settings, we’re leveraging the capabilities of MyLVHN to provide virtual care and lessen face-to-face interactions. We are staggering patient arrival times to promote social distancing. We revamped the patient check-in and office experience and are providing visual cues that remind people they are receiving COVID-SAFE care at LVHN.
Specific steps for a COVID safe experience are as follows... Prior to Visit • Providers triaging all patient visits to determine face to face/phone/video as the best and safest means to take care of each patient’s needs. • Calling patients a day before appointment to review screening questions and instructions of what to do when arriving at the offices. • Pre-testing all patients scheduled for in-hospital procedures when those procedures have a high risk of COVID-19 transmission.
During Visit • All staff and patients screened as they enter our buildings. Suspected COVID-19 patients referred to a testing location; no access until determination is made. • Testing for suspected COVID-19 patients restricted to two locations that only perform those tests, located on Main Street and Bartonsville Express Care. • Personal Protective Equipment for staff and patients always. • Patients calling from the car to minimize time in the waiting rooms. • Waiting room chairs reorganized for social distancing. • Escorting patients directly to exam rooms, no waiting room time where possible. • Exam rooms sanitized between patients. • Hand sanitizer readily available in all practices. • Protective screens (Plexiglas/plastic shields) at all patient windows. • Pens cleaned between patients. • Identified exam rooms exclusively for COVID-19 + patients; end of day appointments.
For ongoing updates about all LVHN is doing to keep colleagues and patients COVID-SAFE
CLICK HERE to visit lvhn.org/COVIDSAFE
2
020 UPDATES event
PMREMS continues to responsibly review our community events ensuring proper Social Distancing guidelines are followed.
Stay Tuned for the
2021
With the uncertainty of governmental Phase-in strategies, regretfully our popular Regional Roundup BBQ, one of our nonprofit’s largest August fundraising events of the here must be postponed until next year.
RETURN OF
ROUNDUP
As it stands...plans remain in place for PMREMS Halloween Spooktacular family friendly festivities this October 17. Filled with games and eats, costumed kids can enjoy a great holiday treat!
And don’t forget our delightfully delicious Breakfast with Santa still scheduled for December 12. Attendees can see Saint Nick, plus enjoy top notch pancakes to boot! There’s also a ton of raffle prizes with proceeds benefitting PMREMS.
Follow
acebook for the latest details on these dates
Headquarters135 Tegawitha Rd, Tobyhanna, PA 18466 WebPMREMS.org Phone570.839.8485 EMAILINFO.PMREMS@gmail.com