Ambulance services shine most brightly in preventing premature death and disability by way of basic life support (BLS). While advanced life support (ALS) may be more effective in treating certain medical conditions, there’s little argument that BLS does the greatest good for the greatest number and is the most cost-effective way of saving lives in any community.
This is something every community wants to do. And considering just how cost-effective BLS care is, it is something we’re convinced is possible to provide in any community in any country where someone needs emergency medical assistance and urgent transport. We work in partnership with communities that can’t afford the systems we run in communities in North American, UK and Australia. Haiti has been our most recent focus, and there we have learned that improving access to basic emergency care is much easier without the expectation of ALS, high-tech ambulances and 9-1-1 dispatch. Just answer these six questions and the most feasible solutions to your problems will become a lot clearer:
1. What types of medical emergencies does your community suffer most?
2. How is help alerted?
3. Who responds?
4. What do they do?
5. How do they transport?
6. Where do they go?
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