NETCCN consists of networks of critical care clinicians and providers that can deliver virtual care “from anywhere to anywhere” through use of secure, smartphone-based telemedicine platforms. Through NETCCN “apps,” supported hospitals across Vermont can request and receive on-demand, 24/7 virtual assistance from critical care physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other specialty clinicians.
“NETCCN addresses a fundamental challenge for our healthcare system during disasters like COVID-19 surges: enabling easy communication between those working outside of their comfort zone or scope of practice and clinical expertise at the right place and time to affect best possible outcomes. This is especially true for the care of severely-ill patients needing intensive care level support but who may not have access to an intensive care unit due to patient volume or lack of available transport,” said Col. Jeremy Pamplin, TATRC’s Commander and an intensive care physician. “In contrast to patients dying from hospitals’ inability to provide hemodialysis, NETCCN has responded to calls for support within hours to help a small hospital unable to transfer patients to a referral center provide this life saving therapy.”
VAHHS has rapidly brought together healthcare leaders from across the state to raise awareness, coordinate and streamline availability of NETCCN for Vermont’s hospitals. VAHHS’s assistance in harmonizing licensure rules and credentialing processes accelerated availability of NETCCN and reduced burden on its member healthcare organizations.
“Many of Vermont’s hospitals don’t have Intensive Care Units (ICUs), so they don’t have the critical care experts needed to care for our sickest COVID patients. During normal operations, we are able to transfer patients to referral centers with this capability, but during surges, those hospitals are full and unable to accept additional patients. NETCCN brings instant access to experts through an easy-to-use and secure platform, allowing our smaller hospitals to optimize care for these severely ill patients until transfer is possible. Perhaps just as important, access to these experts relieves the stress and anxiety felt by clinicians in our small hospitals by helping them know they have done the best possible for their patients, even when the outcome may not be ideal,” said Devon Green, Vice President of Government Relations, Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (VAHHS).
NETCCN is presently live in 4 hospitals in Vermont with additional hospitals scheduled to go live next week.
NETCCN is available at no cost to supported hospitals and healthcare. Through the pandemic, NETCCN has delivered over 5,000 patient-days of care to over 40 hospitals in 13 states and territories.
What is ‘blunt force’, and what type of injuries result from blunt force impact?
Please let me answer this question in the shortest possible way, without throwing some hyper intellectual medical terminologies at you, I don’t understand myself. Let me do it in reasonable simple and understandable terms, and more importantly, within context of this article.
Severe injuries and deaths resulting from blunt force trauma are some of the most common cases encountered by forensic pathologists. For instance, almost all transportation fatalities, including those involving road traffic collisions and pedestrians being hit by vehicles result from blunt force trauma.
Blunt force trauma is also the consequence faced by homeland and private security professionals after being hit by a solid object, such as a fist, foot, knee, elbow, iron bar, extendable baton, baseball bat, crowbar, brick, bottle, can, chair, fire extinguisher, to name but a few, or indeed after being pushed hard against another solid object e.g. door, wall, floor or car or down a flight of stairs etc.
Something that remains widely underreported since shootings and stabbings seem to make more dramatic headlines in the mainstream media.
When asking a couple of law firms how they would define ‘blunt force trauma injuries’ they responded with the following answers:
“A severe traumatic episode caused to the body (or head) with the sudden introduction of a blunt instrument used with great force.”
“Blunt force trauma is when the body is hit with an object that is blunt, or not sharp, with enough force to cause significant damage”.
According to Wikipedia, blunt abdominal trauma (BAT) comprises 75% of all blunt trauma and is the most common example of this injury.
The severity of such injury is mostly determined by the speed, velocity, size and weight of the object, and can range in severity from a tiny bruise to internal haemorrhages, bone fractures, cardiac tamponade, airway obstructions/rupture, and in the worst-case scenario result in ruptured organs, rapid internal bleeding and ultimately your death.
I do believe most security professionals will be aware of the potential severity of injuries resulting from blunt force. But I don’t believe many will chose to document and report every incident of this nature. “Too much admin”, some may say, and “it’s part of the job”, others will state.
Many security professionals have a reasonable understanding of the most realistic risks and threats they face, and subsequently are either being issued, or they themselves invest in body armour.
However, it is worth noting that any type of flexible body armour made from either an aramid fibre (i.e. Kevlar®) or a polyethylene (i.e. Dyneema®) including the latest high performance body armour produced by top secret manufacturers at top secret locations for top secret agencies, do not offer anywhere near enough protection from this specific operational risk.
On a domestic level (meaning homeland or private security, rather than military) the risk of being punched, beaten, kicked, or faced by someone throwing stuff at you is hundred times higher than being stabbed or shot. Therefore, it is rather saddening to see that more than 99% of body armour issued to domestic homeland security professionals offer insufficient protection from this specific risk.
Again, in the context of a good body armour, the key objective must be to offer sufficient levels of protection from the most realistic threats and risks you faces whilst on duty.
I urge you to make a conscious decision when investing in such type of PPE. Simply ask yourself the question, what is the most important criteria for YOU? The concealability, the weight, the thickness, or the level of protection from the risks and threats you have identified?
If the concealability of a body armour is key for you (i.e. covert operations and surveillance) then you may well need to look for the thinnest body armour, and the ‘blunt force trauma’ protection may have to become of secondary importance.
However, please understand that in general the most likely risk you face on a daily basis, is also the one you should seek protection from, and as I have stated earlier on in this article, the probability of you getting punched, hit, kicked or pushed around or have someone throwing stuff at you is far greater than the risk of being stabbed or shot.
To achieve the maximum level of protection from blunt force trauma injuries a body armour would have to be of a rigid structure, rather than a soft/flexible structure. Two diverse protective devices which highlight in a brilliantly understandable way the importance and the effectiveness of such protection are:
1. Motorbike Helmets: Never mind the fact that wearing a helmet is law when riding a motorbike. Wearing a helmet during a motorcycle crash significantly reduces the risk of damage to one’s skull, traumatic brain injury, and even death, countless studies have shown. We all know motorbike helmets are of a rigid/solid structure. They would not offer the blunt force protection and perform to the level it is required if the structure would be soft or flexible.
2. Riot Shields: A riot shield is a lightweight protection device, typically deployed and used by police in almost every country during riots, protests and mass disturbances. They are typically constructed from a rigid material to offer maximum levels of protection from attacks with blunt weapons and thrown projectiles. The officers’ lives depend on the performance of this piece of equipment. Again, to offer this high level of blunt force protection, it is required for its structure to be rigid, not soft or flexible.
The most in-depth research study on ‘blunt force trauma injuries’ or in more tactical terms ‘backface signature injuries’ sustained while wearing such body armour was produced by Marianne Wilhelm back in 2008, and is titled “Injuries to law enforcement officers: The backface signature injury”. It really is worth a read.
This great piece has raised important questions regarding the protection afforded to officers wearing personal body armour, along with the current test methods used to assess the true performance of the equipment. Some test results showed that some revealed deformations exceeding the NIJ Standard’s backface signature limit. Such increased deformation can lead to serious injuries, including blunt force trauma or backface signature injuries, which have occurred in the field over and over again.
Although your body armour might be successful in containing the round fired by a weapon or the knife thrusted at you by a hostile individual, it might not protect you from the impacting energy during other types of assaults, unless it is offering you officially certified protection from this precise risk. The most respected standard for body armour in relation to blunt force trauma protection is Germany’s VPAM (Vereinigung der Prüfstellen für Angriffshemmende Materialien und Konstruktionen) Standard, titled: “Testing of Impact Resistance against Throwing and/or Striking Objects” and its rating will be W1 (lowest) – W9 (highest).
It is also worth pointing out that our Technical Director Colin Mackinnon, a man who served 26+ years with the UK’s Police Forces, delivered an online presentation to a large audience of security professionals recently. Following his presentation, he asked a question: “Does your armour protect against knife, spike, needle, and blunt force trauma?”
Out of those questioned 55% of people did not know what protection their vests provided.
About the Author
Robert Kaiser is the CEO and Founder of PPSS Group, a UK headquartered company specialising in design, production, and supply of high-performance body armour. Robert and his senior team all have significant level of operational frontline experience in military, law enforcement or homeland security. His written word has been featured in several industry leading, international publications.
Posted in Armor, Guest Post, Medical | Comments Off on Blunt Force: The Underreported Threat Of The Security Professional
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Jan. 10-14, 2022, Paratroopers with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, “Spartan Brigade,” completed the inaugural Arctic First Responder Course held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The Arctic First Responder Course is a prototype Combat Lifesaver Course that adapts Tactical Combat Casualty Care for operations in the Arctic environment. It was developed using lessons learned by medical personnel during exercise Arctic Warrior 21, where temperatures exceed -40F. The course prepares Arctic Paratroopers to provide lifesaving aid in any environment.
“Every Soldier should take part in an Arctic First Responder style training,” said Spc. Kenyi Foster from Avalanche Company, 725th Brigade Support Battalion. “This course has better prepared me for any combat situations I may face and helped me in being able to administer aid in any weather condition.”
Spartan Paratroopers from the 725th BSB learned cold weather injury identification, treatment and prevention. They also learned about and exercised patient transport and packaging in extreme cold weather environments.
The training comes as the 725th BSB prepares to support JPMRC 22-02 — a home station combat training center rotation in March that takes place in Central Alaska where winter weather can be unpredictable and dangerous.
“I now feel more comfortable if I’m ever under fire and know I have to administer aid whether that’s in the Arctic or the desert,” said Spc. Lisvette Vasquez from Avalanche Company, 725th BSB. “After taking this course I feel I could proficiently perform in medical lanes for ESB as well as know medical related questions for any Soldier of the month board.”
The Spartan Brigade is the only airborne infantry brigade combat team in the Arctic and Pacific theaters, providing the combatant commander with the unique capability to project an expeditionary force by air in both Arctic and Pacific environments.
The TacMed™ Adaptive First Aid Kit, or AFAK, is a compact kit that provides an individual soldier or law enforcement officer with the necessary lifesaving equipment to effectively treat injuries commonly associated with combat trauma.
The innovative design of the pouch and included tourniquet strap allow for the kit to be mounted either vertically or horizontally to any MOLLE surface, allowing the user to take advantage of unused space and prioritize preferred individual equipment layouts.
The AFAK can also be adapted to a MOLLE belt for operators that require a self-aid capability when not able to find space on a body armor system.
The removable insert and optional lanyard allow for “small of the back” placement with positive retention of the kit.
An additional MOLLE platform on the exterior of the pouch aids in maximizing available space for user equipment preference. The included tourniquet strap system is also fully adaptive for vertical and horizontal placement based on user preference for access with both hands.
LifeStraw has completely redesigned their flagship product the Peak series personal water filter.
They’ve re-engineered the filter to reduce clogging from sediment. In addition to being able to drink straight from a water source, it also features internal threads which will attach to a commercial, disposable water bottle. There’s also a built in gravity hose attachment point.
This sleeker design is also now available in two colors, Blue or Black.
There’s no shelf life. Once you start using it, it’s good for 1,000 gallons of water. The LifeStraw removes 99.999999% of bacteria (including E.coli, Salmonella), 99.999% of parasites (including Giardia and Cryptosporidium),99.999% of microplastics, dirt, sand and cloudiness
The TacMed™ Convertible Drop Leg Kit provides a fully stocked kit that allows for maximum flexibility without compromising the ability to provide on target care. This drop leg pouch can be worn on the leg or attached to a MOLLE style vest depending on the users’ preference.
TacMed’s™ drop leg pouches are stocked based on different levels of capability, varying from basic to advanced. Additionally, the kits are customizable and can be packed to meet your specific mission requirements.
Included in the basic TacMed™ Convertible Drop Leg Kit is:
We’ve previously mentioned Blackbridge Defense’s weapon mounts during our AUSA coverage. They’ve expanded their offerings with the Blast Proof Soft Cooler which was designed to prevent water bottles from exploding during IED blasts. In addition to up to 30 water bottles, it will also accept MREs, 5 Gallon Jerry Cans and the High Stress Collapsible Water Bag 5 Gallon bladder.
It’s designed to keep ice for up to 56 hours. I took this photo at about 3PM on the last day of SHOT Show in a room that was around 70 Deg F. The ice was still whole and the bag had been opened numerous times during the day to show the interior. Its going to keep your stuff cool. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to blow it up.
Blackbridge Defense products are available for agency and unit purchase through ADS, Inc.
