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ADVERTORIAL EMSWORLD.com | NOVEMBER 2017 47 During the summer, tourists and recreating mainlanders turn little Block Island into a big destination. The regular population of the Atlantic island, which sits 13 miles off Rhode Island and 14 from Long Island, is around 1,000; on busy summer days that can swell to 15,000–20,000. The main way both tourists and residents come and go is by ferry. Such craft are required to have basic first aid equipment, but one local official worried their supplies were insufficient for graver modern threats. The island—which is served by a volunteer res- cue squad and small medical center—has seen events like plane crashes and a fatal drug overdose in recent years. Bill McCombe, the island's codirector of emergency manage- ment and head of security for the ferries, wanted to supplement what the boats had on hand to help passengers help passengers. "On any given day," McCombe says, "we have doctors, nurses and police officers who are traveling for vacation or live on the island going back and forth. Our thought was that if something were to happen, we'd rather have more tools avail- able than expertise than have too much expertise but no tools available." With grant funds from the state, McCombe collaborated with local responders and set about assembling the equipment they wanted, but then discovered the Curaplex line of prepackaged kits available from Bound Tree. The kits are designed to enable quick, targeted response to a variety of medical and traumatic situations—and they cost less than building the desired capaci- ties piecemeal. Each of the boats got kits for basic first aid, burns and active- shooter situations, oxygen and key medications such as epinephrine and naloxone, along with vests to help identify the caregivers using them. In emergency situations, crews will make the contents avail- able to those qualified and willing to assist. "The kits cover everything from OB situations to snakebites," says McCombe. "There are so many things we spend money on that are only ever used if there's a horrific accident, and you hope they never get used. These kits seemed much more practical—it won't take a terror attack for these tools to be useful on multiple levels. It's one of those things where, for short money, there's a big return." Visit www.boundtree.com/curaplex Circle 10 on the Product Information Card Safer Passengers at Sea Without proper equipment, transporting patients can com- promise the safety of both EMS providers and the patient. Gra- ham Medical can ensure patient and provider safety with the MegaMover Transport Unit. The MegaMover is a portable, compact and cost-effective transport unit designed for transferring, rescuing and trans- porting patients from inaccessible areas or difficult terrain to a stretcher. It fea- tures 14 handles, allowing for com- fortable lifting and carrying, and can hold up to 1,000 lbs. Glenn Watts of Henry Schein EMS, an ambu- lance product distributor, always recommends the MegaMover as the first choice to providers looking for quality patient transfer devices. It's also always listed as the desired brand for patient transport units on customers' product lists. "It's pretty much the industry standard. All of Graham's prod- ucts are high quality. I cannot recall any complaints with this," says Watts. Watts and his team evaluated the MegaMover's quality during a series of rigorous tests, concluding it was the most durable and ergonomic solution compared to competitors' patient transport units. "A product like this really does help you get down and navigate [difficult] terrain…They're made out of a fairly light but incredibly strong material," Watts says. Watts points out the convenient design of shorter handles, allowing EMS providers to carry the patient closer to the hip to reduce strain on the back and prevent injury. The straps also feature handle grips, providing a more comfortable hold. These design elements make it much easier to transport patients from hard-to-reach areas, such as steep embankments off the side of a road. "Graham has a great group of people that really care and are passionate about their products, and that helps them build a great product," says Watts. Visit www.grahammedical.com Circle 20 on the Product Information Card Transferring Patients in Hard-to-reach Areas