Yosemite Medical Clinic

Yosemite Medical Clinic

Yosemite Valley Ambulance 

Hello ProRangers and park people! This past week I spent time working in the Yosemite Medical Clinic triaging patients and assisting with medical procedures. In addition to my time in the clinic during the day, I have spent most of the last week on call covering the valley ambulance overnight. While the park is much quieter than usual due to the ongoing closure in response to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, a relatively large population of NPS and Aramark employees continue to reside in the park which necessitates staffing of the Medical Clinic and EMS services.

While working in the clinic, I primarily triage patients and assist with daily upkeep and operations. As a patient enters the clinic, they are brought back and assessed to determine their chief complaint or nature of illness. During this time, I assess vital signs and inform the receiving physician, nurse or doctor. For patients who are experiencing a cough, shortness of breath or fever, extra precautions are taken to ensure those healthcare providers working in the clinic, or on the ambulance, remain safe. Prior to entering the clinic, all patients are encouraged to wash their hands and wear a face mask if they are actively coughing. Patients who appear symptomatic are brought into a special triage room equipped with a negative pressure air purifying system. This system helps remove fine particles from the air which may harbor droplets infected with the COVID-19 virus. In addition to using a air purifying system, special personal protective equipment (PPE) is used while interacting with patients who may have the virus. For these patients, healthcare providers in the clinic wear a pair of gloves, a surgical gown, a n95 mask and a full face shield to protect the eyes and face. While this is not the most comfortable attire to wear, doing so ensures that suspected patients are not exposing anyone else to the virus. 

Example of the PPE utilized during an ambulance call

As of now, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 here in Yosemite or in any of the neighboring communities. While this is great news, it is important to stay vigilant and ensure all precautions are in place in the event someone tests positive. On the ambulances, extra PPE has been stocked to ensure providers are well equipped to respond to calls where a patient with COVID-19 may be encountered. As a precaution, all the valley ambulances were checked this past week to ensure compliance. To ensure all employees are staying up to date with the latest information and taking all necessary precautions, a incident management team (IMT) was established to handle all day to day communication and planning. The IMT is comprised of law enforcement officers, emergency services personnel, finance personnel, telecommunications personnel and a myriad of representatives from other branches.  Through the efforts of the IMT, park employees and residents are regularly informed of park operations and ways to reduce the risk of exposure. Witnessing the coordination among different park services and the implementation of an IMT is really interesting.

Inspecting one of the valley ambulances to ensure all necessary equipment is stocked

Although the park will be closed for the foreseeable future, I look forward to continuing my work in the Yosemite Medical Clinic and responding to calls on the valley ambulance. Check back next week to see what I have been up to!

Until next time,

ProRanger Caruso