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The little podcast has allowed me to explore, meet new friends and colleagues, present at a national conference, learn, and hopefully entertain and provide a voice for those in this great profession of EMS and Public Safety.  I want to thank my family, Cary Area EMS, guests, listeners, and the EMS Podcast Community for the support. I am humbled and grateful. Keep listening.

Episode 237 is Leigh Goodman. Leigh is the Director of Emergency Medical Services for the Town of Trumbull. Leigh combines her passion for Emergency Medical Services & Education and brings this passion to her leadership as Chief. Previously Chief Goodman has taught elementary school students and children with special needs. Leigh who spent time on four different continents then becomes Chief in the Town of Trumbull, CT is a story within its self. that you will hear. Trumbull EMS has gone under a transition over the past year and Leigh talks about how their transition occurred and why. We also discuss Trumbull EMS’s successful social media program.

Episode 236 is Michael Diaz. Michael is an EMT for AMR in Los Angles County and was featured in an article titled “The Broken Front Line”, by Ava Kofman from ProPublica.The article takes us inside the ambulance during the height of the pandemic and Michael shares his experiences. Michael was in film school before discovering EMS. He is a Lead Training Officer and union president of IAEP R12-077. We discuss his path into EMS, this first encounter with a Covid patient, the article, and being president of the union during the pandemic. 

Episode 231 is Rob Lawrence. Rob is the Executive Director of the California Ambulance Association as well as the part-time Director of Strategic Implementation for Pro EMS of Cambridge Massachusetts. Rob is originally from the United Kingdom where he served in the military for 22 years and has served in leadership roles in the EMS world in the UK. Rob came to America to be the Executive Director of Richmond Ambulance Authority. We talk about his journey from the UK to America, his military service, and numerous EMS topics. 

Episode 230 is Ann Doll and Jonathan Larsen. Ann Doll serves as Executive Director of the Resuscitation Academy Foundation. Ann helped create the RA in 2008. She also serves as the Secretariat for the Global Resuscitation Alliance, a coalition of worldwide leaders committed to saving more lives from sudden cardiac arrest. Jonathan Larsen retired from the Seattle Fire Department as a Senior Paramedic and the Captain of Medic One. He is one of the founding faculty of the Resuscitation Academy and leads the HP-CPR effort. Ann and Jonathan have fun during our conversation that takes us through their unique beginnings in healthcare and the Resuscitation Academy. We discuss numerous aspects of the RA and how this program makes a difference.

Episode 228 is Nick Nudell and Katie Simon. Nick is the Co-founder and Katie is the Executive Director of the American Paramedic Association. Nick is a paramedic currently working in a moderately busy suburban remote 911 system in Colorado. He is completing his dissertation for a Ph.D. and making his second appearance on Medic2Medic. Katie is an NREMT-P and has been in EMS for 16 years and has a passion for EMS and Cardiac Care. Both Nick and Katie have interesting paths into EMS and we talk about their path. Katie became the Executive Director a short time ago and Katie and Nick provide us the mission and vision of the American Paramedic Association in this podcast. 

Episode 227 is Scott Moore. Scott Moore, Esq. is the owner of Moore EMS Consulting, LLC and an active EMT for over 30 years. Scott has held various executive positions, at several ambulance services in Massachusetts. Scott specializes in Human Resources, employment law, reimbursement, and compliance matters. During my recertification for the NREMT process and using Prodigy, I attended Scott’s Violence in the EMS Workplace lecture. This topic is important, and we expand on his lecture in the podcast. Scott provides alarming statistics on the violence occurring to EMS. providers. Scott provides us a few stories that occurred in his life that you want to hear and how he survived. We also talk about tips on avoiding violence to EMS providers.

Episode 225 is John Barile. John is 30 plus year Paramedic with Cary Area EMS. John has served as a firefighter, educator, paramedic, Chief, and numerous other roles in public safety. We talk about John’s start in EMS, his role on National Medical Response Team, and he offers his advice to those new to the EMS world.

Episode 224 is Graeme Taylor who spent 21 years working in EMS in British Columbia, Canada, and the author of “A Paramedic Tales”. The book provides an uncensored look at the life of first responders. Graeme is living in Australia and we discuss how he ended up down under his EMS career, and he shares a few stories from the book. 

Episode 223 is Michael Sayre. Michael is the Medical Director for the Seattle Fire Department and works as an EM Physician at Harborview Medical Center. He also serves as the Medical Director for the Michael K. Copass Paramedic Training Program at the University of Washington. Our discussion takes us from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Seattle as we explore Michael’s path in medicine and EMS. We spend time talking about the Seattle Fire Department, their Paramedic Academy, their response to COVID-19, and the future of EMS.

Episode 221 is Travis Dierks. Travis is an Emergency Physician out of Spokane WA and the founder of EMSConnect. EMSConnect is an online EMS Education platform that is nationally accredited. Travis is also a Medical Advisor to services in the Spokane area. Travis explains how he goes from Oceanography to Medical School, his first encounters with EMS, as well as few stories from his residency. We talk about EMSConnect’s beginning and the success of the platform.

Episode 220 is Matthew Heneghan. Matthew is the author of A Medic’s Mind which is an inspiring story of Matthew’s resiliency, tenacity, hope, and will to overcome numerous obstacles. The book covers a difficult 2 years of Matthew’s life and we discuss these difficulties. Matthew was in the Canadian Army as a medic as his struggles began. After leaving the military he became a civilian Paramedic and the issues continued. We talk about his army and civilian medic career, what caused the obstacles and what led to his successful comeback. Besides being an author, Matthew is a blogger and podcaster and we touch on these adventures as he tells his story.

Episode 219 is Tricia Casey. Tricia is the creator of the STARS Program in 2014 at Rock Township Ambulance District in Jefferson County, MO. The program is so successful that Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital adopted the program and hired Tricia to run the program. What is STARS? Tricia will let us know in our discussion, what the program is dedicated to, and how it was started and grown. I will give you a hint that STARS is kid-based, and Tricia knows first hand why this program for kids is important. Tricia was the 2018 JEMS EMS10 Innovation award for STARS. Tricia is a practicing paramedic in the St. Louis area, and you will her dedication and passion for STARS.

Episode 218 is David Davis. David is the Founder and Editor of the Ambulance News Desk (ambulancenewsdesk.com) out of the United Kingdom. The site launched over a year ago with a focus on ambulance and EMS news in the UK. David last week launched the site globally because of the success of the service. We discuss David’s unique path into the EMS and ambulance world and how the Ambulance News Desk started. Before entering this world, David tells his story of dropping out of school, becoming a Reporter, and even his work in public relations. 

Episode 217is Jonathon Feit. Jonathon is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Beyond Lucid Technology. You will hear how the software company uses technology to connect ambulances and hospitals prior to the patient’s arrival. Jonathon is a well known presenter and has published numerous papers and articles within the EMS industry. He also is a host of a podcast. You will hear his dedication to public safety and linking EMS and technology. Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and the Center for Emergency Medicine are a few items that Jonathon and I have in common. We talk about his interest in EMS and how he was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome among other topics. Jonathon does not hold back his thoughts on any of the topics.

Episode 213 is Jeff Payne. In 2019, when Jeff was the Chief of the Dayton Ohio Fire Department, his department faced 2 mass casualty events in a short period. The Dayton area was hit with tornadoes and then an active shooter event. Jeff talks about the incidents, response, lessons learned, and more. We also discuss Jeff’s career as a Marine, his career in the fire department, and his leadership style. 

Episode 212 is Dr. Marvin Wayne. Marv as he likes to be called is the Medical Program Director for the emergency medical services system
for Bellingham, Washington, and Whatcom County for the past 45 years. Marv left surgery to enter the world of Emergency Medicine and EMS. Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 and graduated from Mumford High School and traveled all over including England and Vietnam before settling in the pacific northwest. Marv takes us through a difficult surgery and situation while in Vietnam that you don’t want to miss. We discuss his career, his Army Service, EMS in his local area, EMS in today’s world, and a history lesson regarding the AED. 

Episode 211 is OneScope with Sujit Kumar and Harry Joshi. Sujit is the founder of PatCen a Seattle based company and the maker of OneScope. OneScope is a new, simple powerful all in one Video Laryngoscope. Harry is an Anestelogist and is part of the PatCen Team. We learn more about Sujit and Harry as well as the development of PenCen and OneScope in this episode.

Episode 210 is Mario Aranibar and Sallie Abbas. This episode travels virtually from Cary, NC to Cochabamba, Bolivia, In the early 2000s, through Sallie Abba and Partners of the America’s Cay Area EMS (I was joined by past guests on the podcast Greg Edwards and Marion Houle) traveled on a medical/educational mission to Bolivia. There we met Chief Mario Aranibar and his amazing volunteers of SAR Bolivia. Mario has a long history of public safety service as an innovator, leader, EMT, firefighter, HazMat expert, and parachute jumper. I catch up with both Sallie and Mario to reminisce about the trip to Bolivia.  

Episode 208 is Matthew Konya. Matt is an associate attorney with Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC, and has been involved in EMS for nearly 15 years. He obtained his first responder certification while in high school, and his emergency medical technician certification at Penn State University. After graduating from Penn State, he worked full time as an EMT in State College Pennsylvania for four years before attending law school at Widener University Commonwealth. Matt continues to works part-time as an EMT. We discuss the article he wrote at JEMS.com regarding behavioral health in EMS, burnout, and COVID and how they intersect. We also talk about the Pitt and Penn State football rivalry. 

Episode 207 is Tom Cox. Tom has worked in one capacity, or another in the fire and EMS industry for over 33 years. In 1976, at the ripe age of 22, he led the drive to establish a rescue squad in his hometown and became its first EMS Chief. We talk about how an injury to his back led him into medical sales and the Director of Training for Ferno. Tom is here to talk about his career and his involvement in the launch of a revolutionary virtual reality training system by VRpatients. It’s the first VR medical training program solely focused on EMS.  Listen to how VRpatients may take EMS training to a new level of training and education for EMS providers.

Episode 206 is Elizabeth Fields. Elizabeth is the Chief Operating Officer for the Gary Sinise Foundation. Elizabeth has over 20 years of non-profit leadership that includes NPR and the University of Pennsylvania before joining the Gary Sinise Foundation. Elizabeth, as you will hear is passionate about the Foundation as well as her career in non-profit leadership. Elizabeth discusses the keys to being a leader in the non-profit world. Elizabeth takes us on a journey inside the Gary Sinise Foundation from the start to the important programs, grant awards, and the work performed by this amazing organization. If you want to learn more or become involved with the Foundation go to garysinisefoundation.org.

Episode 205 is Dov Maisel. Dov is making his return to Medic2Medic to talk about how United Hatzalah located in Israel and their response to COVID-19. We are focus on the American response to the virus, we hear about other Countries, but how is EMS working this pandemic in Israel? Doc provides us with an inside look at the response. Dov is the Senior Vice President of International Operations for Untied Hatzalah, a Paramedic and wears many other hats in the EMS world. We learn how the 6000 United Hatzalah EMS volunteers are responding to the COVID-19 as well as their wellbeing during this crisis. Coronavirus hits close to home to this organization and you will want to hear the story and the outcome.   

Episode 204 is Dr. Peter Antevy and Captian Adrian Castro. Peter and Adrian join me this week to talk about how EMS can help bring closure to a family of a child who has died. The topic stems from an article and podcast this past January from EMS World. Adrian talks about a call that he and his Palm Beach County Florida crew responded to were Adrian had to make a decision not to resuscitate a child. What he did that day made the world of difference to the parents. Peter explains the rationale and reasons that the decision Adrian made was right. Adrian takes through his thought process and the discussion he had with his crews after the call. Peter also talks about the results of a study that asks what parents want after the death of their child. The answers may surprise you. Peter is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician and the Associate Medical Director for several South Florida agencies. Peter is also the creator of the Handtevy APP used by numerous EMS organizations. Adrian is Captain and EMS Supervisor for Palm Beach County Florida.

Episode 203 is Madison Rivard. Madison and I chat about her research paper on EMS Workers working 2 jobs and overtime. It is an interesting topic and Madison provides new twists to the subject. This is the reason I invited her on the podcast. We also talked about the Coranvirus as Madison has a passion for public health as well as a Masters in the subject. Madison offers her thoughts on the matter and provides helpful hints to the EMS and public safety world. Madison grew up in Massachusetts and studied public health at Simmons University in Boston. She worked as an EMT for Fallon Ambulance while in school. After graduating in 2017, she seized an opportunity and moved to Columbus, OH to work as an EMS Research Fellow at the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. After graduating in December 2019, she has moved back to Boston, MA and is working for South Shore Health EMS, while actively searching for public health programs and research opportunities. Enjoy the podcast. 

Episode 202: Sometimes there is a need for inspiration. The podcast this week features Kevin Hines. Kevin is a survivor. Kevin is one of 39 people that have jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and lived to tell his story. Kevin is a storyteller at heart. He is a best selling author, global public speaker, and award winning documentary filmmaker. Many factors contributed to his miraculous survival including a sea lion. Kevin now travels the world sharing his story of hope, healing, and recovery while teaching people of all ages the art of wellness & the ability to survive pain with true resilience. Listen to this fast paced podcast and be inspired.

Episode 201 is Jason Patton. If you have never seen Fire Department Chronicles on your favorite social media platform, you are missing out. Jason is a 12-year Firefighter/Paramedic. He started Fire Department chronicles in 2016 to bring laughter to his fellow brothers and sisters. Jason has become very passionate about first responder mental health and creating change in the way we look at treating mental health in First Responders. We chat about all of the above, coffee,  and you will hear the passion that Jason has for the profession and the ability to make you laugh.

Episode 200: Jake Jones is a Paramedic in the UK and has written a book called “Can You Hear Me” Jake Jones is his penned name and we discuss why he uses a pseudonym. EMS is Jake’s second career. Why choose EMS? Jake answers this question and the reason why he chose EMS. Jake provides an insider look into EMS in the UK with this book. Each Episode (Chapters) in the book provides the reader with intimate details, challenges and the reality of the job. The book is not available in the United States as of this airing. The book is available via the publisher Quercus.

Episode 199 is Greg Howard. Greg is the Director of Sales for emsCharts. Greg has over 15 years dedicated to the improvement of healthcare through data. Greg is also from Pittsburgh and we got to talk about our early careers in Pittsburgh and how our paths are very similar. We talk about his path in EMS, emsCharts start, and EMS data and what we should be using the data for. 

Episode 198 is Curt Varone. Curt has over 40 years of fire service experience and 30 years as a practicing attorney. Curt retired after 29 years as a Deputy Assistant Chief. Our discussion surrounds the arming of firefighters. Besides this hot topic, we talk about his career his two books he wrote, and being an attorney.

Episode 197 is Safe Call Now. Michael Maini and Dan Phillips are part of this Peer Support driven program. Michael and Dan have extensive law enforcement experience and each has their own story that leads them to Safe Call Now.  Safe Call Now is a confidential comprehensive 24-Hour crisis referral service for all public safety professionals and their families. Michael and Dan discuss their careers, own battles, the start of Safe Call Now and why this crisis line is different. If you need to talk to someone you can call Safe Call Now at 206-459-302

Episode 196 is Eric Chase. Eric’s story is a fascinating one that has helped him to find his joy in life. His path through the Army, Law Enforcement, Firefighting, and EMS is just part of the story. After having a heart attack in his 30s to suffering a cardiac arrest a few years later and how he bounced back from obstacles is worth the listen. Find out how he did this and found his joy that led to the creation of EMSIMPROV.

Episode 195: David LaCombe is the Vice President of Prehospital Programs at Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) a partnership between the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical.  David worked in Emergency Medical Services for 25 years as a paramedic, educator, and senior leader.  David is leading a breakthrough effort to double survival from witnessed out of hospital cardiac arrest. We discuss David’s passion for cardiac arrest survival, partnerships, Resuscitation Academies, RQI, and how he became involved in EMS. 

Episode 194: Ben Clincy is a full-time paramedic as well as a writer/artist and the creator of the popular comic strip “EMScapades”. He’s also the star of the “EMScapades: OFF DUTY” podcast and a stand-up comedian who’s performed in clubs, colleges, theatres, bars, and other venues nationwide for more than 14 years. Clincy discusses EMS, life as a comedian, behind the scenes of one of his gigs, the creation of his popular comic strip and his podcast. Visit his website at EMScapades.com.

Episode 193 is Ernesto Rodriguez. Chief Rodriquez is the Chief of the Austin-Travis County EMS service in Austin, Texas. He has over 38 years of experience in EMS. Chief Rodriguez is one of six Improvement Advisors in the nation who specialize in emergency medical services and has completed training through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He has introduced improvement science to Austin-TravisCounty EMS and has developed an Improvement Team within the agency.  The assaults that keep occurring to our EMS providers continue to rise and Chief Rodriguez is seeing this in his organization. The percentage of his staff being assaulted may shock you. We discuss what the Chief is doing to about this growing problem. We also discuss his career, leadership, and the Austin-Travis County EMS System. 

Episode 192 is Tammie Bullard. Tammie is a Paramedic in Perth, Western Australia. Tammie is also the author of the book The Good, Bad and Ugly (GBU) Paramedic. Her passion for paramedicine is getting people talking about the guts of their role. Not talking up the impressive things they’ve done, not talking over and over about the things that frustrate them, but talking openly and honestly about what their best needs to look like and what they need in order to get there. Without professing to know the answers, her scribbled notes, collected over several years and resulting from countless conversations with hundreds of paramedics, have been gathered together in the shape of The GBU Approach and this book.  We talk about the book, her entrance into EMS, EMS in Austalia, and her academic journey to become a Paramedic.

Episode 191 is Jonathan Studnek. Jonathan is currently the Deputy Director of Operations for the Mecklenburg EMS Agency. In this position, he is responsible for leading the deployment and utilization of over 350 EMTs and paramedics as well as over 40 tele-communicators. Jonathan is responsible for planning, developing, implementing, and overseeing a comprehensive strategy for performance improvement, clinical education, and human resources within the Agency. Our discussion includes his new role as Deputy Director, the challenges of leading a large organization, MEDIC (Mecklenburgh EMS), EMS degrees, research, and his stint at the National Registry.

Episode 190 is Dan Cohen. Dan has been with Williamson County EMS for 14 years. He produces distributive education and manages media. His EMS journey began like many of his generation, watching “Emergency”. Dan takes an unusual path into EMS as becoming a photojournalist first for Time, Forbes, and BusinessWeek. Dan is blending videography and Paramedicine to tell the story of EMS in Central Texas. Dan and I discuss his path into EMS, Williamson County EMS, and the interesting article he wrote about “Silos” and the impact they have both personally and in EMS. 

Episode 188 is Catherine Counts. Catherine discusses her role with Seattle Medic 1, research, and why she is involved with EMS. We also discuss what EMS should be doing to improve EMS research. Catherine interests include health care policy, quality improvement, and of course EMS. Catherine received her PhD and MHA from Tulane.

Episode 187 is AJ Heightman and Mike McEvoy. AJ and Mike talk about journalism in EMS, the new approach for JEMS, EMS in general and lots more.  AJ is joining the podcast for the 3rd time and talks about his new exciting role with JEMS. Mike is the Executive Editor for JEMS and discusses his new role and his path to JEMS. Mike is the EMS Coordinator for Saratoga County, NY and a nurse clinician in the cardiovascular ICU at Albany Medical Center in NY. Mike is also the chair of the International Fire Chiefs EMS Section. AJ Heightman was recently appointed Editor Emeritus of JEMS. 

Episode 186 is Richard Gasaway. Richard talks to us about the importance of situational awareness in EMS. Our discussion takes a look at the science behind situational awareness and what influence a dispatch to an incident may influence in our thinking. Richard will take us through the process and provide a few tips on how to be better prepared. Richard is widely considered a trusted authority on human factors, situational awareness and the high-risk decision-making processes used in high-stress, high consequence work environments. He served 33 years on the front lines as a firefighter, EMT-Paramedic, company officer, training officer, fire chief, and emergency incident commander. His doctoral research included the study of cognitive neuroscience to understand how human factors flaw situational awareness and impact high-risk decision making.

Episode 185 is Nancy Magee. Nancy has been active in volunteer EMS for 20 years. Is there a volunteer crisis in EMS? You will be intrigued by our discussion on this topic. We also talk about the keys to recruiting and retaining volunteers in EMS. Nancy’s career path into in EMS is unique and experience in her previous ventures provides building blocks for her EMS career. As a self-employed business owner and consultant for 25 years and as an EMT, AEMT, instructor, field supervisor and Director of Marketing and Client Relations for an EMS Management Service Organization. Her workshop series, “Redesigning Volunteer EMS-A Volunteer Survival Guide,” found on EMS1.com is educational and provides much needed advice in the volunteer world. This series will turn into a podcast starting next month with Nancy and Amy Eisenhauer hosting. 

Episode 184 is Ron Romano. Ron is the Chief of the City of Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services. Ron started in EMS as EMT in 1975 with Perman Ambulance Service becoming a Paramedic in 1977. In 1978 is when he was hired by the City of Pittsburgh. Ron tells us what job he applied for initially and a simple question by Director Cannon changed his life.  We discuss his career, leadership, Pittsburgh EMS, and briefly on the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.

Episode 183 is Jerry McCormick. Jerry and I discuss workplace safety as well he explains the definition of an active shooter.  We also discuss his law enforcement career and what lead him to become an expert and speaking and training organizations in workplace safety all over the world. Jerry delivers transformational training and keynote seminars in the area of security for advancing peoples’ lives and their personal safety. For the enterprise, Jerry’s unique experience and approach maximize safety by leveraging the inherent strengths of existing infrastructures and facilities. Following his eight years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Jerry has worked and served for more than 28 years as a police officer in North Carolina. He is a recognized expert in the areas of public and personal safety, emergency management, corporate security, hazard mitigation, and incident management. Jerry has taught and trained thousands of police officers, teachers and corporate security personnel on response strategies to mitigate active shooter incidents and other threats in the home, school or workplace environment. 

Episode 182 is Kevin Collopy. Kevin is the clinical outcomes manager for New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Willington NC. Kevin oversees the program’s research, education, risk management, and quality assurance. Kevin regularly speaks across the United States and has taught emergency & wilderness medicine on 3 continents. He’s an author of over 150 articles and book chapters. As you will hear Kevin is passionate about EMS as we discuss numerous EMS related topics. We also discuss his 48 hours at Ground Zero.

Episode 180 is ESO Metrics with Drs Brent Myers and Remle Crowe. An interesting podcast this week as my guests discuss the ESO Metrics Project. Performance metrics are becoming increasingly valuable in the healthcare industry as well as in EMS. Brent and Remle will take us through the project and discuss what metrics are improving, declining, and staying the same. Do you wonder how the item list in the drop-down menus in the ESO PCR program is the way they are? The answer is provided in the podcast. Dr. Brent Myers is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of EMS System Design, Performance Improvement, and Population Management. He is the Immediate Past President of NAEMSP and currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer of ESO and Assistant Medical Director of the Wake County EMS System. Dr. Remle Crowe began her career in EMS as a volunteer EMT and instructor with the Mexican Red Cross in Mexico City. She completed the EMS Research Fellowship at the National Registry of EMTs, earning her Ph.D. in Public Health from The Ohio State University. Currently, Remle serves as a research scientist and performance improvement manager with ESO. 
Spreaker

Episode 179 is Mary Chiesa and Amy Shick. The two sisters have created the AEGIS Neonate Medical Wrap. AEGIS helps facilitate safe hands-free skin to skin bonding to reduce the risk of infant falls, help increase successful breastfeeding rates, and standardize proper infant positioning as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. AEGIS was named a Top 10 Hot New Product this year at EMS Today. Mary Chiesa, Founder CEO of SAPLACOR has 15 years of operating room, labor and delivery, and ambulance transport experience.  Amy recently co-founded a military relocation company, sold the business to a new real estate and relocation company and helped develop that business until she joined SAPLACOR. She began her career as a corporate paralegal. Our discussion includes SAPLACOR, their different paths into the EMS and ambulance transport world, their partnerships, and the incident that led to the creation of the AEGIS Wrap.

Episode 178 is Nick Nudell. Nick has over 25 years of EMS and health care experience and has used his visionary skills to improve health care systems designs and performance. Nick is one of the founders of the American Paramedic Association, which published their manifesto this month. Though this podcast was recorded before the manifesto was made public, we discuss the manifesto, the APA, and other organizations Nick is associated with. Should all EMS providers be called Paramedics? Nick answers this question as well as we discuss the state of EMS and Nick’s cross country travels.

Episode 177 is Jan Marks. Jan was born in Pittsburgh and worked for City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS for 29 years before retiring due to a disability. Jan started her career on the Southside of Pittsburgh on Medic 8. Jan rose through the ranks and was the first female Field Supervisor for the Bureau promoted in 1987. Jan was a member of the Pittsburgh Public Safety Honor Guard and a dive team member. Jan played a key part of my wedding as she caught the bouquet. Jan and I reminisce about her career, her mentors, being a Paramedic, supervising, and working for the “City”.

Episode 174 is Bob Page. If you want to learn or improve upon on EMS topics such as 12-Leads and Capnography and many more while having fun, then Bob Page is the educator and instructor you want. Bob discusses how and why he became the award winning educator as well as we talk about the current EMS state of education. Bob Page is an internationally known speaker, instructor, author, and paramedic. He is recognized for his energetic, humorous and motivational style. Bob takes ordinarily dry and hard to teach topics and transforms them into a fun, learning experience. Bob has been an instructor for almost 4 decades teaching a variety of adult education courses from customer service to advanced medical care. He has presented over 3000 seminars worldwide. He was recognized by his peers in Missouri as Missouri’s “Most Creative Educator” in 2009 and was awarded the Legends That Walk Among Us Award from NAEMSE is 2012.

Episode 173 is Miriam Heyman. One of the topics of this podcast over the past 3 years to bring more awareness to suicide within our public safety family and how to recognize and hopefully prevent. This episode discusses a White Paper looking into suicide and mental health of first responders. Would you believe that in 2017, more first responders died of suicide than in the line of duty? Miriam Heyman is a Senior Program Officer at the Ruderman Family Foundation, where she is responsible for the development and oversight of disability inclusion programs. She began her career as a Special Education Teacher in the New York City Public Schools, and while teaching she earned a Master’s Degree in Special Education from the City University of New York. Miriam received a Ph.D. in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College. This podcast hopes to continue the conversation and awareness of this important topic.

Episode 172 is Christian Adams and Samuel Adams. The Adams brothers are identical twins, Paramedic/Firefighters, and authors. Their new book “Life and Death Matters” provides an integrated approach to prehospital medicine by incorporating professional attributes, principles of decision making, and medical principles in order to develop first responders and give them the tools for true success in this profession. We discuss their book, career path, being twins, and how to be humble preceptors and paramedics. The book takes a different approach at decision-making and “Life and Death Matters” is available at their website fire-medics.com and Amazon. 

Episode 171 is Luke Lorentzen. Luke is A documentary filmmaker and his new Documentary Midnight Family will take us through the wild world of EMS in Mexico City. In Mexico City, there is the Ochoa family that runs a private ambulance service competing with others for profit ambulance services for EMS patients. The documentary will take us inside this cutthroat industry and how the Ochoa family struggles to make it in this environment. Luke discusses how he met the family, the idea, how he got the Ochoa’s to agree to let him film and the challenges that came about in the filming.  Luke is a graduate of Stanford University Art and Film Studies and has won awards for his filmmaking. The documentary film does not have a release date.   

Episode 170 is Jeff Robertson. Jeff is the General Manager of Pubilc Safety for RapidSOS. RapidSOS works to integrate a rich data link into every 9-1-1 Center nationwide. Jeff provides us with the interesting story behind the creation of RapidSOS, the technology, real-world use of RapidSOS, and the companies outside of public safety using RapidSOS’s technology. Jeff has 19 plus years in the public safety working with 911 centers. Over the course of his career, Jeff’s roles have included CEO of three 9-1-1 technology companies, executive director and original founding board member of the 9-1-1 Industry Alliance, VP and General Manager of Public Safety for Intergraph, consultant, and author.

Episode 169 is David Givot. Our conversation includes his passion for EMS, how he became a fixer for EMS organizations, EMS leadership, becoming a Defense Attorney, and few legal tips. David graduated from the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care (formerly DFH) in June 1989 and spent most of the next decade working as a Paramedic responding to 911 calls in Glendale, CA, with the fire department. By the end of 1998, he was traveling around the country working with distressed EMS agencies. David earned his law degree and is a practicing Defense Attorney still looking to the future of EMS. In addition to defending EMS Providers, both on the job and off, he has created TheLegalGuardian.comas a vital step toward improving the state of EMS through information and education designed to protect EMS professional. David is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Our conversation includes his passion for EMS, how we became a fixer for EMS organizations, becoming a Defense Attorney, and few legal tips.

Episode 165: Mike Taigman joins me again to discuss the EMS Agenda of 2050. Some 20 years ago EMS as an industry introduced the EMS Agenda for the Future. DId EMS as an industry accomplish the agenda items spelled out 20 years ago? Mike revisits and provides insight to a few of these items. Mike talks how he became involved with 2050, the process to develop 2050, and laying the framework the future of EMS in 2050. 

Episode 164 is Mike Rubin. Very rarely you hear of someone making EMS a second career. Mike Rubin is one of those rare people that EMS is his second career. In 1995, after 21 years in business, Mike began a second career in EMS. Mike was hired by NY State as a paramedic and instructor at Stony Brook University. In April 2001, he was promoted to Supervisor of Suffolk County Medical Control, a position that allowed him to utilize his EMS, business, systems, teaching and management experience. Mike relocated to Nashville, where he spent six years as a paramedic at the Opryland entertainment complex. Mike began writing for major EMS media, created the EMS version of Trivial Pursuit and produced Down Time, an album of rescue-oriented rock and pop tunes. We talk about his path into EMS, writing for the EMS industry and Trivial Pursuit. 

Episode 162 is Gary Ludwig. There is so much talk, questions, and articles written about should college degrees be mandatory for EMTs and Paramedics? This week on Medic2Medic Gary and I dive into this topic. Gary is the fire chief for the City of Champaign, Illinois. Gary has been a paramedic and leader in both EMS and fire for over 39 years. Gary and his team when he was with Memphis and St. Louis EMS systems were recognized nationally with awards. Gary has written over 500 articles for EMS and fire journals and speaks nationally at conferences. Gary and I discuss his article and his thoughts on degrees, leadership, and his career. 

Episode161 is Dave Zaiman. Dave has been working in the emergency medical field for more than 30 years and joined ImageTrend 13 years ago, bringing his vast experience with EMS and technology. As ImageTrend ’s product sales manager, he has overseen trauma, emergency preparedness, and state and service EMS implementations and serves the leader for ImageTrend’s mobile healthcare initiatives CrewCare and Continuum project. CrewCare is an APP for first responders and was created in response to the growing concerns on mental health for first responders.  One of the  APP’s goals is to provide mental health insight on an individual stress load. Listen to Dave explain the beginnings of the APP and the benefits of having this APP on your phone. 

Episode 160 is Tim Nowak. Tim is the founder & CEO of Emergency Medical Solutions, an independent EMS training & consulting company that he developed in 2010. He began his EMS journey in 2002. His career formally began in Wisconsin as a full-time firefighter/paramedic with the state’s 3rd largest department and has since transitioned into an educator & agency representative role for a hospital system in Colorado. He’s also been involved in EMS training program development and course delivery throughout much of his career, including operating his own company. In addition to teaching, Tim has been a board member, is a contracted item writer, a columnist with EMS1.com, has his own podcast called EMS Insight, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the EMS Director, a printed publication dedicated to professional development in EMS. Tim is known for his thought provocating questions, opinions, and answers on LinkedIn regarding EMS. We talk about this subject, EMS education, consulting, EMS1.com and his entrepreneurial spirit.

Episode 159 is Robert McCaughan and Todd Pritchard talking about a new EMS Reimbursement Pilot project being conducted in Pittsburgh. Bob and Todd take us through the steps from concept to implementation. The project is a collaboration between hospitals, EMS and health insurance to provide reimbursement to EMS when patients are not transported. Bob is the Vice President of Prehospital Care Services for the Allegheny Health Network. Bob was an original member of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services when it was established in 1975. Retiring as Chief from Pittsburgh EMS in 2012, he joined Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health as Vice President of Prehospital Care Services before moving into his current position. Todd is the Chief of Medical Rescue Team South Authority and the Chairperson of the Allegheny County EMS Chiefs Association. Todd began his career with MRTSA as a volunteer in 1985 after graduating from California University of Pennsylvania. Todd was promoted to Chief of MRTSA in 2007.

Episode 158 is Peter Fischer. Peter E. Fischer MD, MS is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN.  Prior to and during residency, he worked as a Firefighter/Paramedic.  He was previously at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC before returning to Memphis in 2016.  He currently serves as the Director of Trauma Process Improvement, Interim Trauma Medical Director, and Interim Chief of Trauma at the Elvis Presley Trauma Center. He also is the Medical Director for Hospital Wing Air Ambulance Service. He has a strong clinical and research interest in prehospital and trauma system development. Our discussion spans from the new position statement regarding  Spinal Motion Restriction in the Trauma Patient, the use of the backboard, EMS, and even a little Elvis.

Episode 157: The Three Year Anniversary Podcast. Erin Cohen takes on the hosting duties for this podcast. Erin talks to me about the creation of the podcast, my career, and I answer questions sent in by the listeners and guests of the podcast. Three years ago a little podcast was launched and 157 episodes later I want to say a big thank you for listening. To my guests who tell their stories, educate us, and dedicate themselves to this profession you have my deepest admiration and thanks. 

Episode 155 is Douglas Randall. Douglas is currently serving as Division Chief of EMS at the Plainfield Fire Territory in Plainfield, IN. He successfully obtained this position after working 20 years in the City of St. Louis, most of the time spent as an EMS Training Officer of over 800 Paramedics, EMTs, and Firefighters.  He is a Nationally Registered Paramedic with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. Douglas was hoping to head to medical school and then circumstances that you will hear lead him to his career in EMS. Douglas speaks candidly about his early years and the struggles he faced as a new paramedic and the obstacles that confronted him.  Douglas talks about the lessons he learned and how he leads today. Douglas also tells us how important learning is to him. 

Episode 154 is Peter Antevy, MD. Peter is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician practicing in-hospital emergency medical care at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in South Florida. Peter is Board-certified in pediatrics, emergency medicine and the complex subspecialty of EMS, he is also the founder of Pediatric Emergency Standards, Inc., and he serves as the Medical Director for Davie Fire-Rescue, Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Rescue, Southwest Ranches Fire Rescue and American Ambulance. Peter is perhaps best known for revolutionizing pre-hospital pediatric care by re-setting the boundaries of patient care standards for children and for challenging current conventional wisdom with his pioneering Handtevy Pediatric  Standard Program and videos. Of significant note, in 2017, he was awarded the prestigious Ron J. Anderson Memorial Award in Dallas, TX, the international public health service accolade bestowed for his far-reaching public health contributions in emergency medical care, particularly for his efforts to improve outcomes for critically ill and injured children. At the same time, Peter remains a grounded, in-the-trenches EMS medical director as exemplified by his recent involvement in on-scene patient care at the Parkland, Florida high school shooting incident and, in turn, his connected follow-up of patients, families, and rescuers. Peter, as you will hear during our talk, does not take “no” for an answer. We discuss the reason why he chose Pediatrics as a specialty and how he became involved in EMS, which is a great story. We touch briefly his role in the Parkland event and how the crews are doing today. In EMS a pediatric call usually sends chills up our spines and Peter sets out to answer why this occurs and provides a solution. Peter is an extraordinary person and I believe you will feel the same way after this podcast.

Episode 153 is Todd DeVoe. Todd started his career in the public safety profession as an EMT in Upstate New York in 1988. Todd joined the United States Navy in 1991 and served as a Fleet Marine Force (FMF) Corpsman from 1992-1997. After his time in the Navy, he used his GI Bill and completed his B.S. In Public Administration and then his Masters of Public Administration. Todd’s primary role in the field of Public Administration has been in Emergency Management.  More recently Todd has been working for the Saddleback College Police Department as the Emergency and Business Continuity Manager and a small Lutheran College in the Campus Safety Department as their emergency manager. Todd is also the host of the EM Weekly Podcast which focuses on bringing news, interviews discussing trends and issues that impact Emergency Management. Our discussion includes Todd’s introduction to emergency services and why helping people was and still is important. We talk about his military service, his first  EM incident that he was part of, his podcast and that EM is more than managing and being part of major disasters. 

Episode 152 is Kate Dernocoeur. Kate is a fascinating and energetic person to have on a podcast. Kate is a NREMT, has written numerous books, articles, and columns, particularly for EMS readers. Her involvement with emergency care began in 1974, and she served with Denver’s famous Paramedic Division from 1979 to 1986. She is now an EMT-firefighter with Ada (MI) Fire Department and a SARTECH-II with Kent County SAR’s K9 Unit. The 4th edition of her seminal book, Streetsense: Communication, Safety, and Control is scheduled for release in 2019. We talk about her path, why she likes EMS, writing and how StreetSense came about as well as some of her mentors. This episode is sponsored by Erin Cohen from Fathom Realty.

Episode 151 is Drew Dawson.  Drew is the Interim Executive Director of National Registry of EMTs. Drew has a long career of public service which started in his home state of Montana. He was a volunteer EMT and Director of the Boulder, Montana Volunteer Ambulance Service for many years. Drew served as Montana’s State EMS Training Coordinator for several years and as the Montana State EMS Director. Drew was not done as he moved to DC to the  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration where he oversaw the emergency medical services activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We talk about his long career, what it is like to work for NHTSA and the other programs NHSTA is involved with. We spend time discussing his work in his current role at the NREMT and why we all should be nationally registered. 

Episode 150 is Gregg Margolis. Gregg is the Director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). In this role, Gregg leads the NAM’s four national health policy fellowship and scholar programs with a mission of building health policy leadership and expertise for the future. Prior to joining the NAM, Greg served as the Director of the Division of Health System Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he led a team of policy experts in formulating, analyzing, and implementing policies to build strong, integrated, and resilient healthcare systems that are prepared for, able to respond to, and recover quickly from disasters and public health emergencies. Way, before briefing White House officials and working as the Associate Director NREMT he gave this podcast host a shot at writing at the national level. Gregg asked me to be part of writing and editing the national EMT-I curriculum. Even before that Gregg and I met when he was a paramedic student at the Center for Emergency Medicine In Pittsburgh. Gregg has over 20 years has clinical and flight paramedic, educator, author, speaker and holds a Ph.D. in administrative and policy studies and an MS in health care supervision and management from the University of Pittsburgh. Gregg continues to work to make this the world better for EMS and to improve the health of others. We talk about this fantastic career, his scuba diving, visits to the White House, and our Pittsburgh connection for this 150th episode.

Episode 149 is Kendra Hicks. Kendra is a 10-year veteran in EMS and for the last 8 years a Paramedic for Wake County EMS and the Wake County EMS System. Kendra is a recent graduate of Campbell University earning her degree in Psychology. Kendra discusses her entry into EMS, love for EMS, balancing school and work, memorable calls and partners. During our podcast, you will hear Kendra’s passion for being a Paramedic, taking care of patients, and working for Wake County EMS. 

Episode 148 is Steve McGhie. Steve is the General Secretary of the Ambulance Employees Australia-Victoria. Steve is a long history in EMS and being involved in the Union that protects the 4,100 plus EMS employees in Victoria. Did you know that the CDC reported in 2014 that 2,600 EMS workers received hospital treatment from being injured from an assault? Did you know that 75% of EMS providers reported some type of violence had occurred to them over the past 12 months? Violence against EMS providers continues to rise. Steve and I talk about this issue and how an incident in Australia has sparked a change to mandatory jail time for the person or persons that assaults the provider. We talk about ways that we can try to prevent the violence from occurring.

Episode 147 is David Fifer. David is EMS Educator at Eastern Kentucky University and a fellow podcaster as he is the co-host of the Raw Medicine Podcast. When he is not teaching he is involved with the Red STAR- Red River Gorge Special Treatment, Access and Rescue. Red STAR is the volunteer ALS wilderness special operations unit of the Powell County Ambulance Service in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. David has always been interested in EMS, helping others and learned this at an early age. We talk about his career path, which was not always EMS, the current state of EMS education, and David and I discuss the value of EMS providers obtaining a 4-year college degree.
This episode is sponsored by Erin Cohen Fathom Realty.

Episode 146 continues this podcast’s continuing spotlight on the wellbeing of the people in public safety. This week Daniel and Ann Crampton, the founders of Status: Code 4i (SC4I) are the guests on Medic2Medic.SC4I was created following the numerous reports of First Responder suicides across the United States and Canada. SC4I is in the unique position to intimately understand the stressors associated with being a First Responder. Their mission is to provide counseling and mental wellness education services to First Responders and their family members. Daniel J. Crampton holds a Doctorate in Psychology and has served as a Paramedic with the Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District for over 23 years. Daniel’s Doctoral Dissertation is titled, “Comparison of PTSD and Compassion Fatigue between Urban and Rural Paramedics”. Ann Rush Crampton holds a Ph.D. in Education specializing in Training & Performance Improvement.  She is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, and she has spent over 30 years performing duties as an adult educator. While in the Air Force, she was on several Crisis Support Teams and provided Suicide Awareness Training. Daniel talks about his journey and difficult times and Ann tells why including the family in the process is important. 

Episode 145 is Mike Pertz. Mike is on a mission to help EMS providers decrease the pediatric medication errors. Mike founded SmartSquad that is dedicated to creating products and software for EMS/Fire community to help with this mission. Mike is career Firefighter/Paramedic for fire department just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. He played professional soccer before entering the world of public safety.  Mike is also the founder of FirefighterNOW a site dedicated to giving aspiring firefighters the best and most affordable tools to ace their entry exam and interview. Our discussion talks about his journey from soccer player to Firefighter/Paramedic and why he choose the profession. We talk about his entrepreneur spirit and what inspired him to create SmartSquad and FirefighterNOW?

Episode 144 is Rhonda Kelly. Rhonda is the Program Manager for ResponderStrong. ResponderStrong is an organization committed to the notion that mental resiliency is vital to the overall performance and wellbeing of emergency responders. Rhonda’s path to ResponderStrong is unique, fun and interesting. Rhonda goes from nursing to working on a research vessel to EMS and Firefighting. We talk about her journey, the mission of ResponderStrong and the innovative use of virtual reality to train and assist responders on how to handle stressful situations before they occur. It is an interesting vision and project that ResponderStrong is undertaking.

Episode 143 goes law enforcement with Chief Tony Godwin of the Cary Police Department. Chief Tony Godwin began his career with Cary PD in 1990. Chief Godwin has had the opportunity to serve in many different roles through the years, including Emergency Response Team Sniper/Sniper Team Leader/Team Commander, Bike Team Sgt., Undercover Narcotics, Criminal Investigations Lieutenant, Major over both the Operations and Services Bureaus, Deputy Chief of Police and now Chief. The Chief was one of the first police officers I met when I arrived at Cary Area EMS. I invited Chief Godwin to talk about the opioid crisis and how his department is working through the problem. We also talk about his venture into law enforcement and he tells a good story about his days undercover.

Episode 142 is Dr. James Woodson. James is the founder and Medical Director of Pulsara. Pulsara is a care coordination company focused in the acute care setting of healthcare. Pulsara set out to answer the following questions: How can we improve patient care in our facilities? How can we help our healthcare system pursue improved quality of care at a lower cost? James states that he is a start-up entrepreneur stuck in an Emergency Medicine Physician body. After completing his Emergency Medicine specialty training at Carolinas Medical Center.  James joined Leading Edge Medical Associates. James is a frequent contributor to JEMS and was named an EMS 10 Innovator in 2016. Around 5 years ago he and his family left their home in Texas and moved to Bozman, Montana to launch Pulsara. Our conversation takes us on this journey and his path into Emergency Medicine. James discusses his special interest in decreasing medical errors and written about this topic. We discuss the good and the bad about technology that is used in EMS. We also spend time talking about Pulsara’s mission. 

Episode 141 is Nathan Hudson. The podcast goes overseas to speak with Nathan Hudson. Nathan is the Emergency Service Operations Delivery Director for the West Midlands Ambulance Service in the United Kingdom. Nathan joined West Midlands Ambulance Service 26 years ago. He has been a registered Paramedic for 19 years  Nathan qualified as an emergency medical technician and worked on front-line ambulances to respond to 999 calls. Two years later he became a qualified Paramedic, before furthering his skills to become a Trauma Paramedic.  Nathan’s career during the next 13 years continued with progression where he undertook roles numerous roles. In 2010 Nathan was appointed as General Manager for Birmingham and was responsible for the day-to-day running of front-line operations in England’s 2^nd largest city. Last year Nathan was appointed to the position he currently holds as Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director and is now responsible for the operational running of the Trusts emergency front-line operations in the West Midlands. Nathan discusses how the service covers 5000 square miles and responds to 4000 calls a day? Wait there is more, as Nathan tells about the staggering number of personnel and ambulances that make up the West Midlands. We discuss where did 999 come from?  If you thought about working in the UK, Nathan explains how West Midlands hire. If you want to know more about their hiring process contact Nathan via email nathan.hudson@wmas.nhs.uk

Episode 140 is Scott Sampy. Scott and I go way back to our days at Zepfel Ambulance. We almost went to nursing school together.  He did and I went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Scott is currently the Administrator of Vidant EastCare, the 5 helicopter, 22 ambulance medical transport division at Vidant Medical Center, which is the only level one trauma center in eastern North Carolina. Scott has more than 40 years of clinical, leadership, and educational experience in the air medical and ground transport industry. A western Pennsylvania native,  Scott began his career as an EMT then Paramedic and RN and later received a BA degree in Legal Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Management and Technology degree from Carlow University. After finishing nursing school he worked at the WVU and UPMC Presbyterian Hospital emergency departments, then became a flight nurse at STAT MedEvac. In addition to his professional career, in his spare time, Scott has volunteered as a firefighter at several fire departments, rising to the rank of Chief at the Marshall Township Volunteer Fire Department in Pennsylvania. Scott discusses his career, his first day as a flight medic, and ins and outs of the air ambulance industry. We had fun catching up. 

Episode 138 is Jack Glass. Jack like so many of us in Pittsburgh started as a volunteer and then being paid at Zepfel Ambulance Service before moving to the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS in 1978. Jack, now retired played a significant role in each area he worked for the City. Jack started in the Ambulance Division but spent most of his career in the Rescue Division. How did he end up in the Rescue Division? It is a good question and Jack was surprised too when this occurred. Jack will take us through his career and the positions he held as well as Jack will take us inside some of his rescues. Jack is a National EMS Memorial Service board member (emeritus).

Episode 137 is Hilary Gates. Have you attended an EMS National Conference? Did you ever wonder how one is put together or how the conference chooses the city to hold the conference? Hilary Gates is the Program Director for EMS World Expo. She is also a volunteer paramedic in Alexandria, VA, where she began the department’s community paramedic program. She is an EMT Instructor and teaches in the School of Education at American University. She began her career as a volunteer EMT with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in Montgomery County, MD. Hilary will answer the above questions and tells us what is like for her a few days before EMS World Expo starts. We also discuss what led her to EMS World, community paramedicine and what EMS in 2018 will bring.  

Episode 134 is Vince Mosesso. Vince is an Emergency Medicine Physician with 27 years of experience. Vince is the Medical Director for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Prehospital Care, Associate Medical Director for the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS, a professor of Emergency Medicine for the Universtiy of Pittsburgh and has a passion for EMS. I ask Vince how did he go from studying to be a priest to EMT, Paramedic, and Physician?  We discuss the challenges of EMS, being a Medical Director and working with EMS icons Dr. Ron Stewart and Dr. Paul Paris. 

Episode 133 is Dan Patterson. Dr. P. Daniel Patterson studies safety in emergency care settings with special emphasis on safety culture, fatigue, shift work, sleep health, teamwork, medical errors and adverse events, and clinician injury in the prehospital EMS setting. Fatigue in EMS is a hot topic. EMS fatigue is a common workplace problem. The number of EMS fatigue-related occurrences involving EMS personnel and their patients is on the rise. Some of the most recent research shows that more than half of emergency medical services personnel report severe mental and physical fatigue while at work. What is the right shift? Are EMS leaders prepared and educated to handle this problem? This week Dan discusses the findings after his team of co-investigators reviewed over 38,000 pieces of literature to develop guidelines on this important subject. We discuss the 5 recommendations and what are the next steps in this project?   

Episode 132 is Zach Almond. Zach is a Paramedic for the London Ambulance Service. Believe it or not, Zach is from Texas. In this podcast, you will find out the interesting path Zach takes to ends up in England.  This includes his love for music, playing in a band, his spark to enter EMS and where he studied to become a Paramedic? Zach answers what it is like to be a Paramedic in London, delivering his first baby and his love for adventure.

Episode 131 is Dena Ali. Dena is a 10-year member of the Raleigh Fire Department, which she is a Captain. Dena also works in EMS and started her public safety career as a Police Officer. Dena has personally experienced the benefits of peer support and recognizes how critical it is to simply be heard and understood.You will hear Dena’s passion about the well being of all of us in public safety and her effort to prevent suicides by Firefighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, Advanced EMTs, and EMTs. We talk about her fascinating journey, why all the above is important and the new Peer Support Team for Public Safety that she is a founding member.
If you need help or need someone to talk to you can call 855-7NC-Peer (855-762-7337) anytime.

Episode 130 is Simon Taxel a Paramedic Crew Chief with the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS. Simon is also on the Dive Team, a medical specialist on the Pennsylvania urban search and rescue strike team as well as a contributing author for JEMS and CE Solutions. He started his EMS career 14 years for Meadville Area Ambulance Service. After receiving his bachelor’s degree he moved to Pittsburgh to attend Paramedic School at Community College of Allegheny County and went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Simon, as mentioned above is a frequent contributor to JEMS and his article on employee retention caught my eye. We discuss this article as well as others, his start in EMS, City of Pittsburgh EMS, the cold rivers of Pittsburgh and how he becomes involved in writing articles for JEMS.

Episode 129: Uber versus Ambulance. Which one would you call if you were having a heart attack or a sprained ankle? David Slusky, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Economics and an Oswald Scholar at the University of Kansas, where he also co-directs the Health Policy Research Group and is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Policy & Social Research. David and his co-author Dr. Leon Moskatel take a look at what Uber has done to ambulance calls in cities across America. David discusses how the idea came about, methods and the surprising results of the research. Our conversation also leads us to what may be the next step with this research? This episode is sponsored by The Pulse Point Foundation.

Episode 128 brings back the editors from EMS1.com and JEMS to the podcast. Greg Friese and AJ Heightman join me to talk about their picks for the impact stories in 2017. Both AJ and Greg offer their insight into the stories as well as they give you a peek into the stories in 2018 that will be of interest. All of us had a spirited discussion and it was a fun podcast to produce. Enjoy and Happy New Year from Medic2Medic. 

Episode127 is Jon Politis. I could tell you that Jon retired from EMS and Public Safety after starting his career in 1971. I would be not telling you the truth. Jon is an engaging educator who has presented at many state and national conferences across the US and Canada. Jon has served in many capacities: firefighter, ski patroller, Paramedic, Paramedic Program Coordinator, State EMS Training Coordinator and EMS Chief. He was the first Chief of EMS of the Town of Colonie EMS Department Jon continues to practice as a Paramedic, continues as an active volunteer firefighter and alpine ski patroller. In the summers he works as a Seasonal Ranger/Paramedic in Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole, WY. Jon and I talk about bringing 6 EMS agencies into one, leadership, politics, ski patrol and his Boot Camp Educational Program for supervisors.

Episode 126 is Benjamin Currie. Benji is an EMT-P, currently serves as a District Chief for the Wake County EMS Advanced-Practice Paramedic (Community Paramedicine) program for the Wake County EMS System. He graduated from the inaugural APP academy administered by Wake County and spent three years functioning in the street as an advanced-practice paramedic. Since being promoted to supervisor, he serves as a front-line asset that also works with program managers within the community who serve high-risk patient populations to coordinate and facilitate care and increase collaboration between multidisciplinary agencies. Benji is a believer in Peer Support and a leader in the Wake County EMS System Peer Support Team. During our talk, you can hear Benji’s passion regarding Peer Support and how important this is to him. We also discuss a few other EMS related topics. 

Episode 125: Greg Mears, MD serves as the Medical Director for ZOLL, providing clinical guidance to ZOLL’s Data and Resuscitation Divisions. Greg has been an Emergency Medical Services Physician, educator, and specialist in performance improvement for more than 25 years. His passion is building integrated systems of care and for using real-time data to drive EMS operational and clinical decisions. Greg is the recipient of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services as a Top Innovator in EMS. Prior to joining ZOLL, Dr. Mears was a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State EMS Medical Director. EMS Agenda 2050, being a State EMS Medical Director, his responsibilities at ZOLL and his love of data and information are some of the topics we discuss. We also touch on the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), which Greg was a key player.

Episode124: Charles A. Blankenship is the Manager of System Transport for Mission Health System in Asheville, North Carolina. Charles has over 25 years of EMS experience that includes being a  Critical Care Paramedic and being an officer from American College of Paramedic Executives. Charles is the Chair of the Accreditation Committee for the National EMS Management Association. We talk about his military career, why EMS, how he ended up in North Carolina and how he leads 5 different departments. 

Episode123: Colene James joins me this week. Colene is a former volunteer and full-time employee at Cary Area EMS. Colene has over 10 years of EMS experience. She began her career at Florida State University’s Medical Responder Unit where she quickly moved up the ranks to serve as Director of Operations, EMT Field Supervisor, and Teaching Assistant. She has served with three different Counties in Florida before arriving at Cary Area EMS. She is currently working as a paramedic in a local ER in Salt Lake City, UT. We talk about her experiences and her attempt to become an American Ninja Warrior.

Episode122: Richard Price is the Founder and President of the PulsePoint Foundation.The foundation provides a suite of mobile apps designed to support public safety agencies working to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by using technology that sends nearby citizens trained in CPR to the scene. Listen how a retired Fire Chief goes from fighting fires to the tech world and the story/call that inspired Richard to start PulsePoint.

Episode 119: Michael Bachman has been a paramedic for over 24 years and is currently the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs for the Wake County EMS system. Michael is responsible for the 911 response, clinical quality, performance improvement, research, and data analysis. Prior to this appointment, Michael held various positions in EMS to include Field Training Officer, District Chief and Clinical Educator. In addition to his responsibilities for quality assurance and data management, Michael oversees the implementation and delivery of the Advanced Practice Paramedic (APP) program for the Wake County EMS system. Our discussion includes Michael’s early days in EMS, where you had to call for an IV, his track to Wake County, research, the future of EMS and an inside look at the Office of Medical Affairs. 

Episode118: Jon McCarthy is the author of Hard Roll: A Paramedic’s Perspective of Life and Death in New Orleans. Jon began his public service as an active duty member of the United States Coast Guard. Six years later, he entered the world of emergency medical services and has worked for 20 years as a paramedic. He is one of the architects of the New Orleans EMS Field Training Officer program. The book gives readers an inside look into the chaos of EMS and the toll the job of a first responder takes on those who serve. We discuss his path into EMS, a mistake that almost cost him his career, the book and if there will be a sequel to Hard Roll?

Episode 117: Tom Bouthillet is the EMS Battalion Chief of Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue and Program Director of the South Carolina Resuscitation Academy. He is Editor-in-Chief of several websites devoted to Emergency Cardiovascular Care, an EMS 10 Award recipient, and has taught nationally in the Critical Care Transport (CCEMT-P) program out of UMBC. His writings have been referenced in the American Heart Journal, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions and the EP Lab Digest. We talk about EMS life on Hilton Head, his new promotion, Tom’s early interest in cardiovascular care, the Academy and leadership

Episode 116: Pittsburgh Emergency Management Retired Deputy Director Ray DeMichiei has 42 years oF public safety experience. His introduction to the importance of emergency management in his local community of Plum Boro was in 1972; where, as a volunteer firefighter, his first call was a three-day response to the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes. Deputy Director DeMichiei became involved with Emergency Medical Services in 1973in Plum Boro outside of Pittsburgh. He was certified as an EMT-2 in May of 1975 and employed by the City of Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services in June that same year. He put Pittsburgh Medic 2 in service for the first time on September1, 1975. During his EMS tenure he was assigned to Rescue 2 was promoted to Crew Chief and worked at Medic 5, Medic 1 and Rescue 1. June of 1986 saw Deputy Director DeMichiei assigned to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Office of Professional Responsibility as in investigator. In 1988 he was assigned to the Bureau of Communications 9-1- 1/EOC as Emergency Operations Coordinator where he was responsible for investigation and quality assurance of 911 call-taking and dispatch and Pittsburgh’s emergency management program. Our discussion involves all the above and we touch on subject and an incident that still weighs heavy on Ray.

Episode 115: Stephen Kavalkovich is the host of a brand new podcast called Rescue The Rescuer. Stephen was a 911 Paramedic who in his career saw and helped those suffering and experiencing tragedy. He was part of a team that went to New York City right after the 9/11 attacks and he tells a story that you won’t believe about the trip from New Jersey to New York on that day. Stephen is a person who knows what it is like to be rescued and saved. He is recovering from substance abuse and PTSD. We discuss his story and how he changed his life around and how Rescue The Rescuer Podcast came about. I recommend after listening our podcast you listen to the first two episodes of Stephen’s http://rescuetherescuer.com.

Episode 114: Joseph Zalkin joins the podcast this week. Joseph is the retired Deputy Director from Wake County EMS and his career spans close to 40 years. His career includes being a field paramedic, training and education, teaching and numerous leadership roles. Listen how Joseph goes from Georgia to McDowell County North Carolina to Wake County EMS. We discuss the early days of the Wake County EMS System too. Joseph talks about his EMS teaching experience on the Indian Reservation in Western North Carolina and his research projects. Our discussion leads to EMS and what is occurring in the profession today. If you thought retirement was going to slow him down, it is not and he updates us on what projects he is involved with today.

Episode113: The Happy Medic Justin Schorr joins me this week to discuss is blogging and how his podcast called the Crossover Show got started. It is an interesting tale and you will be surprised how he meet his co-host. Justin has over 25 years in the fire service and his entry into EMS is a good listen. He is a Paramedic Captain and works at one of the busiest airports. He starting writing his blog in 2008 and were no subject is off limits. We discuss all of this and his thoughts on EMS.

Episode 1: Paramedic and FTO Greg Edwards is my first guest. Part 1 of our chat learn how Greg decided to become involve in EMS. I hope you enjoy.

Episode 2: Paramedic Edwards part 2 of our conversation.

Episode 3: Dr. Jefferson Williams is my guest. Dr. Williams is the Deputy Medical Director of the Wake County EMS System. 

Episode 4: This is a short podcast as I talk about Paramedic Sal Ramirez’s unexpected death and his beginnings at Cary Area EMS, followed by the tribute by the Wake County EMS System End of Watch.

Episode 5:  Jeff Hammerstein is the Chief of Community Outreach/EMS from Wake County EMS  and discusses his career and how the unique way he became the system’s PIO.

Episode 6: Cary Area EMS’s Division Chief Tammy Patton Tammy hails from Kentucky and learn how she made it to North Carolina and her path to Cary Area EMS. 

Episode 7: There are people in your career that play an important role. Todd Stout was one for me. I met Todd when I was working for the City of Pittsburgh and was looking to advance my career. I hope you enjoy our conversation. I did. 

Episode 8: Wake County EMS Division’s Paramedic Avery Brown joins me this week to discuss his unique path to the Wake County EMS System. http://www.spreaker.com/user/medic2medic/avery-brown

Episode 9: Paramedic Quincy Harris joins me in studio (my office) to tell his path to EMS and Cary Area EMS. There are 2 parts to the podcast. Click here for Part 2

Episode 10: Dr. Walt Stoy gave me my first teaching job in EMS at the Center for Emergency Medicine. Doctor Stoy is internationally renowned for his efforts in EMS and Emergency Medicine and is recognized by his peers and colleagues as a groundbreaker and national leader in the field of EMS education. 

Episode 11: Steve Wirth is a founding partner of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC and is one of the best known EMS attorneys and consultants in the United States. Listen and learn about Steve’s first encounter with the great Jim Page. 

Episode 12: Justine Hollingshead is a volunteer and an Officer at Cary Area EMS. Justine wears many hats at Cary Area EMS. When she is not volunteering, she is the Chief of Staff for the Vice Chancellor and Dean of Academic and Student Affairs at North Carolina State University. She just received a prestigious 2015 Governor’s Award For Excellence.

Episode 13: A.J. Heightman, MPA, EMT-P, is the Editor-in-Chief of JEMS, the Journal of Emergency Medical Services. See how Jim Page and AJ met as well as learning about AJ’s roots in my home State of Pennsylvania. 

Episode 14: Marion Houle is an EMS veteran and a Division Chief at Cary Area EMS. Marion grew up in Canada and made is way to South Florida then to North Carolina. Listen to his adventure and how he began is EMS career.

Episode 15: Bradley Wilson is an award winning photo journalist, college professor and was a great volunteer for Cary Area EMS.

Episode 16: Steven J. Davidson,MD is one of my mentors talks about his journey in EMS and Emergency Medicine, the birth of a speciality and EMS in Philadelphia. 

Episode 17: Chief Tant is a veteran of the Wake County EMS System and he kicks off 2016’s Medic2Medic Podcast.

Episode 18: Joe Bourgraf is the CEO of Ferno. See how Ferno was started and learn about the new Integrated Patient Transport Systems coming to EMS.

Episode 19: Mike Yee and I worked the busiest Medic Unit in the City of Pittsburgh. We reminisce about our days on Medic 5 and the closeness that partners have together.

Episode 20:Chris Colangelo is the Chief Operating Officer for Wake County EMS. Chris’s path to this position starts outside Hampton Roads VA and hear how he makes his way to North Carolina and Wake County.

Episode 21: Greg Friese, MS, NRP, is Editor-in-Chief of EMS1.com. He is an educator, author, paramedic, and marathon runner. We talk about how EMS1.com got started as well as a hot button topic as ballistic vests for EMS providers.

Episode 22: David Lindell has over 40 years of EMS experience as a provider, educator, flight medic and leader. Listen to his story of being part of Freedom House Ambulance Service and part of the first class of Paramedics to be hired by the City of Pittsburgh. 

Episode 23: Dr. Paris is a pioneer in EMS, an innovator and one of the biggest supporters of EMTs and Paramedics. He also has a strong opinion on where EMS is going. Dr. Paris a long with Dr. Ron Stewart were a crucial in the early success of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS. I finally get a chance to say thank you to Dr. Paris for something he did for my family.

Episode 24: Kevin Hazzard worked as a paramedic from 2004 to 2013, primarily at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.  He is the author of A Thousand Naked Strangers. The book provides an inside look into Kevin’s journey in EMS. We talk about his transition from journalist to Paramedic and his thoughts on EMS today.

Episode 25: Jon Olson is the Deputy Director, Chief of Operations for Wake County EMS. Jon has 28 years of EMS experience that included being a former Chief of Cary Area EMS. A few years back a Tornado struck Wake County and Jon was right in the middle of the operation. Listen to him describe his thoughts and the story behind this incident. Jon grew up in Western Pennsylvania and is a Steeler fan.

Special Edition Erin Cohen: Erin and I discuss what it is like to be married to an EMS provider and you hear how we met. Erin is a Real Estate agent and offers a great program if you are buying or selling a home. Hometown Heroes is an organization designed to give back to those who help make our communities a better place to live by offering real savings. Listen to hear more about this program and get a small glance into support she has provided me during my career.  Hometown Heroes Link 

Episode 26: Peter Dworsky and I went to Hahnemann University (now Drexel University) and graduated from their EMS Degree Program. We talk about those early days of the program, his career path and interest in safety for EMS providers. For the past 12 years Peter has been working for MONOC Mobile Health Services in New Jersey as the Corporate Director of Support Services. He also spent 18 years working as a field paramedic in New York City. He is also a two time recipient of the JEMS EMS 10 Innovation Award.

Episode 27: Doug Widmer is a Paramedic and Deputy Chief at Medical Rescue Team South Authority (MRTSA) in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. Doug knew when he was 5 that he wanted to be in EMS and he has the proof. Listen to how he got started as a volunteer, being a dispatcher at 16 and how his career path landed him in my old office at MRTSA.

Episode 28: Alexander Garza MD, MPH is the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice and and Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) and is board certified in Emergency Medicine. In addition, he is the Medical Director and Homeland Security advisor for FirstWatch Inc, a data and quality improvement software company in Encinitas, CA focusing on emergency responders. Dr. Garza was appointed by President Obama as the Assistant Secretary and Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Homeland Security. He is a Colonel of the US Army Reserves.