Answering The Call With Experience And Compassion

The first step to surviving an emergency is a quick response time—something that System Status Management ensures for all Richmond residents. The second, and perhaps most important step is receiving expert emergency medical care. That is exactly what the Richmond Ambulance Authority's Clinical Care Team provides.

Advanced Life Support Means Advanced Care. Our clinical care teams consist of experienced groups of specialists, each with advanced training that far exceeds that required by state standards. The Authority is proud to be an exclusively Advanced Life Support (ALS) system. This means that every ambulance is staffed and equipped to ALS levels—with at least one member of the medical team certified in advanced life support. The advanced life support-trained paramedic is in charge of patient care at the scene and en route to the hospital. He or she administers drugs, starts IVs and handles necessary invasive care such as endotracheal intubations. The basic care-trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are also part of the medical team, assisting the paramedics and providing CPR and other critical medical functions.

Extensive Training and Reviews
Advanced Life Support certification requires extensive training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support. Initial EMT certification requires 110 hours of training in basic skills, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support training consists of 400 hours of study and practice. To reach the paramedic level, yet another 400 hours of training is required. The Authority also has a specially trained staff of critical care paramedics that perform inter-facility critical care transport in specialized critical care vehicles.

A wide variety of specialty certifications are also available to RAA staff, and members of the clinical care team are encouraged to pursue as many of these certifications as possible. Furthermore, prospective members of the clinical care team are required to have on-the-job experience before ever stepping foot into one of the Authority's ambulances. The entire clinical care team is evaluated by the Authority's medical director, Dr. Joseph Ornato, and is required to take additional training courses on a regular basis. Clinical reviews are held on a regular basis to ensure the highest quality of care.

The Best Equipment Available
To further aid the clinical care team, each ambulance is equipped with the latest in medical equipment, including cardiac defibrillators and advanced airway devices. Dr. Ornato has also been instrumental in securing the Authority's participation in several advanced medication trials, one of which allowed the Richmond Ambulance Authority to become the first EMS agency in the nation to provide Amiodarone, a drug that has shown excellent results in helping patients with cardiac arrest regain a pulse on the way to the hospital.

Prior to 1991, the chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the City of Richmond
were less than 5 percent. Today, the chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have increased to 20 percent. Responding To The Community 's Call

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