Association Update: June 2022

New York City Fire Museum Opens New COVID-19 Exhibition

A new exhibition at the New York City Fire Museum, “Unmasking Our Heroes,” celebrates the efforts of the city’s emergency medical services workforce—the paramedics, EMTs, and other officers of the New York City Fire Department—during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The exhibition will be on display until late August. It features dozens of poignant images—including a moving video in which FDNY EMTs and paramedics reflect on their service during the last 2 years—as well artifacts curated from the public (including giant thank you signs) and other items that showcase the heroism and extraordinary efforts of New York City’s paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters.

“For the past 2 years, our members have faced the busiest period in the history of EMS, responding to a record number of calls at the height of the pandemic,” said FDNY Chief of EMS Lillian Bonsignore. “They brought compassion and empathy and top-notch care to their patients during a dark time for our city. I am proud of the work they’ve done and continue to do and am honored to celebrate them at this important exhibit.” 

Find a video on the exhibit here. 

—New York City Fire Museum

AI Algorithm Can Predict Cardiac Arrest

An algorithm built to assess scar patterns in patient heart tissue can predict potentially life-threatening arrhythmias more accurately than doctors can.

The technology, built on raw images of patients’ diseased hearts and patient backgrounds, significantly improves on doctors’ predictions and stands to revolutionize clinical decision-making and increase survival from sudden and lethal cardiac arrhythmias, one of medicine’s deadliest and most puzzling conditions.

“Sudden cardiac death caused by arrhythmia accounts for as many as 20% of all deaths worldwide, and we know little about why it’s happening or how to tell who’s at risk,” said senior author Natalia Trayanova, a professor of biomedical engineering and medicine at Johns Hopkins. “There are patients who may be at low risk of sudden cardiac death getting defibrillators they might not need, and then there are high-risk patients who aren’t getting the treatment they need and could die in the prime of their lives. What our algorithm can do is determine who is at risk for cardiac death and when it will occur, allowing doctors to decide exactly what needs to be done.”

The team is the first to use neural networks to build a personalized survival assessment for each patient with heart disease. These risk measures provide with high accuracy the chance for a sudden cardiac death over 10 years, and when it’s most likely to happen.

—Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation

HHS Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

To help meet the needs of the nation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, effective April 16. The first US public health emergency declaration for COVID-19 was signed in January 2020 as the global pandemic response began and has been renewed every 90 days in adherence to the law. 

Renewing the public health emergency declaration ensures health care providers and state and territorial health departments have continued flexibility to respond to the pandemic. These flexibilities support efforts such as rapid patient care during emergencies, including waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for certain requirements under section 1135 of the Social Security Act. Examples of such requirements include preapproval requirements and temporary reassignment of state, territorial, tribal, or local staff who typically are funded by federal grants in order to respond to the emergency. 

HHS will provide states and territories with no less than 60 days’ notice prior to the termination of the public health emergency declaration for COVID-19. 

—National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians