Local Area Hospitals

Christ Hospital

Palos Hospital

LCM Hospital

LaGrange Hospital

South Suburban Northwestern Hospital

St. James Hospital

Advocate HealthCenter

Burbank's Paramedics

   People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians and paramedics with advanced training to perform more difficult pre-hospital medical procedures. Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, drowning, childbirth, and gunshot wounds all require immediate medical attention.

   Paramedics provide this vital attention as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility. In an emergency, paramedics typically are dispatched to the scene by a 911 operator and often work with police and fire department personnel.

   Once they arrive, they determine the nature and extent of the patient’s condition while trying to ascertain whether the patient has preexisting medical problems. Following strict rules and guidelines, they give appropriate emergency care and, when necessary, transport the patient. Some paramedics are trained to treat patients with minor injuries on the scene of an accident or at their home without transporting them to a medical facility.

   Emergency treatment for more complicated problems is carried out under the direction of medical doctors by radio preceding or during transport. Paramedics may use special equipment, such as backboards, to immobilize patients before placing them on stretchers and securing them in the ambulance for transport to a medical facility. Usually, one paramedic drives while the other monitors the patient’s vital signs and gives additional care as needed. Some paramedics work as part of the flight crew of helicopters that transport critically ill or injured patients to hospital trauma centers.

   At the medical facility, paramedics help transfer patients to the emergency department, report their observations and actions to emergency room staff, and may provide additional emergency treatment. After each run, paramedics replace used supplies and check equipment. If a transported patient had a contagious disease, paramedics decontaminate the interior of the ambulance and report cases to the proper authorities. Beyond these general duties, the specific responsibilities of paramedics depend on their level of qualification and training.

   To determine this, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) registers emergency medical service (EMS) providers at four levels: First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic. Some states, however, do their own certification and use numeric ratings from 1 to 4 to distinguish levels of proficiency. First Responders are trained to provide basic emergency medical care because they tend to be the first persons to arrive at the scene of an incident. Many firefighters, police officers, and other emergency workers have this level of training.

   The First Responder has the emergency skills needed to assess a patient’s condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies. The paramedic has more advanced training that allows the administration of intravenous fluids, the use of manual defibrillators to give lifesaving shocks to a stopped heart, and the application of advanced airway techniques and equipment to assist patients. In addition to carrying out the procedures already described, paramedics may administer drugs orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform endotracheal intubations, and use monitors and other complex equipment for people experiencing respiratory emergencies.

Paramedics provide the most extensive pre-hospital care.