if you race you might wanna read this

**smf** · 09-03-07, 10:38 AM

first. thanks to everyone for making cornerworking T1 sunday morning boring

the lack of action meant that I spent the morning bs-ing with my corner captain. he's apparently been cornerworking loudon for about 15yrs and did the motogp race at laguna last year (veeery cool).

he had some interesting things to say about our current ambulance crews. in short he said they simply aren't qualified to deal with injured racers. that 1 crew member actually figured "we got what we deserved" if we crashed doing this. also, apparently until last weekend we were not guaranteed to have a paramedic on the ambulances. beyond this he told more than a few disturbing stories about the crews. 2 i'll never forget: 1 case where a rider that had crashed and was complaining of back pain was forced to stand by the crew because they didn't want to put him on a board first. another was a rider instructing an ambulance crew member how to properly remove his helmet as he lay on his back after a crash.

...maybe i'm overreacting, but if 1/2 of what my corner captain said was true it's more than a little disturbing to me.

**s a x m a n** · 09-03-07, 10:55 AM

personally that has never been the experiance I have had. I've taken two rides in the meat wagon, and both times the crew has been VERY responsive and kind to me, and I felt they provided me with quality care.

In addition to that, on Saturday when the crew was help Tim Allen in turn 1, they seemed to be very careful when moving him to try to provide with with as little pain as possible and took care to make sure he was stabilized before loading into the ambulance.

It would be sad if these stories were true, but I have heard the same things said before, but its not something that I have seen to be true. If someone thought we "deserved" what we got when we crashed, maybe they shouldn't be working for a race track ambulance service.

13 · 09-03-07, 02:12 PM

This story frightens me.

**Doc** · 09-03-07, 02:30 PM

Scott mentioned this to me at the track. I was asked by someone that works for Golden Cross to come on down and work events for them. (I would need to get my NH license).
I have to say I am not all that impressed with this persons medical knowledge.

I must say though that I have had nothing but good interactions with the medical people at the track.

Maybe this is worth looking into. I am sure someone on the NEAR list could help clarify the type of training the medical people have etc... Just a thought.

**TTD** · 09-03-07, 07:10 PM

My personal belief is that the medical field is like any other... there are people very good at their jobs and some not so good... even if they have passed "the test" requirements.

This does not explain the disdain toward motorcycle racers, but I feel this is less of the issue. If I'm laying on the track injured, I could care less if you like what I do, as long as you are good at your job.

My hope is that while every medical person at the track may not be very good, that at least someone at the track at all times is highly qualified and competent and can be at the scene quickly.

**Degsy** · 09-04-07, 10:50 AM

I got stung on the chest several times by a hornet that got into my leathers while I was on the track last Wednesday. I am allergic to bee stings so I went to see the medical staff in the ambulance just in case as I don't know about hornets. I have to say they were awesome. They really took great care of me. Gave me a heavy heavy dose of antihistamine (enough to make me into a zombie for a couple of hours) and told me not to ride any more that day. Fine by me as I was drowsy as all hell anyway.

I have had many interactions with the medical staff at NHIS over the years and had nothing but the very best care every time.

derek

**Crash Dummy Denno** · 09-04-07, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by Degsy

I got stung on the chest several times by a hornet that got into my leathers while I was on the track last Wednesday. I am allergic to bee stings so I went to see the medical staff in the ambulance just in case as I don't know about hornets. I have to say they were awesome. They really took great care of me. Gave me a heavy heavy dose of antihistamine (enough to make me into a zombie for a couple of hours) and told me not to ride any more that day. Fine by me as I was drowsy as all hell anyway.

I have had many interactions with the medical staff at NHIS over the years and had nothing but the very best care every time.

derek

plus they did a great job on your sex change

man u were out of it after the drugs

**Pookie** · 09-04-07, 05:45 PM

I have yet to have anything other than the best care from these folks. I hope you present this story to Don or Jerry. Would hate to see what seems to be one bad person make a bad situation worse.

**TTD** · 09-04-07, 06:53 PM

I did a little "investigating" of the story in the first post and it seems that some of the Cornerworkers might have a "personal" interest in an ambulance company change.

This might be the motivation behind the statements?

As others have said, all of my interactions have been A+, with them taking more precautions, if anything.

**RyanNicholson** · 09-04-07, 07:01 PM

i dont think there is any reason to believe these rumors are true...everyone i've talked to on the ambulance crew are great people and really care about the well being of all riders, and i've never personally heard of any bad interactions with the medical staff.

**smf** · 09-04-07, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by 35racer

I did a little "investigating" of the story in the first post and it seems that some of the Cornerworkers might have a "personal" interest in an ambulance company change.

This might be the motivation behind the statements?

As others have said, all of my interactions have been A+, with them taking more precautions, if anything.

good to hear. thanks for checking up.

**ZX-12R** · 09-05-07, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by smf

2 i'll never forget: 1 case where a rider that had crashed and was complaining of back pain was forced to stand by the crew because they didn't want to put him on a board first. another was a rider instructing an ambulance crew member how to properly remove his helmet as he lay on his back after a crash.

The first case is a bunch of

. No professional emergency care giver would ever ignore someone that crashed and is complaining about back pain. There is way too much at stake legally and morally to snub someone because they race motorcycles.

The second case is very plausible. In the EMT course, helmet removal is briefly talked about and everyone gets to practice it a few times. If you are not used to wearing motorcycle helmets, a few practice rounds will not make you proficient at removing them. EMTs are taught to use all resources available to them to provide the best care possible to their patients. If that means yielding the task of removing a helmet to a much more experienced person, then so be it.

On the same token, very few EMTs and even fewer hospital workers know how to properly remove ski boots.

**RyanNicholson** · 09-05-07, 08:40 AM

well said....very good points

**capt1014** · 09-05-07, 09:18 AM

One thing to remember, doctors or EMT's are only as good at thier job as you are at yours. They are not prefect.

**Doc** · 09-05-07, 09:23 AM

I am perfect.

**legalspeed** · 09-05-07, 09:55 AM

I have been worked on a few times over the years.

The ambulance crew has been top-notch every time.

**Trackday Guru** · 09-05-07, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by smf

also, apparently until last weekend we were not guaranteed to have a paramedic on the ambulances.

Having a Paramedic on site is not a guarantee if, as a promoter, you've requested/hired the ambulance staff.

Golden cross offers both BLS (Basic Life Support - no Paramedics) and ALS (Advanced Life Support - with Paramedics).
So if the promoter of the event has not requested/hired the ALS ambulance, guess what...?

My experience with the Golden Cross has been nothing short of top notch.

if you race you might wanna read this

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