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wires. Pushing a button on the defibrillator, they send a jolt of electricity into the patient. It would hurt if the patient were awake, but when a person needs defibrillation, they are nearly always uncon- scious. Only paramedics, and not EMTs, can use these devices. Carrying Patients After a patient is stabilized , or made com- fortable and ready for transport, the paramedics use a variety of gear to move the people. The best known is the rolling stretcher called a gur- ney. These have a pad for the person to lie on, as well as straps to hold them in place. The wheels help the paramedics move the person from the accident site to the ambulance. The wheels and gurney legs then collapse as the gurney is pushed into the back of the ambulance. Sometimes, a gurney won’t fit into the place a person is located. Another way to move patients in that case, if it can be done safely, is the stair chair. This is a rolling chair with straps. The patient

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