Vehicle Collision Rescue Delivery Project
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CALIFORNIA
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PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS |
PROGRAM AREA(S) |
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Easy-to-replicate |
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Emergency Medical Services |
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Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population |
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TYPE OF JURISDICTION |
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City |
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TARGETED POPULATION(S) |
JURISDICTION SIZE |
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General Population |
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40,000 |
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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Approximately 50 percent of
all motor vehicle collisions in Kings County, California have
historically occurred in the City of Hanford, for which the Hanford
Fire Department (HFD) provides emergency medical and rescue services.
Although the HFD provided good quality emergency medical care
for persons injured in highway crashes, the Department was concerned
about obstacles to timely response, such as adverse weather, distance
of equipment from the crash, frequent railroad crossings, and
"mutual aid" requests from outside the city.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals use a term, Golden
Hour, to refer to the most opportune period of time following
a crash during which a victim can be extricated and delivered
to a trauma center, while dramatically increasing the victim's
chances of surviving. The goal of the Vehicle Collision Rescue
Delivery project was improvement of the Hanford Fire Department's
EMS and response time, thereby improving the likelihood of emergency
care for crash victims during the Golden Hour. Objectives
of the project included:
- Assessing the adequacy of existing
EMS equipment
- Evaluating the location of EMS equipment
relative to response time
- Developing new dispatch and operating
policies
- Providing education and training
for career and volunteer EMS personnel
- Presenting traffic safety education
to the community
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In September 1996, the Hanford Fire Department obtained endorsement
from the Hanford City Council to use Section 402 funds, provided
through the California Office of Traffic Safety, to develop the
Vehicle Collision Rescue Delivery Project, which would help give
new direction to the city's existing safety program. Some of the
strategies and activities used by the HFD included:
- The purchase and installation of
new hydraulic rescue equipment and air bag lifting systems. This
new extrication equipment was housed at Hanford Fire Station
#2, and the existing equipment moved to the rescue unit at Hanford
Fire Station #1, at the opposite side of the city. These strategic
placements were designed to improve response time to a crash
- The training of all career and volunteer
personnel in use of the new equipment. One hundred twenty-five
hours of training were provided to 30 department personnel
- The education of the Hanford community
in use of the new extrication equipment and on traffic safety,
in general. The HFD conducted five public education events for
more than 1,200 students, teachers, and Hanford residents
- The expansion of the HFD's knowledge
of traffic safety concepts. Two members of the Department attended
California's annual Traffic Safety Summit
RESULTS
The Hanford Fire Department
maintains response data on the Vehicle Collision Rescue Delivery
Project, reporting quarterly to the State of California, Office
of Traffic Safety. Although EMS responses for the HFD have increased
by 67 percent from the base year through the first quarter of
the second grant year, the average response time from arrival
at the crash site to definitive care decreased during that same
time by nearly 10 percent. Data collected prior to the base year
revealed response times that frequently exceeded 200 percent
above the average maintained since project implementation.
In addition, five public education
events have been conducted for approximately 1,200 residents
of Hanford, during which exhibitions on the use of Jaws
of Life equipment were featured. |
FUNDING |
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Section 402: |
$28,527 |
CONTACT |
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Pat Morris, Chief
Hanford Fire Department
350 W. Grangeville Building
Hanford, CA 93230
(209) 5852545 |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
Spring 1998 |