Medical

This is the homepage for the Health Team of Occupy Boston.

Donations & Supply Requests

[coming soon!]

Donations we DO NOT accept

[coming soon!]

How to Help

If you would like to be a part of the Health Working Group, please stop by the Medic Tent and/or send an email to occupybosmedic@gmail.com

[more detailed orientation coming soon!]

Health Team Protocols & Policies

The following Protocols and Policies have been consensed on by the Health Team at our weekly meetings.  All decisions are welcomed to be revisited, edited, and changed as needed through consensus process at meetings, or in the case of smaller decisions, over e-mail.

Health Tent Standards of Care

General guidelines for all Occupy Boston Medics:

• Wear gloves

 Regardless of whether you are dealing with or expect to deal with bodily fluids

• Ask for consent from the person seeking care

We respect the rights of people to make decisions for their own bodies and treatment.

• Stay within your Scope of Practice

Do not provide treatment outside of or above what you are trained to do.  Get help: refer the patient elsewhere or call for an Occupy Boston medic with more training.

• Follow “Do No Harm” protocols

Restrict your treatment to practices with effects that can only be neutral or helpful to patients given your training and experience.  Remember we are a phone call from 911.  See medic.wikia.com for examples.

Health Tent Intake and Assessment Protocol

Guidelines for all care at the Occupy Boston Health Tent:

• Introduce yourself and identify your skill level to the person seeking care

My name is X and I am an EMT/RN/First Aid certified/Social Worker, etc.

• Ask for consent

“Is it ok if I treat you?”

• Ask open-ended questions to figure out what the issue is, how the person seeking care would like to treat the issue, and if there are underlying or hidden issues at play:
  • “What’s your name?”
  • “How would you like me to refer to you (name, gender pronoun)?”
  • “What’s going on?”
  • “Tell me what happened”
  • “Has this happened before?”
  • “How do you treat it usually?”
  • “Is there anything else we should know about you before we treat you?” (pre-existing condition; recent substance use; support system; fears or anxiety)
  • “Have you eaten, drank, slept, kept warm, gone to the bathroom in the past 12 hours?”
  • “What’s been going on for you in the last 24 hours?”
  • “Do you have any allergies? Are you allergic to any medications?”

• Explain treatment options and ask them what they prefer.

Again, ask for consent if you plan to treat them (think about referrals and your own level of training; ask for help if needed)

• If they consent, provide treatment
• Fill in the log book

Intake and Assessment Protocol for Mini-visits

When people are just popping in for a medication, band aid, cough drop, still be sure to ask:

• “Are you allergic to any medications?”
• “Have you taken this medication recently? When and how much?”
• If necessary, educate the person seeking care about dose and possible side effects of the medication

Health Tent Logbook Protocol

All logbook entries should follow this format:

• Patient identifiers:
  • First initial of patient*
  • age (optional)
  • gender (optional)
• Condition that was treated
• Type of treatment provided
• Notes/concerns
• Need for follow up
• Name of person who provided care and their phone number.

• Avoid using specific identifying information for patients (don’t use full name or specific descriptions)

THE LOGBOOK MUST REMAIN IN THE MEDIC TENT AT ALL TIMES

Explanation:
The goal is to ensure both patient privacy to the highest degree while still allowing future medics to have the information necessary to treat returning patients.

Health Tent Shift Protocol

[coming soon!]

Health Tent Supply Guidelines

[coming soon!]

Health Team Neutrality Guidelines

• On marches, medics marked with a red cross will act "tactically neutral"

They will support the march by their presence but refrain from engaging in the tactics of the march (like chanting or carrying banners).  If youare 'on duty' (i.e. wearing medic markings), you are a medic first.  Feel free to carry first aid supplies without identifying yourself as a medic if you want to be ready to help but also engage in the protest.

• Get consent before engaging in political, emotional, and counseling-type discussions amongst medics, and refrain from doing so while patients are present

Respect each others' diverse viewpoints, stress levels, and desires by asking before plowing into any charged discussions while 'on duty' (in the Health Tent, running as a marked medic).  Keep this stuff just between medics, so as not to alienate folks seeking care (again, only applies while 'on duty').

• Political signs/clothes/etc: While 'on duty' (marked as a medic, in the Health Tent), be conscientious of the impact these may have on folks seeking care

Dress and act in ways that are approachable and do not exclude people from care.  We respect that this is a political event and many of us are here for specific political reasons.  Use your judgment.

Health Tent Media Policy

• No media of patients (even with their consent) or care
• No media inside the tent; keep the area outside the tent relatively clear & accessible
• To interview an offduty medic, get consent and do it in a different location

Explanation:

The purpose of the media policy is to ensure the Health Tent space is kept clear and accessible for patients and care.  Even if everyone currently at the tent consents to media, we do not know who is choosing to stay away because of media's presence.  In an emergency, extra bodies and equipment add distraction, crowding, and invasion of privacy-- best to keep them away entirely.  Note this policy does NOT interfere with medics/health folks giving interviews, but do it only while someone else can cover the tent, and do it in a different location.

Resources for Health Team Members

[links, handouts, referals, etc etc coming soon!]

Resources for All Occupy Boston Participants

[links, handouts, referals, etc etc coming soon!]

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[below are stuff from the old wiki page that will be parsed through and either deleted or edited into the above wiki!!]

Staying Healthy in Tent City

Here’s a PDF guide for how to stay healthy during the Occupation from your friendly Boston Street Medics, so read it!

Right-click and Save As

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Risking Arrest with Health Conditions

• If you have any health condition that might pose serious health problems if your medication is interrupted (such as: retroviruses, psychiatric disorders, diabetes, hypertension, or asthma), you should be aware that you may not have access to proper medication while you are in jail. A letter from a doctor may help. Three copies of the letter are needed, one for the legal team, one for the medical team (these will be kept completely confidential) and one for you.
• It should include the following information: your name, diagnosis, that you must have access at all times to your medication, a list of all medication, that you must be allowed to keep medication on yourself so that they can be properly administered, and that no substitutions are acceptable.
• Since your name must be on the document, you may want to hide it on your body as a sort of insurance policy–perhaps you won’t need it and then could eat it and utilize solidarity tactics. We believe that revealing your name and cooperating with the jailers to ensure your health is more beneficial to all than having to deal with a serious medical problem. Better to cite out than pass out.
• Please make sure that your Medic Team and the Legal Team is aware of your needs so they can help care and advocate for you.
• Carrying essential medications in their original prescription bottles with your name and the drug, dosage, etc. may help you get access to them in jail.

Avoiding Tear Gas and Pepper Spray

• Those with asthma, respiratory problems or infections, pregnant women, women attempting to get pregnant, anyone ill or with a poor immune system, seizure disorders, eye infections, contact lens wearers, and children.
• Tear gas and pepper spray are very painfully for the eyes and can cause a very hard breathing environment. Make sure to bring something to cover the mouth and eyes when necessary.
• Poring milk on the eyes help against the pain of pepper spray and applying soaked towels around your nose and mouth with lemon juice, cider vinegar or soda-pop help against tear gas. Wash your skin with soap and water and make sure to get rid of you contact lenses if present.
• Contact lenses trap the irritating gases and chemical compounds underneath them and may increase the amount of damage and irritation. Get prescription glasses now and warn others not to wear contact lenses!
• Menstrual Periods/Pregnancy : A significant number of women gassed experience immediate onset of menstruation outside their normal cycles.
• Some reported menstrual irregularities lasting for months. At least one spontaneous abortion – or miscarriage -has been reported.
• Reaction to chemical exposure will be greater with the presence of some skin conditions such as acne or severe eczema.
• Tear gas and pepper spray contain oily solvents that will slowly dissolve rubber and plastic, so don’t buy really expensive gear. This means that your goggles will only provide temporary protection. Also remember that the straps of your gear will absorb the chemicals and eventually begin to irritate the skin beneath.

Pepper Spray Awareness

• Since pepper spray is often sprayed at a close distance, the police may try to:
  • Physically remove your goggles/breathing protection.
  • Spray between your face and your goggles/mask (which if your hands are locked down, makes them a trap for the chemical).
• It can be hazardous. People have died from respiratory failure (no protesters that we are aware of).
• Asthmatics should bring their broncho dilators.
• The propellants and/or active ingredients can cause cancer, are mutagenic and hence potentially teratogenic. One form of tear gas (CN) is 50% solvent -the solvent, methylene chloride, is a highly toxic chemical which can cause altered central nervous system function.

Note: Thanks to Bob from OccupyDC for this information.

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Based on: Medical at wikispaces