Monmouth Fire Department Captain Craig Cozadd explains how they distinguish and handle diabetic patients from others:
“When they’re diabetic, you don’t really know that they are. Signs and symptoms of a diabetic can be similar to being under the influence of alcohol, stroke situations—they all kind of mimic each other. So, the protocol we use to try to discern what we’re dealing with right away is to check their blood glucose level. If that’s in the parameters, then we know it’s something else, generally. An adult is usually between 80 and 110/120 somewhere in their blood glucose level. Everyone is affected differently; some people can be a lot lower than that and not be affected—it just depends on each situation.”
Cozadd also reminds us that all the firefighters at the Monmouth Fire Department are EMT basics and paramedics. They carry medication on them and are highly trained to deal with emergency medical situations.
