EMS Bike Team

EMS Bike Team
The MRTSA EMS Bike Team was formed in 2008 to provide optimal coverage for many events to which Medical Rescue Team South deploys. Events such as Fourth of July celebrations, varsity football games, Martha's Run in Mt. Lebanon, the Mt. Lebanon Ultra Party and First Fridays, are attended by large crowds, making response to a patient and accessibility by emergency vehicles challenging. The paramedics and EMT's of the Bike Team are able to respond quickly, with bicycles specially made and equipped for EMS duty. These EMS crews can arrive quickly and provide a faster patient assessment and begin treatment of the patient. The bicycles used by the Team are Fugi mountain bikes. They are equipped with headlights, tail lights, emergency flashers and a siren. The medical gear is carried on the rider's uniform, as well as in specially made bags attached to the bike. Some of this equipment is as follows: Intravenous Fluids Oxygen, Emergency Airways, Bag Valve Mask Resucitator Medtronic Lifepak 500 Automated External Defibrillator Trauma Equipment including wound dressings Medications for cardiac and respiratory emergencies.
All team members have distinctive uniforms consisting of high visibility yellow shirts, and bike shorts and pants, and of course a protective helmet.

In September 2006, Paramedics Widmer, Terkel, and Rothhaar attended a four day course of instruction to be certified by the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) as EMS Cyclists. The instructors for the class were from the Cabell County West Virginia EMS Bike Team, and the Charleston West Virginia Police Department Bike Patrol. The course consisted of both classroom as well as practical training. The course covered aspects of EMS bike duty, including the rules of the road for bikes, bike operation in moving vehicular traffic, operation among large crowds, scene safety, emergency responses on a bike, negotiating obstacles, and evasive maneuvers. The course concluded with a written and on-bike practical test.

In addition to the primary duty of response to emergencies, the Bike Team also assumes a great deal of responsibility for public relations. Far too often, the public only encounters EMS personnel in times of emergency. With the bike, the paramedics and EMT's are now outside the ambulance and among the public, so the public has a better chance of meeting the EMS personnel who serve their community. Should you be at an event and see a member of the MRTSA Bike Team, please do not hesitate to stop and say hello, and ask any questions about EMS you may have.

To schedule the MRTSA EMS Bike Team for an event call the station at 412-343-5111