The ambulance stretcher is one of the most-used pieces of equipment on an ambulance. “Back in my day,” the stretcher didn’t have batteries, didn’t load itself into the ambulance, and didn’t weigh more than me. We even carried the stretcher up stairs and into houses sometimes. The failure points were obvious. Admittedly, EMS providers sustained more back injuries in those days. Now, stretchers raise and lower themselves, load themselves into the ambulance, and weigh so much that we almost never carry them anywhere. “Kids these days” don’t know how good they have it. Unfortunately though, battery-powered stretchers hide their limitations and failure points from plain view, allowing providers to “get away with” unsafe practices until it’s too late and a patient is on the ground. Let’s slow down and review safer stretcher operations.

Mandatory Non-Core, Patient Lifting & Moving