Creative EMS

On the MCHD Paramedic Podcast #EMS medical directors from across Texas break down the challenges faced during the state’s catastrophic blizzard as call volumes tripled amid ice, power outages and water issues. (via EMS1) https://buff.ly/3sFhhAn

EMS medical directors from the US and UK share how they boosted #COVID19 vaccine acceptance among hesitant first responders and discuss the role #EMS services are playing in administering vaccinations. (via EMS World) https://buff.ly/2NUVsO5

Designing a four-wheel drive #ambulance for Mackinack Island, where #EMS shares narrow roads with horse-drawn carriages, bicycles and snowmobiles (via JEMS) https://buff.ly/3pVqBy1

If you get as frustrated as I did by some patients’ self-destructive behavior, have a look at ‘Killing Season’not to reinforce your opinions of addicts, but to change them. Nashville #paramedic Mike Rubin reviews medic/author Peter Canning’s book about the #opioid crisis. (via EMS World) https://buff.ly/3jW68bj

Joining a growing list of cities, Portland, Ore., this week launched a pilot program pairing mental health clinicians with #paramedics to provide non-police assistance to people experiencing homelessness or a mental health crisis. (via EMS1) https://buff.ly/3djqJVD

The CDC projected Friday that the new fast spreading, far more contagious variant of the #coronavirus will become the primary source of infection by March, potentially fueling another wrenching surge of cases and deaths, per The New York Times. https://buff.ly/38Nco13

#COVID19 is on track to become the country’s deadliest killer this winter, well ahead of heart disease, cancer and the flu, Scientific American reports. https://buff.ly/3nHMX5g

In L.A. County, #EMS crews are reporting wait times of up to 17 hours to offload patients, per the Los Angeles Times. But amid the exhaustion and anguish of the last several weeks is something worse: fear that the next few weeks will be even more dire. #COVID19 (via JEMS) https://buff.ly/2LHnyvg

#COVID19 vax by the numbers: Of 20 million first doses distributed in the US, 5 million have been administered, covering 1.5% of the 329 million people living here, per CDC data tracked daily by Time magazine https://buff.ly/3hVAtpf

18.9% of #EMS managers strongly agree they’re satisfied with their #ePCR system; just 10% of field providers concur, per the EMS1 2020 Trend Report. https://buff.ly/3oCC5Hg Where do you stand? #NationalTechnologyDay