First Responder Exposure to Violence
When risk managers with emergency service personnel (firefighters and emergency medical technicians) on the payroll read through descriptions of their losses, they may find phrases such as “employee struck by patient on head, employee was hit on the arm during a struggle with patient, or employee was punched in the…
Opt-Out Movement Stalls: For Now
Participation in a state workers’ compensation plan was mandatory in every state except Texas until 2013, when Oklahoma passed legislation allowing alternatives to the mandated state system. The Employee Injury Benefit Act allowed private sector employers to create individual — but equal — plans. Mark Walls, Vice President Communications &…
The High Risk of First Responder Patient Handling
EMS and Fire Rescue is, by definition, a high-risk profession. Patients are generally getting larger, while the profession is challenged to stay physically fit. The long hours and volume of calls in some urban areas can be overwhelming for understaffed EMS districts. The profession’s educational focus on dealing with combative…