Wall, NJ — MONOC Mobile Health Services is proud to announce the completion of its second free public service announcement (PSA) video for emergency responders. This video explains the importance of wearing high visibility safety vests whenever working on roadways, and how it can save lives.
Every day, Emergency Medical Services professionals put themselves in harm’s way when working on busy roads and highways throughout the country. While there to provide care for ill and injured patients, EMS professionals often become victims themselves, when inattentive drivers fail to see them and strike them with their vehicles. As a result, over the years, thousands of EMTs, Paramedics and first responders have been injured or killed while helping others.
To help address this growing epidemic, in November 2008, a new federal regulation went into effect mandating that anyone working on a federal-aid highway must be wearing high visibility clothing that meets the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Safety Equipment Association standard. This requirement applies to all emergency responders, whether paid or volunteer, day and night.
The most commonly used safety apparel worn by EMS professionals is an ANSI compliant safety vest. While most EMS professionals are safety conscious, not all are truly aware of the startling number of injuries and deaths that occurs every year on our roads and highways. Unfortunately, many have the “it can’t happen to me” belief and choose not to wear their safety vests.
Similar to the Siren Safety PSA released in 2013, this PSA is being provided free of charge to all EMS agencies to bring to the forefront the need to wear high visibility safety vests. Wearing a safety vest has been proven to dramatically increase the likelihood of being seen by drivers. This video strongly urges EMS providers to wear their safety vests as part of their daily routine, day and night.
Vince Robbins, MONOC’s President and CEO said, “I am very proud of the efforts our team at MONOC has made regarding this video on scene safety and personnel visibility. It is the second in a series of EMS industry service videos we are producing to help use evidence and science based information to improve the culture of safety in our agencies. We hope all EMS providers are influenced by this work.”
For additional information about the video, contact Scott Matin at scott.matin@monoc.org or Peter Dworsky at peter.dworsky@monoc.org.
For a free copy of this PSA and a list of references please visit www.monoc.org.
MONOC Mobile Health Services is a non-profit hospital cooperative consisting of 15 acute care hospitals located throughout New Jersey. Formed in 1978 MONOC’s mission is to improve healthcare and reduce costs. MONOC employs over 730 employees and operates a fleet of over 100 ambulances. Together this shared services consortium acts as a healthcare cooperative for these acute care hospitals and over 2.8 million residents that they serve living in more than 1,800 square miles of the Garden State.
Among its numerous service lines, MONOC operates MICU Paramedic Services, Helicopter interfacility and 911 services, Mobile Critical Care Services and Basic Life Support interfacility and 911 services. Additionally, MONOC operates the State’s largest EMS education department and a 24/7 state of the art 9-1-1 dispatch center which handled over 156,000 requests for service in 2013.
