I have been following the COVID trend since the epidemic began.  To me, the best indicator of COVID in our area has been the hospitalizations.  Cases numbers can change based on the number of tests and who is being tested, the same with positivity percent.  Deaths, can be a good indicator, but they lag the onset of serious COVID cases by several weeks,  Hospitalizations, provided they haven’t changed the criteria for who is admitted to the hospital with COVID should be a reliable indicator of not just who is getting sick, but of the severity of the epidemic.    

Back in March and April, COVID cases at our hospital shot up precipitously as the disease burned like wildfire through our area nursing homes, reaching its zenith the last week of April, and then by the end of May fell fairly precipitously.  In those early days, nearly all the hospitalizations were people from nursing homes, elderly from assisted living, people in prisons, and group homes.  The first spike lasted until June, and then nearly disappeared entirely by the end...

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As I approach the house with my medic pack over my shoulder and my monitor and isolation bag in my hands, two boys, maybe fifteen or sixteen, stand on the sidewalk out front of the building, and look at me expectantly.  “He’s not alive?  Is he?  Is he still alive?” the shorter one asks.

I keep walking, up the stairs and through the front door, headed for the third floor.  The fire department is there waiting for me.  They let me through.  The apartment, empty of furniture, looks under haphazard renovation.

The man who looks to be in his sixties, dressed in a blue winter jacket and a red knit hat, is on the floor.  He has rigor mortis with lividity.  With the freezing temperatures outside and no heat in the apartment it is hard to tell how long he has been dead. The boys outside apparently found him while they were doing whatever it is kids when they trespass. The building owner says the man is homeless.  He last saw him a week ago down on the corner by the ranch house restaurant. He was sick.   I don’t see any paraphernalia, but that...

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I was active when dedicated domestic violence courses became compulsory for any JP who sat or wished to sit in those courts. I recollect at the time that the providers were heavily dependent on statistics from USA and very much dedicated to male on female violations. I would imagine that such courses have been modified since then.  However a recent case at Grays Magistrates Court caught my eye. As bad a case it is possible to be heard outside the crown court. Indeed from the report it seems it was undercharged resulting in a suspended custodial sentence for the offender.  Readers can access the matter here and it is refreshing to note the detail often omitted...

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he lastI just finished reading Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear, an audacious and provocative book by Dr. Carl Hart, a professor of psychology and a “preeminent expert on the effects of recreational drugs on the human mind,”  in which he describes his recreational drug use, including heroin and methamphetamine.  His argument is that drugs should be regulated just like alcohol and in some states, now marijuana.  In America, he argues, we have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness, as given us in the Declaration of Independence.  This, he says, should include the right to get responsibly high if it brings us happiness.  I am not saying “Right on!” to this argument but I’ll concede he does make some good points.  The reason people are dying of overdoses today is they are using in the shadows (driven there by law and stigma) and the drug supply in America is lethal due to poor mixing of fentanyl and the unknown additives added by dealers to fill out and or enhance their product. ...

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COVID is on the retreat in Connecticut and much of the nation and world.  Whether it is the effect of vaccinating those most at risk, the cumulative effective of masking and social distancing or the virus is just getting tired (hopefully not just resting before a new variant-fueled surge), cases are in rapid decline.  The COVID ACT-Now map, which in January was solid dark red, indicating uncontrolled outbreak, is now more orange than red, and I predict in a day or two Connecticut will also turn from red to yellow, indicating the level has gone from active outbreak to at risk of outbreak.  (Never mind, I just checked it again and it has officially turned orange).

Our hospital is down to less than 10 COVID patients in the hospital and I have gone two days without having to notify EMS of any COVID positives they transported.  When I work the street, I still gown up, but the patients with SATs in the 70s are nowhere to be found. 

Our Governor has announced he is loosening a number of restrictions, with more to follow.  I sure hope this is...

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 Sit in a magistrates’ court to adjudicate on cases

One of the areas we have talked about in the “This Work Matters” strategy is Precision Policing. We want to develop this concept to blend evidence based policing, our data capability with our need to be efficient in using resources and ensure communities are policed fairly. This requires us to be smart in understanding problems, setting objectives and ensuring resources are used well.

I mention this as I was thinking about this as I reached the final leg of my Connect Learning Journey this week and looked at the new Proactive Management Plans (PMP). Connect is critical to Precision Policing.

Yes – I have a Connect training journey of 19 lessons and around 8 hours! Connect is a huge change for WMP and everyone needs to understand it. This is critical for leaders. Some of you may have heard me say we need digital leaders not analogue managers. Leaders have core roles in Connect, but also need to understand how to exploit it to improve our policing and help all staff with new ways of...

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Scene Safety BSI.  (BSI is body substance isolation). That’s what we are taught to say at the start of any practical scenario.  You don’t practice Scene Safety BSI, you fail the station.

Two interesting articles recently on Jems.com about EMS safety.

The first, Safety is Third, Not First, and We All Know It Should Be.  (The authors put safety behind 1. Getting the job done and 2. Having fun.

The second, Safety First or Safety Third: Considering Practitioner Safety in EMS, is a rebuttal.

I find the first article provocative in questioning a fundamental tenet of EMS.  It argues that EMS should be about risk assessment as opposed to absolutes.  I will let you read the articles and decipher their arguments. Some of their difference is just semantics.  They both clearly want EMS responders to be safe.  The authors of the first article think they will be safer if they are not blanketed with the Safety First Motto, which can easily loose its significance.  They prefer you think about it when it matters most.

I like the line in the first...

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