LFD Ambulances Certified as Pediatric Safe

Five of Laramie’s ambulances have been certified as a pediatric-safe unit.  The Laramie Fire Department has completed the certification process with the Wyoming Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program.

The Wyoming EMSC program partnered with SAFEKIDS Wyoming and The Wyoming Responders Safe Transport Initiative (WYRESTRAIN) to devise a process to review the procedures of ambulance services.  Those services then got the latest equipment and training they need to provide safe transportation for pediatric patients.

“Most traditional safety equipment such as seatbelts, cots, and immobilization products are geared toward the adult patient,” says Wyoming EMSC program manager Brandon Kelley. “Children require specialized tools, training, and planning to make sure that if something goes wrong during an ambulance ride, they are as protected as they can be.”

According to the WYRESTRAIN website, the program was developed to close “significant gaps in equipment, guideline awareness, and general ability to ensure that pediatric patients are properly secured in EMS units” that were found around the state.  The program works to meet the identified needs of Wyoming EMS agencies.

The program has a goal of ensuring that “All children transported in an ambulance in Wyoming shall be restrained in the safest manner practically possible; with no child being transported in a caregiver’s arms or on the bench seat of an ambulance.”  The website says that WYRESTRAIN’s goal will be met when all ambulances in the state of Wyoming bear a placard that reads “Pediatric Safe Unit.”

“Completing this effort exemplifies Laramie Fire Department’s commitment to ensuring the health and safety of their patients,” says Kelley.