News in Brief: November 2019

Study to examine EMS workers’ nutrition habits

University of Buffalo (UB) researchers will examine the eating habits of emergency medical services (EMS) workers, more than 70 percent of whom are overweight or obese, according to a press release from UB. Former EMS workers Dave Hostler and Brian Clemency proposed the study, and their prehospital research proposal was one of three the National Association of EMS Physicians and the Emergency Medicine Foundation selected for $5,000 in pilot funding. Hostler and Clemency plan to use the funding as part of an exploratory study that will lead to a larger trial.

The study will recruit 20 nightshift and 20 dayshift EMS clinicians in Western New York. Reportedly, this is the first study to examine the eating habits of EMS workers on and off duty. Researchers will also compare the rate of the presence of chronic health conditions among EMS clinicians with that of the general public.

Hostler, PhD, chair of exercise and nutrition sciences in UB’s School of Public Health and Health Professions, explains that the study will be focused on the relationship between EMS work and eating habits. “As a former paramedic, I know well that the unique lifestyle of an EMS provider makes it extraordinarily difficult to eat healthy,” he says. Hostler, who heads UB’s Center for Research and Education in Special Environments and the Emergency Responder Human Performance Lab, has worked closely with emergency personnel in research studies.

“I have seen firsthand in myself and in many of our EMS providers the challenges of living a healthy lifestyle while working outside of standard business hours. Overeating and eating the wrong types of foods, combined with a sedentary lifestyle in between calls, can have a detrimental effect on provider health, which can also impact patient safety,” notes Clemency, DO, an associate professor of emergency medicine and the director of the EMS Fellowship in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. He is also the medical director for more than 450 EMS providers from volunteer and career agencies in Western New York.

Additional information is available at the Web site buffalo.edu/news or call (716) 645-6969.

NVFC and IAFC-VCOS offer cancer risk posters

Posters representing 11 actions firefighters should take to reduce the risk of occupational cancer are now available for downloading by fire departments. The posters were part of the National Volunteer Fire Council and International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Lavender Ribbon Report: Best Practices for Preventing Firefighter Cancer.

The organizations recommend that all fire departments adhere to these best practices for reducing exposure to toxins and carcinogens. The posters can be displayed at the station as a reminder of these practices and can be used in social media, newsletters, and other correspondence as periodic safety reminders. The report and posters can be downloaded at www.nvfc.org/lrr or VCOS.org/BeatFFCancer.

ICC-CCWD 2018 code-wood design summary

The 2018 Code Conforming Wood Design (CCWD), a joint publication of the American Wood Council (AWC) and the International Code Council (ICC), contains a summary of the most important provisions related to the use of wood and wood products as they appear in the 2018 International Building Code (IBC).

Among these 2018 IBC code changes are the following:

• Alternatives for protecting attics in buildings using a National Fire Protection Association 13R automatic sprinkler system. This code change applies to construction designed in accordance with IBC Sections 510.2 and 510.4, based on the height of the roof above the lowest level of required fire department vehicle access.

• Provisions for a fire watch during nonworking hours when construction exceeds 40 feet in height above the lowest adjacent grade, if required by the fire code official. The IFC contains additional fire watch provisions.
• Updated references to AWC’s 2018 National Design Specification® for Wood Construction and 2018 Wood Frame Construction Manual.

“The complexity and scope of the IBC make it difficult for designers to know about all of the code provisions that affect the use of wood products in construction,” says Kenneth Bland, AWC vice president of codes & regulations. “CCWD consolidates and provides additional explanation for many of those provisions to make wood building compliance with the IBC as simple as possible. Most notable is the presentation of expanded tables which provide the maximum allowable building size for eight common occupancy groups.”

A free eCourse (BCD430), which provides an overview of the 2018 CCWD, is available at https://www.awc.org/education/ecourses/-in-tags/tags/bcd/. Continuing education units are provided for free. The 2018 CCWD, along with the 2015, 2012, and 2009 versions, can be downloaded for free at http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/buildingcodes/ccwd.

Intubation tool wins top prize in DEBUT competition

Top prizes in the eighth annual Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) challenge went to an intubation guidance system, a more accurate and rapid screening test for C. difficile infections (CDI), and a device that enables patients with tracheostomies to speak. The DEBUT challenge, which awarded $65,000 in prizes, was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and VentureWell, a nonprofit higher-education network that cultivates revolutionary ideas and promising inventions.

DEBUT received 52 applications from 32 universities in 18 states representing the efforts of 250 students. Selections were made on the basis of the following criteria: the significance of the problem being addressed; the impact on clinical care; the innovation of the design; and the existence of a working prototype.

First place in the competition went to “Touch: An Intubation Guidance System” developed by a team from Columbia University, New York City. It helps make intubation easier by providing the users with feedback when they are incorrectly pushing the tube into the trachea or esophagus.

A team from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, won second place with its rapid screening test called “C. Differently,” which is used to screen for CDI. The current tests for CDI take more than an hour, require a trained lab technician, and are costly. The C. Differently test can rule out CDI within five minutes, and it is paper-based, is portable, does not require expertise to use it, and is significantly cheaper than traditional testing.

Third place went to a team from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, for an attachment that helps patients with tracheostomies. The attachment combines a filter that captures humidity (reducing mucus) and a plug that blocks exhalation and enables the patients to speak. The patient can switch back and forth easily between the two functions. The device is reusable. The complete NIH release is at https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/improved-intubation-tool-wins-top-prize-undergraduate-biomedical-engineering-design-competition/.

New Jersey adopts ICC’s 2018 I-codes

The International Code Council (ICC) has announced that the State of New Jersey, under the guidance of its Department of Community Affairs, Division of Codes and Standards, in partnership with the state’s municipalities and affiliated code officials, has adopted its 2018 International Codes (I-Codes). The I-Codes are updated every three years to incorporate the latest technologies. The full list of adopted 2018 I-Codes in New Jersey as of Sept. 3, 2019, are at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/codreg/#3.