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In This Issue
The Center for EMS Leadership, Innovation
and Research in EMS
The Big National Conference
Top Discussions on NEMSMA Listserv
Useful Links
NEMSMA Listserv (Google Groups)
Best Practices in Emergency Services
North Central EMS Cooperative
Top Discussions on NEMSMA Listserv
The NEMSMA listserv is open to all interested parties. All you have to do is have a valid email address and sign up at nemsma.org.
While many interesting topics are posted on the listserv, here are the top three for September:
1. Dress For Interview
A lesson on how paramedic applicants should dress when applying for a job. Most agreed that you cannot overdress for an interview and that tattoos should be covered and piercings removed. Personal hygiene and professionalism in general were also discussed.
2. IAFF Service Delivery Model
Discussion on the recent IAFF/IAFC marketing campaign designed to promote the Fire Service as the best delivery model for EMS. During a very passionate discussion most agreed that there are different delivery models for EMS that work in different places and there is no "one model fits all."
3. Data Question
This discussion centered on evidence based medicine and time critical procedures. It stemmed from the case in NJ where 2 medics performed a C Section on a woman in cardiac arrest and saved the life of a baby. There was also discussion of response times and whether or not there was evidence that a specific response time improves patient outcomes.
Best Practices News
If you would like to update the Best Practices mailing list, please email or call:
Lindsay Richey
760-632-8280 x233
Contact Us
679 Encinitas Blvd.
Suite 211
Encinitas, CA 92024
Ph: 760-632-7375
Fax: 866-448-1436
Email: info@NEMSMA.org
NEMSMA Sponsors
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The Center for EMS Leadership, Innovation
and Research in EMS Unveiled
 Last month we introduced you to a new logo with no explanation when we announced The BNC in St. Louis February 1-5, 2010. This month we’re ready to share some great news about that logo.
About CLIR
The NEMSMA and NCEMSI boards recently decided to create The Center for EMS Leadership, Innovation and Research in EMS (CLIR). We intend to brand our activities, which are consistent with CLIR’s mission, under the new entity. For example, those of you that participate in our joint, longstanding, benchmarking program will see that branded under CLIR when we start collecting and blinding your 2009 data early next year. The 2010 BNC is already branded under CLIR.
We’re really excited about the partnership CLIR has established with the Center for Emergency Medicine in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh), one of many partnerships we hope to establish. The North Central EMS Institute has funded focused research with Pittsburgh over the past several years, with emphasis on projects that add value to Paramedic Services**. This research has focused on paramedic* satisfaction with available career advancement opportunities, safety attitudes and an exploration of the cost of turning over staff. For those of you who participated in one or more of those projects, thank you. Now, we’re ready to move to the next level.
Get Involved
Together with Pittsburgh, we are establishing the EMS Agency Research Network for Quality and Safety Improvement (EMSARN). We think a lot of you are ready to participate in research but don’t know how to get started. This is your opportunity! We seek to establish a network of Paramedic Services** representing each geographical Census region, with a mix of providers from basic to advanced, who will commit to participating in one, two or all three of our continuing research projects for a 3-year period. This is your opportunity, from the smallest basic service to the largest advanced service, to make a difference for our profession.
EMSARN will conduct research on three projects over the next three years. These projects include 1) continuing our work on defining the cost of employee turnover, 2) an objective assessments of the safety attitudes and 3) team work of paramedics*. The participation requirement ranges between the three studies from monthly to semi-annually. There is something everyone can participate in, no matter how small or complex your Paramedic Service** is.
We’re ready to sign you up, but we know you will have lots of questions. We're providing up to six opportunities for you to learn more about the research and the commitment required to becoming part of EMSARN. We have scheduled webinars for 10am and 1pm Central time on December 21, 22 and 23. If there is need to conduct an evening session, let us know and we’ll accommodate.
Sign up for your webinar today
Signing up is only a commitment to learn more, it is not a commitment to become an EMSARN agency. We want you to be fully informed, and if you’re ready, we’re ready for you. If you’re not ready yet, there will be future opportunities to participate. To sign up to learn more, go to the CLIR website at http://www.clirems.org/ and click on the link for webinar registration.
Thank you for being part of NEMSMA, we value your friendship.
Gary Wingrove, NEMSMA President
*NCEMSI and NEMSMA honor the internationally standardized EMS naming convention established by the International Roundtable on Community Paramedicine. IRCP has standardized EMS provider names to be EMR - Emergency Medical Responder for first responders, PCP - Primary Care Paramedic for EMTs, ICP- Intermediate Care Paramedic for Advanced EMTs, ACP – Advanced Care Paramedic for paramedics, CCP – Critical Care Paramedic for those beyond the scope of the paramedic, and Community Paramedic as a label added to one of these for a person trained by an accredited college in prevention, primary care, disease management and patient education.
**Additionally, to clear up confusion when the label EMS is used, IRCP encourages jurisdictions to refer to transporting ambulance services as “Paramedic Service” in order to distinguish the transport service from both first response services and first receiver services.
The Big National Conference for Leaders of Little and Medium EMS Agencies
February 1-5, 2010
Casino Queen
East St. Louis, Illinois
Finally, a unique gathering specifically designed to develop managers and leaders in small and medium sized EMS agencies.
A national and international faculty will present four outstanding programs:
- EMS Performance Improvement Academy (5 days — Feb. 1-5)
- Field Training Officer Boot Camp (3 days — Feb. 1-3)
- Supervisor Boot Camp (3 days — Feb. 2-4)
- Administrator Boot Camp (3 days — Feb. 3-5)
Each program is designed to provide the EMS professional with limited or no experience a powerful introduction to a specific area of EMS management and leadership. Each day is packed full of learning within a small and intimate setting that includes hands-on participation, interaction with colleagues and faculty, and the opportunity to address the specific concerns of your agency or system. The diverse faculty brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and enthusiasm to program.
This is the program many EMS agencies have been waiting for! Don't miss out. Each section is limited to 20 participants.
Go to http://bnc.ncemsi.org for specific details on each program and registration.
Get to Know Your Board: Lanny Bernard
In a recent interview, Lanny Bernard shared his thoughts on the following topics:
Q: What EMS issues are on your mind today?
Lanny: Two issues. The first is the change in patient treatment that we see today. For most of my EMS career (32 years) we have not been able to really do anything to directly affect patients with strokes and heart attacks. That has changed in the last few years in the patients favor.
Health care reform is another issue that will affect EMS tremendously. I don’t think any of us knows where that will end up, but it is obvious to me that something has to be done to address the uninsured and the underinsured in this country. Many people are foregoing seeking medical help for legitimate problems because they just do not have the money. In my opinion, that is a travesty.
Q: What issues do you see in the near-future for EMS?
Lanny: As an EMS Director and NEMSMA Board member, I see the Leadership issue that NEMSMA has been working on as a very important piece of the puzzle to continuing the improvement of patient care. Many of the first EMS providers have retired or are retiring and we need to have people in place to step in. Of course, this needs to start from the first day on the job. Identifying future EMS leaders and giving them the tools to succeed are vital to the success of individual EMS systems and EMS as a whole.
Also, with the continuing economic problems, many EMS systems, regardless of who actually provides the funding, are suffering. Medicare and Medicaid continue to underfund EMS and do not consider reimbursing for non-transports.
Q: What issues do you see in the 5 to 10 year time-frame for EMS?
Lanny: The battle over who should run EMS will continue to affect the industry.
Funding will continue to be an issue. The increasing costs of training, equipment, and supplies will eventually catch up with us. We continue to offer new and better treatments such as CPAP, IO, alternate airways, ResQPod, mechanical CPR devices and many others, but cannot capture increased reimbursements from Medicare/Medicaid.
Scope of Practice — some agencies have stepped up and increased the scope of practice of paramedics and moved towards community paramedicine. I look for this to continue.
Q: What is your greatest accomplishment/best memory in EMS?
Lanny: It is more of a collective than single memory. When I think about what EMS was like in 1977 and where we are today, the changes are tremendous. In 1977, on a cardiac arrest, we would give 2 amps of Bicarb, and amp of Epi, then calcium, possibly Levophed and Isuprel. Then we gave an amp of Bicarb every 5 minutes. We would also hyperventilate the patient. Routinely, we saw pH’s of 8.3 and above. Of course, no one survived unless it was from an initial defibrillation. The more we did the less chance they had of surviving.
Now, we see an ROSC of 30 to 40% and provide the induced hypothermia protocol for those patients. In addition, we are able to start treatment for MI patients and are part of a team to provide the proper treatment in a timely manner. We also are a vital part of the Stroke team by early identification and ensuring that they go to the proper hospital. Our actions are saving lives every day.
There are so many other treatments that we offer today that improve the outcomes of our patients. I believe we will see proof of those results in the future.
Q: Do you want to share a most disappointing time in EMS?
Lanyn: I am disappointed that IAFF/IAFC has begun a campaign to take over EMS even where it is well run and provided good patient care. I have nothing against Fire run EMS, but I don’t think that is best for every community.
Q: How did you get into EMS as a career?
Lanny: I went to college to become a Pharmacist. After one year, I was not happy with the program and decided that was not what I wanted to do. I changed colleges and knew I wanted to do something in medicine, but wasn’t sure what. I got a degree in biology from Winthrop College (now University), took an EMT class and fell in love with EMS. 32 years later, I still love it because of the impact we make on people’s lives. I tell new people in EMS that you never know whose life you are affecting just by being nice to them. It is often those ‘routine’ calls where the patient doesn’t really need advanced treatment where we can make an impact just by being nice.
As a Director, I enjoy the chance to provide our medics with the training and equipment they need to succeed and to provide the best patient care they can.
Q: What is the biggest change you have seen in EMS?
Lanny: Other than what I have already mentioned, I think the overall professionalism of EMS is much better today. As a whole, EMS is a true profession now and will continue to improve. The move to evidence-based medicine has impacted many things we do, also.
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