Vol. 92, No. 29
“Contrary to the recent report in
a Wilkes-Barre newspaper, the
Back Mountain Medical Center is
not for sale,” said Ray Hillman,
president of the medical center
board.
the Medical Center. The Mobile
Intensive Care Unit is housed there
and will continue to be housed
there.
“We do have rooms which can be
leased for office space. We could
use a doctor in the building, and
medical technicians such as
radiologists or cardiologists would
be a plus to the Back Mountain.
“People don’t realize the work
and time it takes to get a medical
facility off the ground,” said
Hillman.
When Hillman was asked to
comment on the Fall Fair
Association’s recent decision to
take control of the MICU, he told the
Post that at Tuesday night’s
meeting it was agreed Kerry
Freeman would be sole spokesman
for the program. Freeman is
chairman of the committee, who
recently named Ann Rowlands
temporary coordinator of the
paramedics.
Freeman announced Tuesday
that the paramedic unit will be run
by a board separate from the Fall
the committee’s proposal is ap-
proved at the Association’s meeting
in about two weeks.
The Paramedic Committee was
appointed by the Dallas Area Fall
Fair Association to establish a more
efficient method of operating the
MICU. The committee conducted
numerous surveys and interviews
and took into consideration past
records of the MICU.
Resulfs of the committee’s
research was a major factor in their
July '16 suspension of the unit's
elected officers from their duties
and the appointment of Ann
Rowlands appointment as interim
coordinator.
Freeman told the more than 40
ambulance members at the
meeting, Tuesday, July 27, that the
committee made the following
recommendations to the FallFair
Association:
A governing board separate from
the Fall Fair Association and the
MICU should be established to
operate the MICU. This board to be
comprised of eight Back Mountain
area residents appointedb to three
year terms on a staggered basis.
The first board is to be appointed by
the commitee and thereafter, the
board to select its own
replacements for expired terms.
The members should represent
various professions and should no
be affiliated with any localam-
bulance unit or the unit.
Dallas Fall Fair Association
should provide financial assistance
to the MICU, and the new board
should utilize as much as possible
bylaws that have been prepared by
the paramedics, should it pursue
incorporation.
Freeman also said that the
committee recommends that the
board offer paramedic training to
more Back Mountain residents,
offer refresher courses, and
transform the vehicle into a quick
response unit rather than a
secondary unit.
The unit, founded in 1979, has
about 40 volunteers and was
operated by Back Mountain Area
Ambulance Associations until 1981
when they withdrew their support.
Back Mountain MICU is staffed by
volunteer paramedics and
emergency medical technicions.
Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton units
are staffed by paid paramedics and
EMT's.
Freeman said the primary
concern of the committee is health
care for Back Mountain residents.
Twenty Five Cents
Hanson’s Amusement Park.
RY SHEILA HODGES
Once again we are into the season
of hot lazy days when all one really
wants to do is to laze around by the
pool, but in the regions hospitals
there could be a critical situation.
There has been a substantial in-
crease in the use of blood and blood
components, more so than ever this
year. On June 21 the situation on
critical although 16 per cent more
blood was collected that month.
Sinck that time, during the month of
July,. there has been ‘only a slight
improvement and’ the commoner
types have been restricted in supply
to hospitals.
The increased demand.is due in
part to the technological advances
in treating diseases and injuries.
For example, diseases of the im-
mumalaninal austen are being
A tragic accident recently em-
phasized the need for the
organization of specialty talents
among Back Mountain volunteer
services. The incident occured on
« 26 and Gordon Rumore
rned of it while monitoring his
emergency frequency. Robert
Booth, 32, of Forty Fort, went under
at Novicki’s Farm Pond.
Rumore’s expertise as a rescue
. diver became the crucial factor in
locating Booth in the icy water.
Coupled with the Plains Mobile
Intensive Care Unit's ability to
perform emergency room
precedures in the field, an attempt
to resuscitate the body was made, it
could have been much different.
An untrained diver probably
would not have found the body as
June.
1
quickly. Or worse, if Rumore had
not been monitoring the radio that
Saturday afternoon, the problem
could have been one of finding a
proper diver.
Thomas O’Brien, a former navy
diver, who teaches scuba diving at
Harveys Lake, was called but could
not be reached immediately.
O’Brien arrived at the scene after
Rumore had located Booth.
O’Brien is frequently called to aid
State Police rescue efforts in this
way.
The incident points out a real
need which Rumore, a Kunkle
volunteer fire captain, believes can
be filled with the proper
organization. “Many of us have
specialty talents which can be put
to use on a mutual aid basis,” he
explained. He refers specifically to
volunteer fire and rescue workers
who serve the Back Mountain
community. Organization of
specialties such as scuba diving,
will add to the cooperative effort so
often vital when an accident occurs.
Rumore’s background and training
gives him sound basis for his
theories. He brings nearly 20 years
experience to his present position
with the Kunkle Fire Department.
He has served as captain in the fire
department, City of New York
Auxiliary Fire Corps and as an
EMT and training officer with the
Staten Island Volunteer Heart
Resuscitation Unit and Ambulance
Corps. He is licensed to practice
nursing in New Jersey, New York
and Pennsylvania and certified by
the American Association of Nurse
Anesthetists. He is presently
\ aw »
employed as Medical Care Coor-
dinator by Emergency Medical
Services of Northeastern Penn-
sylvania.
His committment to the volunteer
effort has been a major part of his
adult life. “It becomes a lifelong
involvement for most of us,’”’he
explained.
Scuba diving started as a hobby
for him but his tie to volunteer
services led to his specializing in
rescue rather than sport diving.
The incident at Bunker Hill was the
first in which his particular talents
were put to use.
In the past, Rumore said divers
have only been used to recover dead
bodies. Therefore, urgency was not
a problem. However, modern
medicine has shown that bodies
immersed in very cold water can be
resuscitated up to an hour later. It
is this premise that rescue workers
go on today. The body metabolism
slows drastically in freezing water,
giving resuscitation efforts their
best chance. Rumore said medical
teams have had good results,
particularly with young children
who have drowned in cold water.
Rumore’s idea is to organize
other local divers, especially those
with knowledge of rescue patterns
and methods. The Back Mountain
Police Association has expressed
interest in the project and will
discuss the topic at its September
meeting. Rumore believes there
are enough trained personnel in the
area now to get the project off the
ground.
On the other hand, he is very
concerned that many drownings are
unnecessary. With an abundance of
Red Cross water safety courses
available, he believes no one needs
to be in a position of helplessness in
a body of water. He finds this even
more important as the number of
home swimming pools increases.
With the additional emergency
measures, he advocates par-
ticipation in the educational
programs geared to increasing
treated as they never were before
and there is continual improvement
in research and methods. Although
one unit of blood can be broken
down into its components and be
used to help as many as four people,
many patients require the com-
ponents from several units in the
treatment of one disease.
Despite the present economic
decline, hospital eapacity and
health care aetivities are growing
in our region, due mainly to the
increased average age of the
population. Younger people move
out to‘find work and those retiring
move back to the area where they
were raised. In this area there is
also a higher than average in-
cidence of cancer related diseases.
The Back Mountain Blood Council
has been dramatically successful in
increasing donations in the nine
months since its formation. In 1979-
80 community donations were about
200, but in 1981-82 they will be over
1,000. But like everything else the
council needs food to grow and in
this case the food is volunteers.
The backbone of this voluntary
organization is the volunteer
“caller”. For each blood drive
there is the requirement for up-
wards of 50 people fo call the known
and potential donors, speaking on a
one-to-one basis, asking them to
donate at the next blood collection.
In order for these callers (usually in
teams of 10 persons) not to be
worked too heavily, more teams
must be found. They are usually
based on a church or voluntary
service organization.
(Continued on P.'7)
We apologize for the error in the
July 28 issue of the Dallas Post
column ‘Just Around the Corner’
which quite by accident, stated that
Miss Donna Marie Pisaneschi, new
Miss Pennsylvania American Vets,
will be master of ceremonies at the
Miss Northeastern Pennsylvania
Pageant. This was incorrect.
The item should have read: Miss
Donna Marie Pisaneschi, new Miss
3
x
Pennsylvania American Vets, will {
be master of ceremonies at the |
Northern Pennsylvania |
Pageant’ to be held at the
Woodlands, Aug. 14 and 15. A host of §
prizes will be awarded. Interested §
girls may call 823-8029.
We apologize for any in-|
convenience that may have been]
caused by the mistake