Association Update: July 2021

NAEMT Adds Stroke Awareness Resources 

With hospitals around the country reporting reduced numbers of stroke cases arriving in their emergency rooms, health experts suspect fear of COVID-19 may have caused people to avoid going to the hospital or calling 9-1-1 for non-COVID-related emergencies. EMS can help by educating patients and the public about the importance of calling 9-1-1 for help when people are experiencing symptoms of stroke. 

For Stroke Awareness Month in May, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians released several new stroke resources for EMS, including an app to help determine stroke severity; an updated Get Ahead of Stroke website; a stroke urgency tool kit; a patient brochure and other handouts; and other downloadable resources. Access these at www.naemt.org/initiatives/stroke-resources. 

—NAEMT

NEMSIS Releases 2020 Public Data 

The National Emergency Medical Services Information System Technical Assistance Center (NEMSIS TAC) has announced the availability of the 2020 public-release research data set, the largest publicly available data set of emergency medical service activations in the United States. With this release NEMSIS aims to improve understanding of, confidence in, and support for EMS data collection and analysis that will lead to data being utilized more effectively to improve patient care. 

“The 2020 data set is a powerful asset for researchers looking into all manner of conditions that affect different aspects of EMS service,” says N. Clay Mann, principal investigator for the NEMSIS Technical Assistance Center. “Hopefully, the information gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic will help give EMS agencies valuable insight on their work improving EMS services under all sorts of conditions.” 

Request a copy of the 2020 public-release research data set at https://nemsis.org/using-ems-data/request-research-data. 

—NEMSIS Technical Assistance Center

FirstWatch, AIMHI Partner to Fund Stout Archive at National EMS Museum

FirstWatch has partnered with the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration to preserve the written legacy of the late EMS visionary Jack Stout. The partnership will fund an online archive hosted by the National EMS Museum, making more than 100 of Stout’s writings available to the public. 

Keith Griffiths, a partner with the RedFlash Group and longtime colleague, noted Stout “was a brilliant communicator and storyteller, taking abstract concepts and making them come alive with clear, down-to-earth prose that still resonates today.”

Known as the father of high-performance EMS and system status management, Stout developed his concepts in the 1970s to improve EMS systems by making them more efficient and focused on patient care. An economist by trade, he found that applying the science, concepts, and economics used in manufacturing provided the framework for standing up high-quality EMS systems that could afford to provide effective and reliable prehospital care.

—RedFlash Group

FAEMS 2021 Application Process Open Through Mid-August 

The FAEMS application period is now open and runs through August 15. Physician, professional, and international candidates can apply at https://naemsp.org/home/news/2019-faemsp-application-process-open (find criteria there). A committee of the National Association of EMS Physicians will meet after the deadline to review applications and respond to applicants by e-mail by late October. 

—NAEMSP