Legislators and advocates said Massachusetts needs to study underage drinking, protect high school athletes from sports injuries and regulate the number of paramedics in ambulances across the commonwealth, at a Health Care Committee hearing Wednesday at the Statehouse.
Barbara Harrington, the executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Massachusetts, asked the Legislature to create a study commission on underage drinking in universities.
“It should be a community effort,” she said. “We need to get everyone involved and get the public talking.”
Boston University professor Dr. Ralph Hingson of the School of Public Health supported Harrington’s position, citing Department of Justice statistics that show that 25 percent of the 11 million assaults committed in the United States are alcohol related. He added that half of all people who become alcohol dependent do so before age 25.
Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton) proposed a bill calling for a committee to study the trends of school-age athletic injuries. The concern behind the bill is that too many high school students incur injuries while playing sports because of a lack of appropriate safety gear.
One parent who supported the bill testified that he was shocked to learn his daughter’s high school field hockey team did not require the players to wear any sort of eye protection.
“It is important to investigate how to better protect youngsters,” he said.
An ophthalmologist representing the Massachusetts Institute of Eye Physicians reiterated the parent’s concerns and proposed a bill that would mandate proper eye protection in sports and allow students coverage for any sort of eye injury.
Emergency medical care was the hot issue at the hearing, however, as Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) proposed a bill that would require medical technicians to carry and be trained in the use of epinephrine, a drug that can help relieve shock.
Chandler argued that many people who receive emergency care suffer severe allergic reactions and that most paramedics are not trained to handle such situations or supplied with the correct materials, such as epinephrine.
“It is surprising how many children have allergies, and yet no EMTs carry epinephrine,” she said. She also said the topic is “a life saving issue” and a “gaping hole in our laws.”
Chandler said the bill would cost little and greatly benefit the community.
The debate also touched on how many paramedics should be required to ride in ambulances in Massachusetts. Currently, cities and towns determine the number of paramedics assigned to each ambulance on their own. A bill proposed by Rep. Paul Kujawski (D-Worcester) and Rep. Kathleen Teahan (D-Plymouth) suggests that the state only mandate a single paramedic to each ambulance.
Dr. Charles Housner, an emergency surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said having only one paramedic would be dangerous because one person cannot provide sufficient care in emergency situations.
“We have an obligation to our citizens to provide the highest level of care possible,” Housner said. “I strongly urge members of this Legislature to reject this bill.”
“Having two paramedics [per ambulance] makes sense,” said Dr. Stephen Epstein, president of the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians.
Stanley Portman, president and CEO of Action EMS, argued that not all municipalities and emergency care providers have enough staff or funding to meet a standard of two paramedics per ambulance. He added there was no need to define a standard of emergency care across the state.
“Decisions [on how to staff ambulances] should be left up to each medical provider or municipality,” Portman said.
However, few people agreed with Portman. Paramedics Derek Conman and Michael Flannigan emphasized the need for at least two paramedics, saying providers that could not meet this standard could apply for a waiver, but those that have the resources to comply with the law should.