WHY RSI IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DE?
So with the current controversy and inconclusive literature about paramedic intubation, why did NCC EMS move forward with an RSI program? The decision came after years of planning, equipment enhancement, study of the perceived need for it, and airway management without paralytics. Delaware’s other county-based ALS systems had been using RSI for years before New Castle. The average transport time to community hospitals in the other two counties is longer, and transport to the nearest level 1 trauma center is best facilitated by helicopter. The average ground transport time to a level 1 trauma center in New Castle County is 10 minutes and approximately 30 minutes from the most outlying areas. With shorter transport times and access to a trauma center by ground, there was less of a perceived need for RSI in New Castle than in the other counties. But New Castle County recently experienced a population shift. Densely populated suburbs sprawled into the outlying rural areas. More people now
