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CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, Jan. 19 - Jan. 25, 2001 - 43
HEALTH & FITNESS
SCEMS director brings wealth of skill to county
By Kerry. Kester
Glenn Luedtke, who recently assumed
the directorship of Sussex County
Emergency Medical Services (SCEMS),
intends to continue the county's tradition of
being the state's leading agency for
improving emergency care delivery.
Education and growth are important ele-
ments in his professional life.
"My initial thrust will be to look at the
system...what's working
well and what could
work better," said
Luedtke. "There is no
ideal EMS service any-
where. It doesn't exist.
The profession is only
about 25 years old, so
we're just coming into
adulthood. Emergency LUEDTKE
medical service is an
evolving profession.
''The profession of a paramedic is evolv-
ing on almost a daily basis." For example,
said Luedtke, paramedics are continually
evaluating medical protocols and continu-
ing their educations to learn more about
new medicines and procedures, many of
which may be used in the field.
"Changes are just part of the profession;
it will be ongoing," he said. "The art is
making the right choices." Luedtke, who
served as the executive director for Cape
and Islands Emergency Medical Services
Systems Inc., said there are similarities in
that system and in Sussex.
"There's a sudden explosion in the sum-
mertime." he said. "Coupled the rural
nature of the area and therefore longer hos-
pital rides, the system differs greatly from
one found in a city," he said. "Wherever
you are, you have to tailor your approach to
the location that you're in," he said.
Before deciding to work in Sussex
County, he said, he learned about its sys-
tem. Some he learned from observation,
and he learned more about the county's
emergency medical service from his stu-
dents at George Washington University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences,
where is he an adjunct assistant professor.
Numerous paramedics in Delaware have
undergone their training at the Washington
D.C. school.
"Folks here should really have a lot of
confidence in their system," said Luedtke.
"Their paramedics are among the best I've
ever seen." Since paramedic training is
arduous, he said, one of his goals as direc-
tor is to ensure Sussex EMS doesn't follow
other areas in the medical profession, such
as nursing, in which there is a dire shortage
of employees.
"We put a lot of effort into getting good
people, and we want to put a lot of effort
into keeping good people," said Luedtke.
"Obviously, we want to foster an environ-
ment where we attract and keep good para-
medics."
Luedtke views his role in maintaining a
good staff as keeping closely connected
with the paramedics who are out in the
field, rather than administrating the
SCEMS from a remote vantage point. His
goal, he said, is "that we have good lines of
communication between administration
and the people doing the work in the
street."
His basic philosophy is simple: "People
come to work to do a good job, and if
you're appropriately supporting, they'll do
a good job. I've worked as a paramedic in
the street, and that's healthy. Obviously, I
have a feel for what people are up against."
Luedtke, who should be able to continue
serving as an adjunct professor at George
Washington, hopes he will have the oppor-
tunity to share his teaching skills with
Sussex paramedics.
He is an accomplished paramedic who is
currently certified as follows: nationally
registered emergency medical
technician/paramedic, Massachusetts-certi-
fied emergency medical technician/para-
medic, Massachusetts-certified emergency
medical technician instructor, prehospital
trauma life support instructor, basic trauma
life support instructor, advanced and basic
cardiac life support instructor, pediatric
advanced life support instructor, emer-
gency medical dispatch and basic telecom-
municator instructor, and national training
curriculum instructor for an incident com-
mand system.
Additionally, he has a Fire Instructor I
rating. "Fire service plays an important
role in emergency care," said Luedtke, who
served 17 years in a volunteer fire associa-
tion in Virginia, where he eventually served
as chief. He continues to maintain his
membership in the International
Association of Fire Chiefs.
Luedtke is also a member of 11 other
professional organizations pertaining to
emergency medical care. He has won
numerous awards from professional organ-
izations as well as from the U.S. Army,
where he earned a Meritorious Service
medal, Army Commendation medal, Army
Achievement Award, Good Conduct medal,
National Defense Service medal and Army
Service Award.
He has authored articles and has also
authored and presented video presentations
about emergency medical service-related
topics. He has often been a presenter at
EMS conferences.
Sussex County Council selected Luedtke
to serve in Sussex after conducting a
nationwide search to replace George
Torbert, who resigned in late fall.
In addition to his many professional
achievements, Luedtke is also an accom-
plished musician. He not only attended the
Peabody Conservatory of Music in
Baltimore, he also was a percussionist with
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from
1959 to 1964.
He has attended the following schools for
his work in emergency medicine: Johns
Hopkins University Summer Institute,
George Washington University School of
Medicine and Health Sciences, Northern
Virginia Community College and Fairfax
(Va.,) Hospital.
Luedtke's wife, Sherry, is a registered
nurse with 20 years of experience in emer-
gency nursing. She will be joining her hus-
band in Delaware after the Luedtkes sell
their home in Massachusetts. The couple
has two grown daughters who live in
Chicago and New York.
Part IV: Cycle of Addiction
How to overcome the barriers to recovery
Cravings, depression and guilt
are the three parts of the harness
that straps an addict into the
downward spiral of drug addic-
tion. In almost all cases, where
there has been a long period of
substance abuse, one finds the
above three symptoms. What is
the best approach to tear down
these barriers to successful recov-
ery?
Remember persisting drug
cravings are the first barrier to
recovery. These are caused by
drug or alcohol residues that store
primarily in body fat in the form
of metabolites. As mentioned in
an earlier article, metabolites are
the byproduct of the body's natu-
ral processes as it tries to digest or
break down drug toxins once they
are in the system.
The chemicals in these fat-
stored metabolites seem to have a
physical connection to memories
the addict has of the experiences
associated with using drug using.
The metabolites can reactivate or
come back into circulation in the
HEALTH TOPICS
CLARK CARR
Clark Carr is president of
Narconon International.
There are worldwide drug
rehabiliation centers using
the narconon prograr For
details, call 323-962-2404.
body at certain later times when
the former addict's body metabo-
lism increases.
Metabolism is basically the
speed of a body burning up ener-
gy. Increased metabolism is
known to occur when a person is
under stress, experiences strong
emotion, during exercise and
accompanying weight loss. Once
the drug metabolite chemicals can
again influence the body, whether
this is perceived consciously or
not, an uncontrollable urge to
again use drugs can overcome the
addict.
The active-in-the-body metabo-
lites trigger feelings, thoughts and
attitudes about drug use in the
addict, at both a physical and
mental level. When a loved-one
or family member asks a relapsing
addict, "Why did you do this
again when you knew it was
wrong?" and the addict answers,
"You just don't understand. It
was like a I had no choice! I can't
explain it," the above described
process of body-stored drugs
reentering circulation and trigger-
ing emotional and physical reac-
tions might best describe what has
happened.
There are a number of methods
that are being used today to
address this time bomb of drugs
storing in a drug user's fat tissue.
One attempt is intravenous ascor-
bic acid, or vitamin C treatment.
Another is fasting. More and
more, we are seeing emphasis
shifting to holistic treatments as a
significant component of sub-
stance abuse treatment planning.
An effective means of ridding
the body of stored drug metabo-
lites has proven to be a program
of aerobic exercise combined with
nutritional supplementation that
utilizes vitamin B3 (niacin) and
extensive sweating in low-heat
dry saunas. This detoxification
method was researched and devel-
oped by L. Ron Hubbard in 1978,
and has helped improve the rate of
recovery from addiction by elimi-
nating the physical triggers that
create drug cravings. It is this
process, called the New Life
Detoxification program, that is
utilized at Narconon drug and
alcohol rehabilitation centers.
Depression is another signifi-
cant barrier to recovery. The
depression an addict experiences
is twofold. There is a chemical
imbalance that drug and alcohol
abuse all by itself creates in the
body. Drugs and alcohol inhibit
the production of natural body
chemicals and in some cases
replace them. This affects the nat-
ural body reward system that
encourages our sense of physical
well-being or eliminates pain after
injury. This biophysical aspect of
the chemical imbalance present in
drug abusers is driven by nutri-
tional deficiencies that are the end
result of regular use of drugs or
alcohol.
In most cases, the emotional
depression that an addict experi-
ences follows after a person
comes off drugs or alcohol, not
before. One very real reason for
this sense of depression is the
declining quality of life a drug-
user experiences. Another is his or
her state of decaying health.
Usually, the addict has alienated
himself from family members and
Continued on page 44