Coming back from my lunchtime run I saw something I’ve never seen before - a pair of Chicago Fire Department paramedics trundling along the sidewalk aboard Segways. Can anyone come up was an explanation as to why this is “a good idea”?
I can get the idea of cops using them. Before Segways you’d see cops walking, riding horses or bikes. Allows them to patrol areas in places and interact with people in ways cars can’t. And a police presence might discourage crime.
But I don’t see such concerns being as true for paramedics. In my years of traveling the streets and sidewalks of Chicago I have not noticed them littered with large numbers of injured people in need of medical assistance. And you don’t need a paramedic “presence” to discourage injury.
This program clearly cost a few bucks. The Segways were sharp red models with little saddlebags. And the paramedics had distinct uniforms including helmets. Are these paramedics who would normally be sitting in the firehouse awaiting a call? What happens if a call comes in while they are cruising along on their scooters? Was there a problem with response time this is meant to address?
Just struck me as a mite silly. Can any of you point out what I am missing?
There are a number of articles / blog posts / press releases about this I found via google. They claim that having EMTs on Segways reduce response time.
I was guessing it was during gridlock traffic, but big events also make sense I guess.
I guess I can see the utility at festivals and such. But just cruising the sidewalks still seems silly. Would like to see stats on calls, response time, etc. Perhaps it is partially written off as PR.
Ideally, they would be out cruising around right where the call came from. So it would reduce response time. Nothing better than a paramedic with a little gear as a first responder.
The program’s effectiveness is directly related to the number of guys they have out there cruising. If there is no omnipresence, the plan won’t work. The less people they have, the further any individual medic will have to travel to get to the call.
I’ve got a buddy I golf with who works as a fill-in paramedic for the CFD. I’m gonna have to give him a ring and yank his chain about this. He’s - um - a large man. Would be an imposing - and amusing - sight on a Segway.
I heard an item on NPR a few months back about paramedics on bicycles. I bet some of the comments made there would be appropriate to paramedics on Segways. As suggested by others, useful in case of large crowds, or when it is difficult to get an Ambulance close to the person needing treatment. On the other hand, for bicycles, while treatment can be started sooner with the bicycle, often an Ambulance is needed to complete the treatment or for transport to hospital. Insurance companies generally will not pay for both bicycle treatment and ambulance treatment, so you are left with something which is more manuverable than an ambulance, less expensive than an ambulance, faster treatment, but only useful some of the time–not a substitute for an ambulance.
Think about Taste of Chicago. Acres and acres of people jammed together. I would bet that the Segways would get there much faster then the ambulance that would be following behind. Maybe they were just practicing, so that they were familiar with the Segway?