A Message from AAA President Randy Strozyk
Contact Congress ►https://www.votervoice.net/Ambulance/…
Annual Conference & Trade Show June 26–28, 2023 in Las Vegas ► https://annual.ambulance.org/
NHTSA’s Office of EMS Contributes to New Study Analyzing Suicide Among EMS and 911
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EEOC Issues Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence an Employer’s Selection Process
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NCSL EMS Legislative Database
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U.S. DOL Provides Updated Guidance on Break Time for Breastfeeding Employees
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Binder Lift responds to emergency care provider shortage by becoming PHASE; expands resources to help providers have longer and healthier careers.
Bigfork, Montana, May 17 – Binder Lift, a supplier of patient handling equipment and training for emergency care providers, recently became PHASE (Patient Handling and Safety Experts) in response to the ongoing workforce shortage in the emergency care industry. “Patient handling causes far more injuries to emergency care providers than any other job function,” said PHASE CEO Rick Binder. “Though we can’t help agencies find new personnel, we can help them retain employees by providing them with the equipment and training necessary to avoid injuries where they happen most.”
Recognizing a problem they could help solve, the company expanded its resources to protect emergency care providers from the most common cause of injury. It added new solutions to its product line and helped produce an accredited training program on patient handling safety that will be available without cost. “Suddenly, we weren’t only helping providers avoid lifting injuries by supplying a single product; we were helping customers safely move patients from the bathtub in the patient’s home all the way to the hospital bed,” Binder said. “Becoming PHASE was a natural progression.”
The company’s first product, Binder Lift, was born in 2012 out of a friendly argument between Binder’s mother and father. Julie Binder, an EMT-I at the time, told Dan Binder there was nothing available to help her and her partner safely lift a large patient from the floor to a standing position. Dan didn’t believe her. “After a long web search to prove her wrong, he found nothing,” Binder said. “So he got to work making his own solution.”
The result was the company’s flagship product. Since then, more than 3,000 emergency care departments have invested in the Binder Lift to keep their personnel safe when lifting patients. The device has also won multiple industry awards, including EMS Innovation of the Year.
Binder believes adding new products and resources to its offerings is the best way the company could serve the emergency care providers it works to protect. “These are remarkable people,” he said. “They work tough hours for modest pay in order to help others. They shouldn’t have to worry about being injured simply by doing their job.”
Continuing its commitment to their health and safety, PHASE is offering free product trials to first responders through its new website, www.phaseintl.com.
The new website also includes a comprehensive resource center where users can watch instructional videos, get product information, and read case studies. The site will also feature free access to an accredited training program created in partnership with other industry stakeholders in the coming months.
“We’ve grown a lot over the last decade since first bringing the Binder Lift to market,” Binder said. “But we’re still the same family-owned and operated business that values our relationships with our customers and industry partners.”
About PHASE (Patient Handling and Safety Experts)
We’re on a mission to empower emergency care providers to have longer and healthier careers by providing the equipment and training necessary to safely move patients of any size with ease. All our products and services are science-backed solutions that help emergency care providers avoid injuries where they happen most. PHASE is a family-owned business that brings our family values to the workplace. When you do business with us, you’re more than a customer. You’re family. So, let’s connect. We look forward to helping you. To learn more, visit www.phaseintl.com
Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023
Earlier today, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) introduced the Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2023. The legislation would extend the temporary Medicare ambulance add-on payments for an additional three years.
“We thank Senators Cortez Masto, Collins, Stabenow, and Cassidy for introducing the Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act and for their strong support for ground ambulance services and the communities and patients we serve,” said AAA President Randy Strozyk. “The disparity between Medicare reimbursement and the costs of providing services has grown significantly through reductions in reimbursement and skyrocketing expenses for labor, ambulances, and equipment. This bill would help reduce that gap and maintain access to vital ground ambulance services for communities around the country.”
The Senate version of the bill would go even further by increasing the add-on payment levels for urban from 2% to 3.4% urban, for rural from 3% to 4.3% rural and for super rural from 22.6% 26.2%. The last extension of the add-on payments was scheduled to end on December 31, 2022, but our champions on Capitol Hill were able to secure a two-year extension through December 31, 2024. The additional three-year extension is critical to keep the add-on payments in place through ambulance data collection and provide time to Congress to then use the data to reform the Medicare ambulance fee schedule.
Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Terri Sewell (D-AL), Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced the House version (H.R. 1666) of the bill on March 17. The House bill would be a three-year extension of the add-on payments at their present levels.
This progress is the result of tireless advocacy on the part of AAA volunteer leaders, staff, and consultants made possible by the sustained support of our members. It is critical that AAA members reach out to both their Senators and Representatives to cosponsor the respective versions of the Preserving Access to Ground Ambulance Services Act of 2023. It is vital that we generate a groundswell of support in the Congress for extending the add-on payments and will need that support to then also advocate for the higher add-on percentages when Congress negotiates on Medicare payment extensions.