Alaska/Magadan EMS project: phase two

In July, 1991, five members of the Alaska/Magadan Medical Exchange group visited the Magadan/Chukotka Region of the Soviet Far East, to continue studies of the emergency medical services (EMS) system, and to implement recommendations for system improvement developed during the previous year. During this exchange visit, major efforts focused on development of a rapid defibrillation system for the city of Magadan, technical assistance and training to upgrade burn treatment capabilities, and training and equipping prehospital emergency medical service providers to perform spinal immobilization techniques on traumatic injury patients. Further studies were conducted to compare EMS in the Magadan/Chukotka Region with EMS in Alaska, and recommendations are being presented for further collaborative projects.