User:BCFDFF/UHC EMS

University of Missouri Healthcare Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a hospital-based Emergency Medical Services organization in Columbia, Missouri. Part of the University of Missouri Healthcare system, MU EMS, along with Boone Hospital Center ambulances, provides 911 emergency medical response to the citizens of Boone County, Missouri 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Ambulance Service
University Ambulance Service is an ALS emergency care provider that operates from four bases strategically located around Boone County.

Started in 1968, University Ambulance Service was one of Missouri's first ambulance services. Dr. Frank Mitchell secured a grant to train hospital ambulance drivers and attendants as well as working with MU's School of Engineering to design University Hospital's first ambulance, which became a model for ambulances built throughout the United States.

Emergency Department
The Frank L. Mitchell Jr., M.D., Trauma Center at University Hospital is designated a Level I trauma center by the state of Missouri and is one of only two Level I trauma centers in Missouri verified by the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Approximately 45,000 patients are seen each year in its emergency room.

The trauma team is led by a board-certified surgeon with fellowship training in trauma care and includes a team of trauma surgeons trained in operative and nonoperative care of trauma patients, two orthopedic traumatologists with fellowship training in the surgical repair of fractures, and a team of board-certified pediatric surgeons accredited in critical care. A trauma nurse coordinator is responsible for program management and coordination of care and trauma nurse clinicians manage the patient care process from resuscitation throughout the continuum of care. Attending physicians in all subspecialties are also available for consultation 24 hours daily.

Services include a 24-hour trauma operating room, priority laboratory capability, hyperbaric oxygen center, 24-hour computerized tomography and radiology, and specialized inpatient critical care and rehabilitation units.

Staff for Life Helicopter Service
Staff for Life Helicopter Service, a partnership between Air Methods and the University of Missouri Health Care System, operates helicopters based in Columbia, Missouri, Osage Beach, Missouri, and LaMonte, Missouri. Crews consist of three personnel: a pilot, a flight nurse, and a flight paramedic. Pilots and mechanics are employees of Air Methods and medical staff are employees of University of Missouri Healthcare. Each year, the team makes more than a thousand emergency and patient transport flights. Staff for Life is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).

The Staff for Life Helicopter Service was initiated in November 1982 and was initially part of ARCH Air Medical Service. In 2000 ARCH became a subsidiary of the Air Methods Corporation.

Staff for Life 1 (N10UM), based out of University Hospital in Columbia, is a MBB/Kawasaki BK 117, while Staff for Life 2 (N126LN) and 3 (N549AM), based out of Osage Beach and LaMonte, respectively, are Eurocopter AS350 helicopters.

University of Missouri Children's Hospital Transport Team
The University of Missouri Children's Hospital Transport Team is based out of Columbia Regional Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. Started in 1973, each transport team consists of a registered nurse, respiratory therapist, and an emergency medical technician. The service responds to any transport request from hospitals in Missouri via ground and air ambulance to assess, stabilize, and transport pediatric and neonatal medical patients requiring a higher level of care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Two custom built Osage ambulances are used for ground transport. The ambulances meet a critical need by providing specialized features for children of all ages, including ventilators for neonates and older children, pediatric cardiac apnea equipment and IV pumps for all age groups as well as isolettes and pediatric stretchers. The ambulance also includes built-in car seats, kid-friendly decor and a television and VCR for diversion therapy. Staff for Life helicopter service is used if air transport is needed.

EMS Response
All emergency services organisations within Boone County, Missouri are dispatched through The Public Service Joint Communications Center (PSJC) in Columbia. 911 call takers enter incident information into the ProQA dispatching software. ProQA assists the dispatcher in collecting information from the caller, obtaining the patient's status, choosing an appropriate dispatch level, and instructing the caller with medically approved protocols until dispatched units arrive on scene. Six dispatch levels are used: Omega, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, with the levels increasing in severity. Depending on the severity of the medical problem, a ambulance from either hospital-based service will be dispatched alone, or with one of four fire services within the county, depending on jurisdiction. In 2009 over 70,000 911 calls were handled by PSJC.

Staff for Life helicopters are dispatched from a centralized dispatching center in St. Louis, Missouri by Air Methods. Communications between Staff for Life and incident commanders on the ground are made on a fire mutual aid radio channel.

Hospitals Utilized
Within the central part of Boone County, one of four hospitals can accept patients by ambulance, depending on patient choice: Boone Hospital Center, University Hospital, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, or Columbia Regional Hospital. However, if the incident takes place within an outlying town like Centralia or Ashland, patients can choose to be transported to the nearest appropriate facility. Other hospitals include Audrain Medical Center in Mexico, Missouri, Capital Region Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Training
In addition to starting one of the first ambulance attendant programs in Missouri, in 1974 the first Paramedic program was started at University Hospital by Dr. Frank Mitchell. University Ambulance Service EMS members today have to remain proficient in Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS), ACLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and CPR/Basic Life Support. Further training in critical care paramedicine, Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), and other classes are available.

Special Events
University of Missouri Healthcare EMS, specifically the ambulance service, provides exclusive emergency medical coverage to all University of Missouri sporting events, including: football games at Faurot Field and basketball games at Mizzou Arena. Attendance for the facilities can top 60,000 for Faurot Field and 15,000 for Mizzou Arena. Other sporting events covered are baseball at Taylor Field; volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics and indoor track and field at the Hearnes Center; events at the Mizzou Aquatic Center; track, soccer and softball at Walton Stadium; and golf at A.L Gustin Golf Course.

MU EMS also covers other special events on campus like concerts in Mizzou Arena, graduation ceremonies at the Hearnes Center, and other ceremonies on campus.