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Emergency Medical Services
The Emergency Department of Boston Medical Center receives the largest number of emergency patients in the state of Massachusetts. The medical and surgical staff at the care for patients in every clinical category and treat the entire range of surgical emergencies, including a number of patients who have sustained major trauma. House officers gain extensive experience in the management of patient with multiple system injuries, injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents, firearms, blunt and penetrating abdominal and thoracic trauma, as well as a variety of orthopedic and peripheral vascular injuries. |
| The City of Boston’s pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services System, coordinated by a sophisticated communications network, is a two-tier response system that employs emergency medical technicians who staff basic life support ambulances and paramedics who staff advanced life support ambulances. |
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| The paramedics are skilled in performing endotracheal intubation, establishing intravenous routes for fluid and drug therapy, interpreting cardiac arrhythmias, and relaying patient information to a physician who directs the paramedic’s care in the field. |
| Senior surgical residents participate in the direction of paramedics during the pre-hospital phase of emergency medical care, including the use of a radio console with telemetry capability for transmitting electrocardiograms. In preparation for this function, residents are encouraged to respond to calls with the paramedics aboard the advanced life support ambulances, and all residents receive comprehensive instruction in the most modern life support measures. All residents complete the ATLS course as part of their training. |
 The battlefield has been an important training ground for surgeons for centuries. Ambrose Pare’s battlefield experience led to important advances in the treatment of wounds. |
Boston Med Flight |
Boston Medical Center is a sponsor of Boston Med Flight. As a critical care air transport service, Boston Med Flight is designed to extend the tertiary care services of the major Boston hospitals to the residents of Massachusetts and New England. The program is a consortium effort sponsored by six tertiary care centers in Boston and utilizes two helicopters, a BK117 and a 365N Dauphin. One helicopter is remotely based in Plymouth, and the other is based at Hanscom Airforce Base. |
| Patients transported include: trauma patients, neonatal patients, high risk obstetrical patients, pediatric patient, patients with respiratory failure, patients with cardiac disease including those on intra-aortic balloon pump. The medical teams are composed of a Flight Nurse and Flight paramedic with an expanded scope of practice. The pilots are rated as airline-trained pilots. Flight service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
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| Earlier forms of patient transportation at Boston Medical Center: ambulances from the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital and from Boston City Hospital. |
