Let's face it: Pediatric patients can be intimidating. They're small, they cry a lot, they require different medication dosages, and, fortunately, we don't run into them with great frequency.

In the event of a pandemic or other health emergency, hospital emergency departments and intensive care units can become overwhelmed. Doctors, nurses, and medical personnel are being asked to go above and beyond to protect patients — and to do it quickly.

It was the third vehicle crash of the shift. The first two were minor – low-speed fender benders with minor injuries. This one was different: a high-speed impact involving an unrestrained driver. The facial injuries were extensive.

The call came in the moment you placed your gear on the truck—a high-speed crash at that same dangerous intersection. Police on the scene are reporting they have three patients, one of whom is in cardiac arrest. CPR is being administered by bystanders. You hit your siren and respond.

The elderly patient began vomiting blood early that morning. You arrive on the scene and are rushed inside by the woman’s daughter, who quickly fills you in on the patient’s history–late-stage esophageal cancer. The woman is sitting up in bed, alert and clearly frightened, with bright red blood staining her chin and chest. She is gasping for breath as you quickly set up your equipment, but when you turn on the portable suction unit, nothing happens. You exchange frantic glances with your partner and scramble for a Plan B. 

Individuals with special needs make up an increasing proportion of outpatient populations. Better equipment, more effective medications, and the rising cost of medical facilities mean more special needs individuals are being cared for at home by family, friends, and home health personnel.

This means you, as an EMS professional, will run into such patients with greater regularity.

As an EMS professional, you rely on your equipment. Imagine for a moment what it was like just 50 years ago, when emergency transport meant simply placing a patient in the back of a makeshift ambulance (typically a station wagon) and driving as fast as you could to a hospital. Things have certainly improved not only for our patients but for providers as well.

Those of us in the medical profession know how important quality equipment is to overall patient care. We are only as good as our equipment; if it doesn't function well, it's hard for us to do our best. 

At SSCOR, we pride ourselves on providing suction that lasts — both in our devices’ consistent performance during each use and the machines’ long lifecycles. 

Each of those characteristics are enhanced with routine maintenance, of course. Emergency medical personnel are well aware their equipment must remain as close to new condition as possible — and, not to mention, sanitized.

Portable suction can be a quick emergency intervention, a long-term treatment for patients under anesthesia, or a way to maintain safety and hygiene for people on ventilators. No matter how and when you use suction, no matter how routine it seems, it’s important to remember that no patient is routine. Each has their own story and own unique needs. Equally important, each presents a risk of infection and contagion if you do not correctly manage waste and clean up after suctioning. Here are the things you must check every time you use a portable suction machine.