Mission & Overview

Our Mission

"The mission of the EMS bureau is to provide highly skilled, yet compassionate care to the sick and injured, resident and visitor alike; to provide adjunct and direct assistance at the scene of a fire, manmade or natural disaster; to provide public education in areas of medical care..."

Personnel

The Village of Schiller Park has been providing pre-hospital medical care at the paramedic level since 1977. The Fire Department’s Bureau of EMS consists of the EMS Coordinator, Lieutenant/Paramedics, Firefighter/Paramedics, and Civilian Paramedics. Additionally, the EMS Coordinator serves as the Village Privacy Officer and the Infection Control Officer.

The Fire Department’s EMS Bureau currently staffs two mobile intensive care ambulances, one Advanced Life Support Med-Engine and maintains one reserve ambulance. Our newest ambulance is a custom-built 2013 model, taking advantage of advances in ambulance design. Schiller Park has been a member of the Northwest Community EMS System since 1977.

On a typical medical emergency in Schiller Park, anywhere from three to five paramedics will be at the side of the patient.

Equipment & Procedures

The non-invasive diagnostic medical equipment carried by the Schiller Park paramedics can assist in providing rapid identification of several life threatening emergencies. The paramedics can continuously measure the patient’s blood pressure, the oxygen level in their blood, the carbon dioxide being produced by the body and can also monitor for carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas). This advanced technology allows the paramedics to perform many of the same initial tests done in the emergency room, thereby reducing the time before definitive care can be administered. The paramedics provide for advanced airway maintenance and administer a number of medications.

Schiller Park paramedics have the capabilities to provide pre-hospital 12-lead ECG monitoring, which is invaluable in the rapid identification of heart attacks. Once the paramedics begin monitoring patient’s heart activity, their equipment continues to closely monitor for rhythm changes and automatically notifies the paramedic of changes. Today, a patient who suffers from a certain type of heart attack (STEMI) may be transported to a specialty cardiac center, where, if identified in time, the patient has a good chance at not only surviving, but may experience a return to an active lifestyle.

Most important is identifying patients with acute heart attacks (STEMI), before they become a cardiac arrest victim. Through ongoing public education, including newsletter articles, many of our chest pain patients contact 911 earlier than patients in other communities. This results in better long-term outcomes. The Schiller Park paramedics worked closely with our nearest chest pain center, during their latest re-certification. Our department was recognized for their progressive work in cardiac care.

We now have improved care for brain-attack or stroke patients as well. The paramedics will perform a rapid assessment and patients meeting certain criteria would likely be transported to a stroke specialty center, rather than the closest hospital. The paramedics also treat and transport severely injured people to specialty trauma centers in the area. The paramedics also encounter many other types of medical emergencies.

Privacy Policy

We are also concerned about protecting the privacy of our patients. We follow the rules of the Health Insurance Portability Privacy Act (HIPAA). This law limits the way your medical information may be used. The Village Privacy Officer maintains the medical records of patients and trains village staff on the confidentiality of said record. Please review our Notice of Privacy (PDF).

If you have any questions about the programs offered by the bureau, please email the EMS Coordinator. He will be happy to assist you.