Tag Archives | paramedics

Myth Busters: Emergency Medical Services Delivery – Expectation vs. Reality

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Recent headlines illustrate the EMS delivery crisis in America:

“Kentucky’s shortage of EMS providers has reached ‘crisis’ level, expert tells state lawmakers”
“N.Y. ambulance service ends operations after 75 years”
“Chicago firefighters plan protests over paramedic, ambulance shortages”
“Santa Barbara (CA) Supervisors Caught in Crossfire over Ambulance Contract”
“Lebanon Fire District (OR) faces ambulance service challenges amid funding and staffing woes”

Modern EMS is half a century old, and would you believe there are some things the public ‘expects’ that are no longer supported by volumes of evidence-based research. EMS systems, and the communities they serve are clinging on to practices based on beliefs that not only have been disproved by science, but are dangerous, such as:

  • Reliance on response times as a sole performance measure
  • Medical first response on every EMS call
  • Lights and siren responses
  • A paramedic on every EMS response

Unrealistic public expectations are driving much of the staffing and economic crisis EMS systems are facing.

This dynamic and ‘controversial’ webinar will highlight current research and outcomes to bust myths related to the sacred cows that are driving the challenges for EMS delivery such as paramedic resource deployment, response times, lights and siren use, and even the fundamentals of EMS system design.  

Attendees will leave the webinar armed with the up-to-date evidence to slay sacred cows and long-held beliefs about EMS to change how EMS is delivered in their local communities to help navigate the current EMS staffing and economic crisis.

Co-Hosts:

  • Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI)
  • International City/County Management Association

Panelists:

  • Chip Decker; CEO, Richmond (VA) Ambulance Authority; President, AIMHI
  • Dr. Kevin Mackey; Medical Director, Sacramento (CA) Fire Department
  • Dr. Doug Kupas; Medical Director, Geisinger Health; President Elect, National Association of EMS Physicians
  • John (JP) Peterson; Executive Director, Mecklenburg EMS Agency
  • Tom Wieczorek; Director, Center for Public Safety Management
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Montana city council reviews increasing demands on fire, EMS

An independent report from the Center for Public Safety Management recommends making Kalispell’s EMS coordinator a full-time position and increase ambulance staffing. By Kate Heston | Daily Inter Lake | August 31, 2023 KALISPELL, Mont. — Kalispell City Council reviewed Monday a third-party report that found that the city’s fire and emergency medical services are…

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Otsego County EMS Reaches Crossroads – Part I: The County Service

By TED MEBUST for AllOstego.com In December of 2021, the Otsego County Board of Representatives, at the recommendation of its Public Safety and Legal Affairs Committee, implemented a 24-hour, county-based advanced life support ambulance service, buying two ambulances and staffing 16 full-time and 10 part-time paramedics. Previously, pre-hospital emergency medical services had been largely carried…

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Is EMS-on-demand the next big transformation for the profession?

By CPSM’s Matt Zavadsky You’ve likely heard the term or read the book, “Emergency Medical Services at the Crossroads,” but the reality of that concept has never been more salient than it is right now. For many EMS agencies, the current headwinds of response volumes being at an all-time high amid staffing challenges are forcing…

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Culture shift: Reducing lights and siren vehicle operation

Resources to dispel 3 myths about hot response to improve clinician, patient and community safety By Douglas F. Kupas, MD, EMT-P, FAEMS; and CPSM’s Matt Zavadsky, MS-HSA, EMT In early 2022, 14 international EMS, patient safety, quality and fire associations released a joint position statement encouraging EMS systems to reduce the incidence of lights and…

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The EMS workforce: Critical condition!

Why right-sizing EMS response is crucial to increasing pay and improving work-life balance By Matt Zavadsky and Robert Luckritz The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians’ 2022 EMS Worker Engagement Survey should be a Klaxon for EMS and community leaders across the country. This report is a treasure trove of insights that, on the one hand,…

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Hidden Costs: How Police Reform Could Change the Shape of Other Public Safety Agencies

By Matt Zavadasky Senior Associate, CPSM Chief Strategic Integration Officer, MedStar Mobile Healthcare 2020 presented a number of new challenges to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) world, pushing paramedic and fire services to overhaul many longstanding practices. With every day delivering new findings on COVID-19 and how it may impact communities, chiefs; union officials; city…

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