Pocono Mountain Regional EMS May 2017 newsletter

M AY 2 0 17

PMREMS newsletter

regionalresource

nowaboutthat drive W

hen facing an emergency medical situation, all attention is toward getting loved ones to the hospital as soon as possible. Concern over coverage couldn’t be further from the mind.

Understanding having a plan in place is important to everyone, Pocono Mountain Regional EMS created our annual

subscription drive as a means to not only raise money for this nonprofit organization, but also as a means to secure peace of mind for residents.

Look between the pages and learn how your $75 subscription covers costs for you AND everyone in your household!

Stay connected

for videos, photos and up to the minute news facebook.com/ PoconoMountainRegionalEmergencyMedicalSer vices

IN THIS EDITION 2 3

National EMS Week Teamwork It’s Subscription Time!

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In-Home beneFIT out&about Road Rules

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The Dr. Is In LVHN Ask the Doctor

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School News Vaccination Requirements

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For the Drive

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Photo provided by Lee V. Rosato

ational EMS Week, May 21st to 27th, finds medical professionals including Pocono Mountain Regional EMS applauding all those involved in medical emergencies.

Finely tuned planning springs into action from dispatch to arrival with that same on point preparedness of those on-scene playing a pivotal role.

"Minutes may seem endless as the ability to truly gauge time escapes minds while caring for those in need,” says PMREMS Operations Manager Denise Doremus.

Explaining “teamwork takes over,” as 9-1-1 calls trigger Monroe County Control Center to dispatch EMS en route to the scene.

CPR training and in the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) of those likely to be immediately with the patient, even Narcan Nasal Spray for emergency treatment of Opioid overdose she says, “Can help save a life.”

On the decision to drive or dial Doremus reasons, “Ambulance Paramedics and EMTs possess the equipment and skilled training to start professional treatment as soon as they arrive to a patient and continue administering that treatment on the way to the hospital.”

Reminding as National EMS Week recognizes the men and women who dedicate

their time and talent as careers providing this vital service, consider training in the workplace on basic lifesaving skills.

Adding, as this year’s Subscription Campaign, one of PMREMS’ largest annual fundraising initiatives continues, “ Please consider how this not only helps us [PMREMS] the $75 annual subscription is designed to help residents as it covers the entire household for the year!”

RIGHT

Convenient resources are at your fingertips. Download and print or signup online today!

2017 SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM

MEMBERSHIP MAKES A DIFFERENCE

NAME EMAil PocoNo PhysicAl AddrEss

MAiliNg AddrEss

PhoNE list All fAMily MEMbErs liviNg iN your housEhold

PlAcE AN ‘x’ whErE you’rE froM

Barrett Township

Price Township (up to Neola Road)

Coolbaugh Township

Tobyhanna Township

Mount Pocono Borough

Tunkhannock Township

Paradise Township

Other

AdditioNAl TAx DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS ArE APPrEciAtEd tEll us how Much you’d likE to PlEdgE

$

I apply for membership in the Subscription Program of PMREMS. I agree to the terms and conditions of the Subscription Program described above. I verify that I am not a Medicaid beneficiary. I request that payment of authorized Medicare or any other insurance benefits be made on my behalf to PMREMS for any ambulance services provided to me by PMREMS now, in the past, or in the future. I understand that I am financially responsible for the services and supplies provided to me by PMREMS, regardless of my insurance coverage, and in some cases, may be responsible for an amount in addition to that which was paid by my insurance. I agree to immediately remit to PMREMS any payments that I receive directly from my insurance or any source whatsoever for the services provided to me and I assign all rights to such payments to PMREMS. I authorize PMREMS to appeal payment denials or other adverse decisions on my behalf without further authorization. I authorize and direct any holder of medical information or other relevant documentation about me to release such information to PMREMS, its billing agents, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and/or any other payers or insurers, and their respective agents or contractors, as may be necessary to determine these or other benefits payable for any services provided to me by PMREMS, now, in the past, or in the future. A copy of this form is as valid as an original.

By signing, I acknowledge that I have received PMREMS’s Notice of Privacy Practices. I am also acknowledging that I understand the text regarding the subscription program

PRIMARY SUBSCRIBER SIGN HERE

HERE & PAy your $75 SUBSCRIPTION oNliNE with CLICKCLICK HERE or

SIMPLY PRINT, SIGN & MAIL IN your forM with PAyMENt to

K YOU THAN your r

fo N IBUTIO T CON R

POCONO MOUNTAIN REGIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 135 tegawitha road, tobyhanna, PA 18466 PMrEMs.org 570.839.8485

WHY

PERSONAL TRAINING Don’t have time to get to the gym? What if the gym came to you? Fitness professionals offer in-home personal training for this very reason! While the advantages of having a trainer come to you far outweigh any negatives, Phoenix Athletica found five-to-save-the-drive…

TIME From Stay-at-home moms to work-at-home professionals, all agree time is the biggest bonus to in-home personal training. Balance family needs with your own, keeping fitness at the forefront of maintaining energy and feeling great! Work up until the time a trainer arrives, get in an hour of fitness, then get back to working right after–no sitter, no travel, no problem!

PRIVACY While feeling uncomfortable working out in front of others shouldn’t be an issue,

self-consciousness and body image perception can cause some to sway away from going to the gym.

Working with an in-home fitness professional helps ease the mind.

EQUIPMENT No need to run out and purchase equipment that may be incorrect or even unnecessary. Fitness professionals understand body-weight training that many times allows your body to do all that you need!

CONNECT WITH A HIGHLY EDUCATED MOVEMENT PROFESSIONAL & SEE FOR YOURSELF

TM

ACCOUNT ABILITY How often have you talked yourself out of going to the gym? Try THAT when your trainer shows up at your door! There’s no talking a trainer out of making the trip with client’s goals at the top of their list of importance.

PERSONAL ATTENTION No distractions can stop the in-home action with one-onone attention focused on you! 60 minutes set aside to address YOUR individual needs and goals gets the results you want and deserve.

2564 Route 940, Pocono Summit phoenixathletica.com 570-243-8880

Out About

PMREMS Annual Easter Egg Hunt April 8

Another great Community HOPPening

Thanks to our EMS team, volunteers & host Pocono Mountain Volunteer Fire Company

On approach of an Emergency Vehicle

slow down

from PA Vehicle Code Title 75 Section 3325 See the lights-Hear the sirens non-emergency vehicles SHALL: • Yield the right of way • Pull over parallel to the right of the roadway clear of any intersection • Stop until the emergency vehicle has passed

Emergency Response Areas aka“Move Over Law”

from PA Vehicle Code Title 75 Section 3327 When approaching or passing an emergency response area, a person, unless otherwise directed by an emergency service responder, SHALL: • Pass in a lane not adjacent to emergency response area • If unable, pass at a careful & prudent reduced speed reasonable for safely passing

The importance of these laws are to help keep everyone safe: emergency responders, people

‘

Too many emergency responders are injured or killed each year by distracted drivers that get tunnel vision when seeing flashing lights or trying to see what is happening alongside of the road, instead of paying attention to their driving.

D O SLO W N MOVE OVER needing assistance, and drivers of vehicles passing by an emergency response area.

As someone who worked in EMS and in law enforcement for numerous years, there were many times I wished I had eyes in the back of my head. Fortunately I was never struck by vehicle, although there were a few close calls, while standing along the

roadway rending aid to someone.

So please, slow down, move over so emergency responders can concentrate on the task at hand of assisting someone who needs help.

A Reminder From

Tracy Fox Traffic Safety Coordinator

Questions for the Doctor

Q

I just read that Bob Harper, the host of the weight loss reality show The Biggest Loser, had a heart attack at the age of 51. How could this have happened to someone so young and healthy and what does it mean for the rest of us?

A: Karthik Sheka, MD It can be alarming and perplexing when someone this young and who appears very fit and healthy suffers a heart attack. From what I’ve seen and read in the news on this particular case, Harper suffered a heart attack while exercising and remained unconscious for two days.

He said in reports he believed it was due to genetics, as his mother passed away after experiencing a heart attack at the age of 70.

While genetics may play a role in his case, we have to keep in mind that heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women ages 45 and up. Here’s more evidence of the heart disease epidemic: A person is much more likely to die from heart disease than from lung cancer, as more than 600,000 people die of heart disease every year in the U.S. alone – that’s

one in every four deaths – while approximately 155,000 people die each year in the U.S. from lung cancer. (Sources: Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society).

Each year in the U.S., one in three American women dies from heart disease – roughly one death each minute – compared to one in 31 who dies from breast cancer. (Source: American Heart Association).

Know your family history We have to think about what we can do to prevent a first heart attack. That’s a fantastic starting point to discuss with your family physician or cardiologist. Family history is one of the first things your physician will discuss with you.

And, most likely your doctor won’t just ask whether you had a relative with heart disease, but at what age they first developed heart problems and what other risk factors they had, such as was this person: Overweight A smoker Diagnosed with diabetes Taking medication for a heartrelated condition While a family history of heart disease isn’t something you can change, it is something to consider when deciding how aggressively you will deal with the risk factors for heart disease that you can change.

Karthik Sheka, MD, is an interventional cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Hospital–Pocono. Sheka is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease and is accepting new patients at PMC Physician Associates – Cardiology in East Stroudsburg and Brodheadsville.

Looks can be deceiving There is an incorrect assumption that just because a person looks fit and healthy, they are healthy.

People can be thin and still have high blood pressure or high levels of bad cholesterol, which puts them at a higher risk for experiencing a heart attack. That is one of the many reasons why you should see your primary care physician on a regular basis to have your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked.

If these levels are elevated, you should then talk with your physician regarding the roles of diet, exercise and weight loss in improving your blood pressure and cholesterol profile.

Small steps count As frightening as it can be for us to hear of a case like Harper’s, it can also serve as a much-needed wake-up call. My Life Check – Life’s Simple 7 was designed by the American Heart Association (AHA) and can help us all reduce the risk of heart disease. The Simple 7: Manage blood pressure Control cholesterol Reduce blood sugar Get active Eat better Lose weight Stop smoking Even small changes are steps in the right direction toward a healthier heart. By simply avoiding unhealthy trans fat (commonly found in packaged baked goods, snack foods, margarines and fried fast foods), being a little more active on a daily basis, by quitting smoking and getting more restful sleep, we can find the balance we need to keep our hearts healthy and functioning for a long, healthy and active life.

Pocono Mountain School District PO Box 200  Swiftwater, Pa 18370  570-839-7121

May 2017 Dear Parents/Guardians, The Department of Health is changing the school immunization regulations beginning August 2017.

The regulations are intended to ensure that children attending school in the commonwealth are adequately protected against potential outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases.

Here are the new PA school immunization requirements for the start of the 2017-2018 school year: children in all grades (K-12) need the following immunizations for attendance:     

4 doses of tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis* (1 dose on or after 4th birthday) 4 doses of polio (4th dose on or after 4th birthday and at least 6 months after previous dose given) 2 doses of measles, mumps and rubella** 3 doses of hepatitis B 2 doses of varicella (chickenpox) or evidence of immunity

Seventh through 12th Grade aDDitiOnal immunization requirements for attendance: 



2 doses meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) o First dose is given 11 - 15 years of age: a second dose is required at age 16 or entry into the 12th grade. o If the dose was given at 16 years of age or older only one dose is required.

1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap)

* Usually given as DTaP or DTP or DT or Td ** Usually given as MMR Please Don't Wait, Vaccinate.

Sincerely, Dr. Elizabeth Robison Superintendent

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