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Updated October 22, 2006
The Emergency Response Team (ERT) was established here in the park January 2001 when we became participants in the two-year nation-wide PAD (Public Access Defibrillation) study. At that time we were known as the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) team. Existing methods of emergency resuscitation are inadequate due to time delays inherent in the transport and arrival of trained responders (fire department EMTs) with defibrillation capabilities to the side of the victim. It may take from ten to forty minutes for the FD with EMTs to respond to a 9·1·1 emergency call here at Jojoba Hills. Our ERT volunteer non-medical responders can be on-site in less time and, if needed, do CPR and apply an AED. Former President Clinton signed into law that provides Good Samaritan protection from liability who renders emergency treatment with a defibrillator to save someone's life. It was found in the PAD study that this emergency treatment will significantly increase survival by reducing the time interval from collapse to defibrillation.
Jojoba Hills ERT volunteers are American Heart Association (AHA) trained and (two-year) certified in not only CPR and how to use an AED, but also how to recognize a heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, and choking. One of our team members is AHA trained and certified as an official trainer. Refresher training sessions for 9·1·1 emergency-call first-responders keep volunteers up-to-date and motivated. We now have two training dummies and one AED trainer-simulator.
When a 9·1·1 call is made from a park phone, the phone rings in the park office, in the rig of the person on duty, the manager's rig and the outside (Riverside) 9·1·1 emergency center. At this time three or more people will be on line at the same time with the 9·1·1 center. The 9·1·1 center then alerts several FDs in the area, the closest is about 15 miles away. The ERT volunteer on standby duty for that day/night is also being called on the ERT cell phone and told of the kind and location of the emergency. A park employee or work camper is then dispatched to the place where the 9·1·1 call originated. He/she then awaits or meets with the ERT volunteer and can hand over the AED bag, if needed. We have three AED's here in the park. One is with the ERT volunteer on call, one is in the responding park truck, and another is in a lock-box in our Friendship Hall. The park employee or work-camper then drives down to the highway entrance to await the FD and escort it to the 9·1·1 site. When responding to a 9·1·1 call, the responding ERT volunteer will most often only need to be of comfort to the injured or family member until the FD EMTs arrive.
Due to our hilly park terrain, handheld radios do not work well enough to alert the ERT volunteer on watch when a 9·1·1 call is made here at Jojoba Hills. A beeper was originally used and later replaced with a cell phone. Substantial cost savings were realized by switching to a (prepaid) cell phone and the caller is now able to be more emergency and location specific.
The ERT volunteers are divided into 4 teams. Each team has a team leader. They each schedule the volunteers on their team for one or more days. Schedules are prepared a week in advance for the following week. The volunteer on-call with the cell phone, AED, backboard and sundry emergency gear, is scheduled to be officially on-call from 8 pm to 8 am. The turn over takes place between 8 and 9 am. The scheduled volunteer is not expected to carry the AED bag nor to remain in the park during the day, but is asked to carry the ERT cell phone at all times while scheduled to be on watch. This will enable them to respond also during the day if they are in the park.
Until spring of 2004, volunteers were on standby 24 hours a day. The annual summer travels of our Jojobians left only a few ERT volunteers in the park that could be scheduled. To help avoid burn-out, we went to the 8 pm to 8 am schedule. Until early 2004 we had more than 60 volunteers that we were able to schedule 24/7. A year later we are down to only 20 to 30 volunteers on our team.
One of our biggest challenges to-date remains
the recruiting of new volunteers willing to join the ERT team.
We all feel that by being trained as first responders in a 9·1·1
emergency, we may be able to save the life of a loved one, friend
or neighbor.
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