** New Massachusetts rule dictates all ambulances must have GPS
** North Dakota paramedic/firefighter collapses, dies at station
UNITED STATES NEWS
** All Massachusetts ambulances must now have onboard GPS. That is the word from WHGH
(Cheryl Flandaca/September 1) which said the state board overseeing ambulance licencing has given all
services 60 days to implement the directive. According to the news site, the new rule came into effect after
a February incident in which an asthma patient died because the ambulance got lost en route to his home.
Although on the correct street within 5 minutes of the help hail, medics didn’t actually arrive on scene for
15 minutes. During that time, the male patient died after a cardiac arrest. Along with global positioning technology, all
EMS units must also have paper maps on hand.
** A St. Paul, North Dakota paramedic/firefighter is dead after taking ill at his station Monday. WDAY 6
(KSTP/September 1) said St. Paul Fire Department practitioner Shane Clifton, 38, collapsed around 5 p.m.
after saying he felt unwell. Ambulance personnel treated him on-site before transporting him to hospital
where he later died. Clifton, who was a US Navy Veteran, had previously worked fir Fridley’s Unity Hospital
and Allina EMS. He had been with the fire department for the past 8 years. Funeral services are pending.
