Northwestern Ambulance Corps.
A volunteer operated 501(c)(3) non
profit emergency services organization
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Northwestern Ambulance Corps.
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Northwestern Ambulance Corps provides Northwestern's Ambulances are equipped with Advanced Life Support, or “ALS” which is the highest and the ultimate level of pre-hospital ambulance care. ALS can provide patients with on-the-spot emergency medication and treatments for heart attacks, diabetic emergencies, emphysema and other breathing problems. Our ALS equipped ambulances also carry modern, advanced (and expensive) life-saving equipment used by highly trained EMT’s and Paramedics. You can think of an ALS ambulance as a mobile emergency room ready to treat the most life threatening situations instantly. On June 1, 2005, Northwestern Ambulance Corps changed from being just a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance service to the much more advanced ALS emergency ambulance service. We did this to greatly reduce the time it takes for our seriously injured or ill patients to get the highest level of care they deserve. Northwestern Ambulance ALS reduces the time for you to receive the most appropriate emergency care to just minutes and that can help save lives! Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about Advanced Life Support capabilities at Northwestern Ambulance Corps. Q: I need an ambulance, what should I do? A: First try to remain calm, and quickly dial 911. 911 is the only number you should call in an emergency. Please do not call the ambulance corps directly. Q: What is the most asked question you receive? A: That's easy! That question is: "How long should I wait to call 911 when I believe something is wrong with my health?" The answer is simple: You should call 911 right away, at the first signs of trouble. Most people can tell when something is suddenly wrong with their body, sadly though, most people also deny that something is wrong and instead of calling 911 for help...they wait. This delay can make things much worse. Never delay in calling 911. Call 911 right away if you or someone close to you have or has:
Q: In a diabetic emergency, where my blood sugar is dangerously low, what steps can ALS take to help me? A: ALS carries instruments that can be used to accurately and quickly check your blood sugar level. If your blood sugar is low, ALS carries medication that may help. One is Dextrose 50% and the other is Glucagon. ALS can start an IV line and provide the Dextrose directly into your blood stream, or ALS can provide an injection of the Glucagon. Most importantly, since low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can be a life threatening condition, time is of the essence and fast access, within minutes, to ALS is very important. Q: I have asthma, and sometimes I get sick very quickly and can't breathe. Often my inhaler doesn't work when it gets that bad. How can ALS help? A: ALS has advanced airway medications and devices on board. Anyone with a severe breathing problem, like asthma, knows how scary it is when you can't catch you breath! ALS has potent drugs specially designed to help asthmatics during an attack. These drugs, such as high strength Albuterol and Epinephrine, can really make a fast difference if they are administered in time. Both adults and children can be treated on-scene by the Northwestern ALS team of EMT's and Paramedics in conjunction with the hospital. Q: What can ALS do for a heart attack? A: Heart attacks are very serious and life threatening. The longer you wait for immediate emergency care the worse you will get. That's why you should NEVER wait to call 911 if you have the signs or symptoms of a heart attack. Northwestern's ALS ambulance carries hospital quality heart monitors and defibrillators, just like they have in the emergency room. These expensive devices can help pinpoint both the location of the heart attack (what part of the heart is affected) and potentially how severe the heart attack is. Having this information early, soon after we arrive on scene, allows us to treat you with speed and appropriate interventions. These emergency interventions may include special heart medications, the very same medications they use in the hospital. The difference is that Northwestern's ALS can get the medication into your system right away within minutes of your call to 911 and long before you arrive at the hospital. Q: I know someone who has CHF (congestive heart failure), sometimes he can breathe because of the fluid building up in his lungs. Can ALS help in this case? A: CHF can present very quickly, and fast access to ALS is essential. Northwestern's ALS ambulances are equipped with an emergency C-PAP breathing apparatus. C-PAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is a mask that goes over the nose and mouth that pushes pressurized oxygen into the lungs. This often helps someone who is working to breathe feel more relaxed as C-PAP helps push fluid out of the lungs. This combined with special medications such as emergency preparations of Lasix, nitroglycerin and morphine, ALS can begin definitive care of the CHF patient upon arrival at your home, well before entering the hospital. And this quick action can often make a big difference in one's life. Q: We see some very bad traffic accidents around here, and people are often hurt very badly. Can ALS help in these situations? A: Trauma, such as serious injuries from car accidents are one of the leading causes of death in this country. Fast access to advanced life support (ALS) devices are often the key to life or death. Northwestern's ALS can provide a patient who is not breathing because of injury to the head or neck with a breathing tube placed directly into the lungs. Once placed, this tube is connected to oxygen and possibly to a ventilator that will automatically breathe for the patient. Bleeding and Shock are often present in bad accidents as well, Northwestern's paramedics and EMT's work together to provide replacement fluids to help restore blood pressure. Advanced interventions such as these are only possible with ALS services. Q: How about children, how does ALS help them? A: Children are not just "little adults". When kids get hurt they need special sized equipment, different drug doses and different procedures in many cases. Northwestern Ambulance Corps' Advanced Life Support service has invested thousands of extra dollars into equipment that is specifically packaged and designed for treating children. Not all ALS services go this extra distance - Northwestern Ambulance Corps ALS did! Q: Northwestern is a non-profit community service right? Can I help you by making a donation? A: Yes you can - and Thank You! We exist today and are able to provide you with the best emergency medical care only because you, our friend and neighbor, have donated generously to the Corps over the years. Donations to the Corps are generally tax deductible because of our 501 (c)(3) IRS status. Donations can be made in your name, a trust's name or anonymously. Please call Kathy Van Allen at 610-298-2101 to discuss this important and potentially life saving gifting opportunity. Q: I have a question that is not answered here, who should I call? A: Call Northwestern Ambulance Corps at 610-298-2101, someone will either try to help you right away, or they will get back to you very soon. REMEMBER, never call Northwestern if you have an emergency ALWAYS DIAL 911. |
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