HHS ASPR Project ECHO COVID-19 Clinical Rounds

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Operations, Patient Care, Regulatory.

HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

  • Peer to Peer Sharing : HHS ASPR, Project ECHO, and the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Centers (NETEC) together support the COVID-19 Clinical Rounds, peer to peer real-time knowledge sharing sessions among front line clinicians on challenges and successes encountered treating COVID-19.
  • Audience of Multidisciplinary Clinicians: Physicians, nurses, and EMS clinicians participate in the Rounds, which continue to focus on critical care, emergency departments, and EMS.
  • Format of Sessions: Each Clinical Rounds session includes brief presentations from experienced expert clinicians complemented by discussion among expert panelists in response to Q&A from participants.
  • Sharing of Experience, Not Official Guidance: Rounds are intended to be the sharing of clinical experience rather than formal recommendations or guidance.
  • Evolving Clinical Round Topics: Topics of Clinical Rounds evolve to address the dynamic COVID-19 medical response.
  • Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credit: Participants can fill out a short survey and receive 1 hour of Continuing Medical Education credit instantly for each session.

Watch On-Demand Sessions

Register for Future Rounds

Webinar | Ambulance Fleet Tips for Weathering the Chassis Shortage

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Operations, Webinars.

Ambulance Fleet Tips for Weathering the Chassis Shortage
Webinar | June 23, 2021 | 14:00 ET | Free to AAA Members

Register Now

The American Ambulance Association and the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services recently reported that a global semiconductor shortage has crippled the production of motor vehicle chassis—including those used by ambulance manufacturers and remounters. Ford Motor Company, which supplies approximately 70% of the ambulance chassis used in the US, halted production in mid-April. The end is not yet in sight, with the shortage of the critically important microchips predicted to run into 2022.

Join ambulance fleet experts from across the country to learn what your EMS agency can do NOW to extend the lifecycle of your vehicles and minimize the impact of the chip and chassis shortage. Additionally, learn how the American Ambulance Association is working to drive federal, state, and local advocacy efforts to ensure that first responders are at the front of the line when production resumes. Don’t miss your chance to learn from ambulance fleet luminaries how they keep their crews rolling, 24/7!

Register Now

Speakers

Drew Morrow
Director of Support Services, Pro EMS

Mark Van Arnam
Administrator, CAAS GVS

Maria Bianchi
CEO, American Ambulance Association

Trampus Gaspard
Senior Director of Logistics, Acadian Companies

Survey for EMS Educators | Please Share!

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Employee Benefits, Human Resources, Recruitment & Retention, Training.

Please share this email and survey link with EMS education providers in your area! If your ambulance service operates its own training program, please also complete the survey on its behalf. Thank you for helping us gather this critically important data!

 

Dear Education Partner/Collaborator,

As a leader in Emergency Medical Services and a member of the American Ambulance Association, the Association leadership is trying to better understand the current challenges regarding the new and current workforce. One of our goals this year is to better understand the impact that Covid-19 has placed on education institutions offering programs in emergency medical services.

Therefore, I am requesting your help in completing a short survey and answer five short questions through the link below to help gather data and try to determine the short- and long-term effects we might expect because of any potential disruption in the graduation or completion of future students entering the field of EMS?

SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/227TKTK

We appreciate your time and effort towards helping us better understand the future of our EMS workforce and begin building more solutions to try and recruit and retain our workforce for long term sustainability. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly or contact the American Ambulance Association’s CEO, Maria Bianchi at mbianchi@ambulance.org.

Thanks for considering.

Your Name
Your Title
EMS Service Name

Medicare Ambulance Relief Bill introduced in Senate

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Advocacy Priorities, Government Affairs, Legislative, Medicare.

Yesterday, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Protecting Access to Ground Ambulance Medical Services Act of 2021 (S. 2037). Senators Cortez Masto and Collins were joined by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (D-VT) as primary cosponsors and leads on the legislation.

S. 2037 is identical to H.R. 2454 by Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and would extend the temporary Medicare ground ambulance increases of 2% urban, 3% rural and the super rural bonus payment for five years. The increases are currently scheduled to expire on December 31, 2022. The five-year extension would allow for the increases to remain in place during the two-year delay on ambulance data collection due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, an analysis of the data by MedPAC and subsequent action by the Congress to reform the Medicare ambulance fee schedule.

The legislation would also help ensure that rural zip codes in large urban counties remain rural following geographical changes under the fee schedule as a result of the 2020 census data. The current definition using rural urban commuting areas (RUCA) in Goldsmith Modification areas would be modified for zip codes with 1,000 people or less per square mile would also be rural. Ground ambulance service providers and suppliers could also petition the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to make the argument that a specific zip code should be rural. It is vital that this provision be implemented before CMS makes changes from the 2020 census data which will likely occur in 2023.

The AAA has been leading the effort on the legislation with the support of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Association of EMTs, National Rural Health Association and the National Volunteer Fire Council.

The AAA will be launching a Call to Action shortly requesting AAA members to ask their Senators to cosponsor S. 2037, and reach out to their Representatives to cosponsor H.R. 2454 if they have not already done so.

We greatly appreciate the leadership of Senators Cortez Masto, Collins, Stabenow, Cassidy, Leahy, and Sanders on this vitally important legislation.

AMERICAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION
PO Box 96503 #72319
Washington, DC 20090-6503
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