The development and implementation of a Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) for out-of-hospital surgical care.
Over the past two decades, Los Angeles County has implemented a Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) to provide on-scene, advanced surgical care of injured patients as an element of the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system. Since 2008, the primary responsibility of the team has been to perform surgical procedures in the austere field setting when prolonged extrication is anticipated. Following the maxim of "life over limb," the team is equipped to provide rapid amputation of an entrapped extremity as well as other procedures and medical care, such as anxiolytics and advanced pain control. This report describes the development and implementation of a local EMS system HERT.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA. cscott422@gmail.com
Christopher
C
Scott
Brant
B
Putnam
Scott
S
Bricker
Laura
L
Schneider
Stephanie
S
Raby
William
W
Koenig
Marianne
M
Gausche-Hill
D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery*