Hey All,
In case you don't know, from June to September every year I work up at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) located in upstate NY, as an Emergency Medical Technican. I'm sure if many of you have ever seen an outside concert in Upstate NY @ a outside venue-you've prolly have been to SPAC. It is the largest, nicest outdoors concert facility around. It has been around since the late 1950's I think. SPAC has brought many famous bands like: Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Dave Matthews Band, Korn, James Taylor, Jimmey Buffet, and many more. It is also the summer home to the NYC Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra, Saratoga Music festival, Fall Wine & Spirits festival, Jazz Festival and much more.

Anyways it's that classic time of year again, with just one more show this season-Motley Crew on Friday night, and then this season draws to a close. For me it's a sad time of year as I say goodbye to all the friends I work with and all the new friends I've made this season. This season bears special meaning as I have just recently finished and passed my NYS paramedic program. Even though SPAC-Medical team utilizes only BLS skills-it's nice to have the advanced knowledge and of course my friends addressing me as Dr. Runx isn't bad either! lol

I think the best thing about working up at SPAC is not only the people you meet but also the training and exposure to "mini-MCI" situations. Our policy is not to treat out in the crowd/field. We do have a medical facility on-site staffed by off-duty RN's and fully equipped with 3 rooms/2 beds in each and a trauma room. We also have 7 Zones with two-members in each who roam within their zones and are available to provide professional medical assistance. There are 2 more zones which are roaming zones which means they can go anywhere in the whole venue. Depending on the Pre-Sale ticket count out staff is adjusted accordingly to accommodate the size of the crowd. So when we a call out in the venue-typically the closest team/Unit well respond, make contact and walk the PT back to the clinic or call for Unit 60 which is a Go-Kart like ambulance, equipped with BLS supplies, a Back-Board, Oxygen, Reeves stretcher and a Stokes basket.

The types of calls we usually get are ETOH--Alcohol overdose or just simply someone who can't handle their alcohol, Assaults/Fight victims, Medical disorders (Seizures, Cardiac Arrests, Chest Pain, Etc), Trauma from falls mostly, etc. The whole MCI thing comes in due to the fact that usually we get like 30-60 Pt's on a show w/20,000-25,000 people in attendence. And that's 30-60 Pt's within 4-5hrs. Do the math and then think about how many people you treat on a typical 8, 12, or even 24 hr shift.....Ya it's a lot! But as with everything in the Fire/Medical if your not continually learning something new everyday-then it's time to quit or retire. So I love the experience I get every summer. It's just sad to know that it's almost over until next June--hopefully it will fly by like this past year did!