Category: EMS1

EMS1

National Rural EMS Conference

I recently had the pleasure of attending the National Rural EMS Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  This conference was one of the smallest I’ve ever attended, but it provided a unique view of the concerns rural EMS providers may have that don’t reflect those of their urban counterparts. Since it was hosted by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, you can find all the slides online for free here. I also had the … Continue reading National Rural EMS Conference

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EMS1

Sexy CPR training video misses its mark

A German social welfare and first aid organization has produced a video that some news outlets have called “sexy” to raise awareness of bystander CPR. The five minute video is a compilation of modern pop songs whose lyrics have been changed to explain the benefits and mechanics of compression only CPR. Although the campaign attempts to connect with people 25 and younger by using songs like Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”, … Continue reading Sexy CPR training video misses its mark

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EMS1

The evolving war on opioids

Prehospital providers are on the front lines of the current opioid addiction epidemic. Those that have yet to experience the power of saving a life with a simple bolus of naloxone likely won’t have to wait long given that over 28,000 people died in 2014, and an additional 2.2 million Americans currently struggle with opioid addiction. President Obama recently attended the National Rx Drug Abuse … Continue reading The evolving war on opioids

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EMS1

Improve CPR with systems thinking

There are ten cellular processes that must continue to function in order for the human body to survive cardiac arrest. While each of these processes is critically important, all require intra- and inter-organizational systems to be in place in order to guarantee success. The chain of survival exists for a reason. As a representation of the links that are required to connect an unfortunate start to a … Continue reading Improve CPR with systems thinking

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EMS1

Public Health Obligation to Prevent TB Transmission

The recent tuberculosis outbreak in Marion, Alabama, has resulted in a controversial public health program paying people to get tested for TB. Although more than 1,000 people have been tested through this program, that only represents 10 percent of the county’s population. While economic incentives are not recommended as the first step in prevention, this is an active outbreak that has taken at least three lives. Additionally, 20 … Continue reading Public Health Obligation to Prevent TB Transmission

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EMS1

The Role of EMS in Patient Safety

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) published a follow-up report to the now famous Institute of Medicine’s “To Err Is Human.” The new report, “Free from Harm”, calls attention to the patient safety lessons learned over the past decade and a half, as well as reminding health care providers that many of the same issues initially spotlighted still remain. Although EMS is not specifically mentioned in … Continue reading The Role of EMS in Patient Safety

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Blog Originals, EMS1

National Association of EMS Physicians 2016 Annual Meeting

What follows is a list of resources mentioned during various session at this year’s NAEMSP Annual Meeting.  This conference represents the best of the science of EMS.  So as to not overtly violate the ethics of conference attendance (and therefore conference fees), all information was found on the web during the various sessions.  I try to refrain from interpretation, but if you have any questions … Continue reading National Association of EMS Physicians 2016 Annual Meeting

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EMS1

Shifting the focus on provider safety

Recent news headlines suggest that vehicular safety poses the greatest risk to the lives of EMS providers. While that may be true if the focus is solely on line-of-duty deaths, the majority of EMS deaths occur because of skewed priorities that are too rigorously focused on a single issue. As with any other improvement effort, there is no silver bullet to preventing the death or … Continue reading Shifting the focus on provider safety

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