Shelf layout

[EmergencyAshlie]

Hey, I've searched other threads for anything similar and couldn't find any so I apologize if this is a repost.

My question is; "how do you organize the shelves in your ambulance?"

We just bought 4 new trucks and are about to put them on the road. They're all going to different stations, and the crews have been told that we're allowed to arrange and organize them as we'd like. We've all gotten together and decided that we want to arrange them the same. It looks better, and we want any crew member from any station to be able to jump on a truck at a moments notice and not have to guess at where things are.

As of right now my (current, not the new one) truck is set up nicely organized - cannulas, capno cannulas, NRB, neb masks, Tset pipes, Albuterol, and Atrovent all in one small cabinet above the action area. All of our bandages, tape, sterile saline etc. are in another cabinet. The entire truck is set up like this.

So everything is, for the most part, contained, organized, and has a place.

I'm just wondering how others keep their trucks? For instance, I've seen people keep their IV tray/bag/kit inside a shelf. We keep ours on the action area. What are some tips/tricks/advice you have? It's a mini-mod box, and will be a fully stocked ALS unit.

We've got a lot of people that have been doing this for a while, and several strong personalities so any ideas we can bring to the table would be great!Thanks in advance!

 

[Ace 227]

We have several different styles of ambulances in my ALS service. The ones I prefer to work on are crest-lines with all the cabinets on one side(opposite the bench).

Working from front to back we have airway supplies, IV supplies/fluids, Trauma supplies/miscellaneous(PPE, cleaning supplies). So ~cabinet with 2 shelves per category. I like this set up because everything is laid out in front of you and airway is near the head/airway seat.

We also have our monitor in the action area along with clipboards, pens, etc.

Some of our other trucks have pull out drawers and cabinets on both sides and I just find having to turn around to find things to be annoying.

 

[DesertMedic66]

All of or stuff is orginazed together. Everything to do with airway is up by the jump seat. Everything to do with bandaging and bleed control are kept in a shelve right abve everything to do with IVs/Blood draws. All the meds are kept together.

 

[Handsome Robb]

The grammar is bad, I'm pretty tired and need to go to bed but here's a decent list of how ours are set up.

Looking in from the rear doors, is type III EVG box then back left cabinet is cleaning supplies, blankets pillows, things like that. The cabinet above that is BLS trauma supplies, bio bags/bins, n95 and surgical masks, random tidbits like that.

The cabinet just to the left and above when seated in the CPR chair is adult NCs, NRBs, hand held nebs, albuterol, duoneb, respiratory grade NS bullets, ECG stickers, defib pads, spare cables and pulse ox stickers.

Seated in the airway chair facing the back up and to the left is Everything else airway that hasn't been mentioned. ETTs, Kings, surgical and needle crich kits, BVMs with various masks, PEEP valves, CPAP, inline nebulizer kits, bougies, stylets, OPAs, NPAs, suction, OG/NGs.

Above the pass through between the cab and the box is OB, burn sheets, IO, trauma dressings, chem blankets, crew organophosphate kits.

Looking forward through the pass rough th cabinet on the left is. The drug cabinet. To the right has flares, portable suction, postal storage space, new units have a temp controlled cabinet and the drugs go in there and their cabinent is deleted to have a larger pass through. above that is the double locking narcotics safe.

Above the bench seat is anything IV or medication administration related. NS bags, dip sets, angiocaths, start kits, locks, NS prefills, syringes, hypodermic needles, filter needles, and some other random stuff I can't remember.

Under the bench is class C hazmat gear, urinals, bed pans, tool kits.

Triage kit is hanging in the cab behind the passenger seat.

Passenger side front outer cabinet connects to the one inside with portable suction and what not.

Small rear passenger side compartment is head blocks.

Tall passenger side rear cabinet is the scoop, 3 LSBs, a KED, a SAGER Splint, a pediatric backboard and the hanging flat for hanging a supine patient from the roof.

Rear driver side outer compartment connected to the housekeeping/pillow cabinet.

Middle low outer compartment on the driver's side is the stair chair and more crew storage space. Front outer driver compartment has the m tank and a shovel.

 

[Tigger]

We barely fill out ambulances they are so damn big. The left side is all cabinet and counter space and from back to front:

The lower left cabinet is split in two. The left side has any and all peds equipment (including airway) and OB. The right side is bandaging and splinting supplies and other things of that nature. Above that is sort of an odds and ends compartment, spare monitor and suction batteries, spare cot battery, and extra EKG stickies and combo pads. To the right is the IV area, one side has a fluid warmer and six bags, the other has all the tubing setups and med pump supplies. Below that is a drop down, key pad cabinet with the narc pouch, and below that is now a monitor mount. The drawers and small sliding cabinet have all the medications. Under the counter is all the cleaning supplies.

The cabinets above the airway chair have all the airway equipment, O2 on one side, advanced airway on the other. Above the pass through is a fridge (RSI meds, racemic epi, ice cream stolen from EMS rooms), below it is odds and ends (triage tags, sterile gloves, blah blah). To the right of that is the inside/outside cabinet. The top half has the vent, CPAP, suction, and peds bag. Bottom has airway bag and extra D cylinder. The monitor and med bag live in front of that. Each has a male seatbelt buckle on it, and they get buckled to mounted ends during transport. Linens under the bench. The rear of the bench has two small cabinets with all our IV access supplies, syringes, and other small stuff.

Drivers side outside front to back: first compartment has M tanks, second has ATV helmets, flares, and an inflatable car seat. Back corner has spare tire, stair chair, and various tools. Passenger front to back, bag compartment, small compartment with all c-spine stuff, and then tall compartment with 2 boards, scoops, traction, and pedi board.

And yes I had to right all that out for my probationary period haha.

 

[EmergencyAshlie]

Thank you all for your input! Every suggestion helped!