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University Hospital celebrates 40th anniversary of mid-Missouri's first advanced ambulance service University of Missouri Health Care will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its ambulance service at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 12, in University Hospital's main lobby. Throughout history, ambulances of some kind have been used on battlefields to transport the wounded to rear areas for treatment. From the ancient chariot to the Model-T Ford of World War I, military medical leaders learned that speed was the key to successful trauma care. But modes of transporting civilians had remained relatively primitive until only the last 40 years. "Prior to June of 1968, an individual here in mid-Missouri who required emergent medical attention would have either been transported to a hospital by hearse or in the bed of a pickup truck," said Frank Mitchell, MD, former director of trauma services at University Hospital and the leading figure in the development of mid-Missouri's first advanced ambulance service. "The reason for this was that both vehicles provided the only horizontal transportation at that time. Even dedicated ambulances outside of central Missouri were based on the hearse-station wagon design and left little or no room for a paramedic or attendant. Basically what you had was a horizontal taxi." A surgeon who served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Mitchell recognized the importance of immediate medical attention to seriously injured personnel and embarked on a mission to provide mid-Missourians with a life-saving tool. "What we came up with was Arnold," Mitchell said. "Arnold" was the nickname of a 1968 Dodge shell van that University Hospital acquired and outfitted to transport critically injured patients from accident scenes and rural locations. In collaboration with the MU College of Engineering, Mitchell had the van wired to operate the medical equipment that would be used on board, as well as the lighting and siren system. Cabinetry to house the equipment was also designed, and a hanging litter was installed to secure the patient in the rear of the van. "It really was a wonderful vehicle for its time, and I'm proud of our first ambulance," Mitchell said. "But what we realized right away was that now that we had a fast responding vehicle and we had trained staff to operate it, we also needed to train the hospital's emergency staff as well for this kind of care." The process led to the development of intensive care units, specially trained rapid response teams, a special communication network and eventually the Frank L. Mitchell Jr. Trauma Center—central Missouri's only Level 1 trauma center. Today University Hospital operates four ambulances—three in Columbia and one in Ashland, Mo.—with another four vehicles on standby. The state-of-the-art units are climate-controlled and equipped with the latest in emergency medical technology. "Our newest technological acquisition benefits patients experiencing chest pain," said Eric Mills, assistant manager of ambulance services at University Hospital. "We now have the capability of transmitting an electrocardiogram, or EKG, to a physician in the emergency room via fax to assist in the diagnosis of a heart attack even before the ambulance reaches the hospital," he said. "This means that we can decrease the amount of time that elapses between the arrival of the individual in the emergency room and when specialized treatment begins." Outside of patient care, one of the most important aspects of University Hospital's Emergency Medical Services Department is EMS professional and outreach education. "We routinely educate emergency medical professionals, first responders and local health care providers on how to react to an emergent situation and treat the patient," said Mills. "Just as when Dr. Mitchell started the ambulance program here 40 years ago, we continue to progress with new advancements in technology and in education to shorten treatment times, because speed and knowledge are still the keys to successful outcomes." E-mail this page | | Print this page |
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