EMS Today

Bystander CPR 2.0

Welcome to Real Life Rescues, a podcast that goes behind the scenes and takes an in-depth look into the operational and personal accounts of EMS first responders from Israel’s largest fully volunteer EMS provider, United Hatzalah. The podcast is hosted by EMT-P (Paramedic) Dov Maisel and EMT-B (EMT) Raphael Poch.

Today, we’ll be talking about Bystander CPR 2.0, how engaging the community can – and has – revolutionized the speed at which basic CPR is initiated in cases of sudden cardiac arrest across Israel. In this episode, Dov and Raphael will discuss how a small and inexpensive program became a national initiative that resulted in a shift in the number of bystanders willing and able to perform basic CPR during an emergency.

We will discuss the “Safe Family” education program that involved community members taking a four-hour basic CPR and family safety course which has led to dozens of recent instances where bystanders became the “first” first responders and initiated near-immediate CPR that resulted in lives being saved.

Monte Fronk

How can certain cultural perspectives help with processing grief? Monte Fronk holds many positions as a tribal first responder for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. On May 26th, 2021, Monte’s daughter was murdered in her Minnesota apartment and is classified as a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women victim. Monte reflects on how he is able to process his grief through his cultural and first responder lens.
"The one unique thing is that in non-native culture we grieve for years... in our stories as our traditional Ojibwe funeral process... is tell everybody that we have to let our loved ones go," he said. "If we continue to grieve, where they are going to.. they wont be happy. They will come back to where they were at. As Ojibwe people, we have to let our loved ones go."

The EMS Handoff Crew Discuss Ketamine

After a short vacation from recording, the EMS Handoff Crew returns to the studio to discuss all things Ketamine. In the news, there has been a significant focus placed on Ketamine after a number of cases have resulted in negative outcomes. How do we go about initial and continuing education regarding medication administration to include Ketamine? There are several questions to ask:

* Solution Looking for a Problem

* Ketamine for Agitated/ Excited Delirium

* Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water

* Ketamine Lollipops and Training

* Constitutional Rights and Ketamine

* 14,000 vs. 1,400 Patients

* Minimum Competency

* De-escalation versus Pharmacology

* Three Traits of a Professional

License To Innovate: Part 2

Welcome to Real Life Rescues, a podcast that goes behind the scenes and takes an in-depth look into the operational and personal accounts of EMS first responders from Israel’s largest fully volunteer EMS provider United Hatzalah. The podcast is hosted by EMT-P (Paramedic) Dov Maisel and EMT-B (EMT) Raphael Poch.

The world of EMS in Israel has drastically changed in the past 20 years, and United Hatzalah has been at the forefront of technological innovations that have been pushing the field of EMS forward throughout the 21st century. 

In this episode, we will be discussing some of our more recent large-scale innovations, such as the use of the Carbyne communication and location system; our new Rug Gear communications devices and communications technology that we have built with Widebridge systems and the Israeli Pelephone telecommunications network; and our most recent agreement with City Transformer, which will revolutionize the urban EMS system - utilizing a car-sharing program for first response vehicles that can modulate or transform to less than one meter wide. Due to their modular size, these vehicles are easy to park and drive through traffic and allow first responders who are not motorcyclists to respond to medical emergencies faster. 

Apple in Healthcare Technology

Ever wonder what else that Apple Watch on your wrist can do? How about that ECG the patient gave you that they took from it? Let’s explore what the Apple Health app and the Apple Watch can do for us in EMS in this episode of The Ready Room!

Why Are EMS Conferences So Important?

Paul Main, president of American Ambulance Visalia (CA), speaks about the importance of getting together at conferences and how to continue both professional and organizational development.

This Is How We Share a Foxhole

Leveraging ePCR Data to Identify the Risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

This special episode of "Sacred Cows & Data Cubes" was recorded at the HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) EMS Kansas City Symposium in November 2021. It features an emotional anecdote of post-traumatic stress and recovery by Atchison County (KS) EMS captain and retired Fire Chief Rob Brader.

There is safety in numbers: both the math and statistics — and the herd, where one stay anonymous by choice without worry that exorcizing the demons of Mobile Medicine will result in persecution for the dark thoughts that inevitably spawn of this emotional work.  

“Let the numbers do the talking” is a core tenet of the approach first revealed to Jonathon Feit, chief executive of Beyond Lucid Technologies by Ron Nichols, director of Chambers County Emergency Medical Services in Texas. Ron uses a questionnaire to see sparks of mental health stress among his personnel in a manner similar to how others might identify infections (say, COVID-19) before they spiral out of control. His crew members have to write an ePCR after every call; and any member of the crew can catch a bad call. He recognized that this offers two opportunities for insight:

1. The ePCR not only offers details about what happened on the call, it also offers details about what the crew experiencedduring the call;

2. If every member of every crew completes a wellness survey after every call—or even after every call involving specific sentinel events—then the requirement to complete a mental wellness or trauma impact survey becomes, by definition, randomly distributed.  There is no longer a need for anyone to “step forward” because everyone has the same requirement. Anyone can catch an unfortunate call.

The result is compelling: The data in ePCRs become vital to crews’ mental wellness and health.  No longer are ePCRs mere busywork; no longer should they be despised.  Instead, they become something akin to a recurrent Rorschach test for each member of the crew, revealing how they are doing call-by-call, and in aggregate — inviting management to pay attention.  At the end of this discussion, we’ll ask: Can agencies really afford not to step in to help, especially amid a talent crunch?

If the analytics can be automated and tuned to examine ePCRs over time, then they can reveal who needs help without a crew member saying anything.  This empowers watchful management to step ahead of a health crisis in-the-making, bolstering agency morale and resiliency, satisfaction and safety.  ePCR data—maximized to their potential and strung together over time—therefore go beyond the collection of legal, billing, and NEMSIS data.  They become a tool to safeguard Mobile Medicine’s most precious resource: its professionals on the line.

Jimmy Pierson

How does a family-owned private ambulance company progress in a competitive 911 system? How can private EMS industry promote mental wellness, and what does a chief operating officer (COO) do to maintain his personal stress level during critical incidents? Hear from Jimmy Pierson of Medic Ambulance in Solano County, California.

Invisible Contracts & Provider Wellness: Leadership as Mobile Medicine Changes

No topic is off-limits in this multi-party podcast featuring three renowned leaders of Mobile Medicine -- Scott Moore (Moore EMS Consulting, LLC / Workforce Dynamics, Inc), Art Groux (Bennington Rescue Squad, Vermont) and Sean Kukauskas (Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital EMS, Boston).

The discussion goes far beneath bumper-sticker messages, seeking root causes to develop practical solutions in highly impactful areas of Mobile Medical education, economics, provider mental health and wellness, and management of people and processes. We even discuss issues related to the churn of personnel in and out of the industry — and the associated shortage of qualified new people.  

All against the backdrop of the power of data to inform decision-making that elucidates the “invisible contracts” that operate all around us: assumptions made but infrequently clarified, which can lead to strained relationships in an industry that is built on trust. TRUST is perhaps more critical now than ever as Mobile Medicine seeks to navigate changes from all directions, forcing an evolution of the key skills required of both field crews and managers alike.   

LODDs, Vulnerability and Collaborative Teams

In the debut episode of the EMS Improv Podcast, Host Eric Chase sits down with Hanover (VA) Fire/EMS Chief Jethro Piland and Firefighter-Medic Craig Bodette. Piland shares his thoughts on LODDs, vulnerability and collaborative teams. Bodette, the department’s peer support coordinator, discusses how collaboration helps build a robust team and response during crisis.