What Motivates Us to Excel? A Personalized Look at Employee Engagement
Photo National Highway Traffic Safety Administration A file photo of a 911 call center.   Knowing and studying engagement can yield some great techniques to encourage engagement with your staff but nothing beats firsthand knowledge of what motivates your staff. When we started asking this of the crews, we had some of the same questions that others may have. What would make anyone in their right mind run into, rather than away from, a stressful and possibly dangerous situation day after day to altruistically care for others? Some of the answers are what you would expect and others were somewhat of a surprise. Many...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - August 10, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Chuck Gipson MA, NRP / CCP Tags: Exclusive Articles Communications & Dispatch Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

The Art and Science of Improving Resuscitation
For over 40 years as a physician, researcher, author and EMS medical director, Mickey Eisenberg has led the charge for increasing sudden cardiac arrest survival rates and is one reason for the success that Seattle and King County, Washington, have demonstrated in saving people’s lives. Eisenberg first came to Seattle and the King County EMS system, known as Medic One, in the 1970s. Under the guidance of Drs. Leonard Cobb and Michael Copass, Eisenberg helped take the Medic One system that had started in Seattle and implement it throughout the entire county. At the same time, he combined his public health education and his...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - July 30, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Exclusive Articles Cardiac & Resuscitation Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

2018 EMT Course Census: Why Are People Taking EMT Courses?
For many, the first step into the world of EMS takes place by seeking and taking an EMT course. Many different types of individuals take EMT courses, including firefighters, those interested in the medical field, and individuals seeking a change in career. Initial EMT courses offer students exposure to the medical field, a bit of anatomy and physiology, and insights into very basic pharmacology. EMT programs usually last anywhere from six weeks to several months. Methods To better understand the demographics of an EMT course, the intent of this article is to share the EMT-initial class enrollment of a training center in th...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - July 25, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Aditya Shekhar Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Building a More Effective and Efficient EMS Quality Improvement System
At Community Ambulance, we’ve always felt that we provide high-quality medical care to our communities across several counties in Georgia. I certainly felt that way during my time here as a paramedic and field supervisor: We took education seriously, and we had quality compliance managers who were tasked with keeping an eye on our patient care reports (PCRs) to ensure we completed them properly and provided appropriate care. I’m sure most EMS organizations are currently in the same boat we were in a few years ago: We thought we were doing a great job, but did we really know whether we were, or how we could get better? ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - June 11, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Lane Kilpatrick, NRP Tags: Exclusive Articles Documentation & Patient Care Reporting Source Type: news

Houston ED Opioid System Integrates Assertive Outreach with Comprehensive Care for Opioid Use Disorder
Eight months ago, 35-year old Adam Smith (name changed to protect the patient’s identity) was living in his car in Houston, dealing with the fallout from opioid use disorder (i.e., addiction). Even after years of seeking help, he was struggling to pick up the pieces after spending time in jail, ruining relationships, being let go from jobs and losing homes. Adam is one of more than two million people dealing with opioid use disorder, a devastating brain disease with negative consequences to individuals, as well as their families and communities. Adam was fortunate to have been connected to HEROES, a proactive treatment p...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - June 6, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: James Langabeer II, PhD, EMT Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Mobile Integrated Healthcare Source Type: news

A Pledge: Setting a Course Toward Making a Difference in EMS
Have you ever made a pledge? As a school teacher, I made a pledge each morning when I said the Pledge of Allegiance with each class. There are other pledges I have made. A pledge to pay my mortgage, a pledge to be faithful to my wife, a pledge to defend my country when I was sworn into the Navy, and a pledge to a friend to pray for him as he fought an illness. No doubt, you have made similar pledges throughout your life. In fact, so many pledges seem to water down our thoughts about the seriousness of our pledges. Each of my classes over the years has stood at attention outside in ranks, saluted the flag of the United Stat...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - May 15, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: William P. Richard, EMT-P Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

EMS Week and Going ‘Beyond the Call’: The Federal Perspective
The first EMS Week was celebrated in 1974, shortly after the creation of the Division of Emergency Treatment and Transfer of the Injured at the National Highway Safety Bureau—the predecessor of today’s Office of EMS in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Since that time, NHTSA has supported national EMS projects that have shaped the profession for more than a generation. In 2019, NHTSA and its federal partners have continued to build on that legacy with the release of EMS Agenda 2050 and the 2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model and other projects of national significance. In May, communitie...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - May 15, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Is Your Organization Leaving Money on the Table?
Across the U.S., unpaid emergency transport bills are costing counties millions of dollars each year. For example, in 2017, Commissioners in Palm Beach County, Florida, approved writing off $11.8 million in “uncollectable emergency transport patient accounts.”1 Similarly, the city of Berkeley, California, reported a five-year average of uncollected ambulance fees amounting to $2.6 million per year.2 Soft billing practices, lack of billing transparency and increasing out-of-pocket expenses as a result of high deductible plans have all contributed to the growing debt across EMS agencies. With the passing of the Bipartisa...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - May 15, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Eric Foust, MBA Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

What ’s in a Title? Why Credentialing EMS Leaders Matters
Brian LaCroix is the president of the National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA), an organization for leaders representing all service models. Brian recently retired from his role as president and EMS chief for Allina Health EMS, a hospital-based system with headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving more than 100 communities with more than 600 employees. It was named career service of the year by the NAEMT in 2017. Brian began his career in 1983 and has worked as a volunteer firefighter, EMT, paramedic, educator, author, peer counselor, manager and executive officer. Q: Why is supporting and credentialing leaders in t...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - April 17, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Training EMS Insider Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Caring for the Caregiver: I ’m Not OK, But That’s OK
“We’re here to serve others, and they’re important. But they’re not more important than we are.”1 Retired EMT and iconic author Thom Dick shared this consideration in his aptly titled book, People Care. Thom went on to explain how valuable each of us are as caregivers and that most importantly, “first things first: take care of yourself.1 To some, this mindset may seem quite self-centered and in total contrast to what many of us have come to live our careers by: that we are here to serve others and the patient always comes first. Healthcare systems that have modernized how they deliver services have moved away ...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - April 17, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Kevin Smith, BAppBS, ACP Tags: EMS Insider Exclusive Articles Resiliency Operations Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Too Many Medics? Debating a Tiered Response vs. All-ALS EMS System
There’s been an ongoing debate in EMS, emergency medicine and fire service literature regarding whether or not having too many paramedics practicing at the ALS level leads to skill degradation and negative patient outcomes. These concerns have stemmed from the growing number of ALS-only EMS systems across the United States—a departure from more regionalized systems of ALS, where a paramedic unit (or units) served a number of communities that were supported by BLS services. These systems are largely being replaced by instituting paramedic services in all communities, and includes both paramedics staffing ambulances as w...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - April 16, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Stephen P. Wood, MS, ACNP-BC Tags: Exclusive Articles Operations Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Thinking About Applying for CMS ’ New ET3 Model?
The EMS community has been buzzing since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced the Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) Model. CMS has conducted a national press conference and three webinars explaining the model. Although many aspects of the program are still in development, the main tenets of the model have been well articulated and ambulance services will likely become eligible to apply by mid to late summer. Given the ambitious timeline communicated by CMS, it’s not too early to begin thinking about considerations if you are evaluati...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - April 4, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Brent Myers, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAEMS Tags: EMS Insider Top Story Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Cape Breton Paramedic Conference: Looking Back and Moving Forward
The Cape Breton Paramedic Conference takes place just outside of Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada, every September. The first conference was held in 2013, after a group of frontline paramedic clinicians, educators and administrators had a vision of delivering world-class education to the paramedics of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. The three-day conference, held this year on Sep. 27-29, is attended by approximately 120 people at the Gaelic College in St. Ann’s, a beautiful location nestled in the woods of the world-renowned Cabot Trail, overlooking scenic St. Ann’s Bay. The conference boasts an exceptional educational experi...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - April 2, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Walt A. Stoy, PhD, EMT-P Tags: Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Top Story Source Type: news

A Familiar Mountain Named Streetsense
As autumn lingers and winter waits in the wings with its icy breath, I find myself pondering time again. The trees in the hardwood forest outside my office window are still leafy, but they are late-fall dun and backdropped by a slate-grey sky. All too soon, the branches will reach up bare and stark. The seminal guide for street-smart EMTs and paramedics, Streetsense: Communication, Safety and Control will be released soon in a refreshed 4th edition from JEMS Books and Videos. Here inside, it’s time at last (after three months of preliminaries) to start over again on my first book, Streetsense: Communication, Safety and C...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - March 26, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Kate Dernocoeur, NREMT Tags: Columns Top Story Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news

Improving EMS Patient Care with Communication Technologies
We sat down with Chief Barry Luke, Deputy Executive Director at the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), to discuss how new communications technologies benefit EMS patient care.Chief Luke has more than 44 years of experience in public safety communications as a firefighter, paramedic and police officer. He’s well known in the public safety community as a vocal advocate of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) and respected leader on emergency communications. He also supported the development of the new resource, NG911 For Leaders in EMS. Q: Communication technologies are developing at a rapid pace. How will...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - March 20, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: JEMS Staff Tags: Top Story Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Communications & Dispatch Source Type: news