GAPBAC | Registration Open for Oct 31, Nov 1 Meetings
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CRS Issues Overview of Select No Surprises Act Litigation
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CMS Shares GADCS Walkthrough
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Proposed Changes to the FLSA Overtime Exemption Salary Level
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Clarion Ledger | Ambulance ‘response times’ miss the big picture: health outcomes
Congratulations to the board of the Mississippi Ambulance Alliance on the publication of their insightful op-ed in the Clarion Ledger.
“Response Times” are the loudest complaint, both locally and around the country — regardless of whether a private or public ambulance is responding. Everyone is, understandably, mad the ambulance isn’t right here, right now. And in many if not most instances, the ambulance providers agree — they want to be on scene sooner.
But that system is showing its fragility everywhere.
PBS NewsHour | The No Surprises Act left out ground ambulances. Here’s what’s happening now
Thank you to American Ambulance Association Secretary @WayneJurecki for standing up for patients and #EMS providers. @NewsHour #SupportEMS #GAPBAC #AlwaysOpen #NotJustaRide https://t.co/L982QAYr3X @EMS1 @jemsconnect @UKROBL1 @AIMHI_MIH @EMSWorldOFCL
— AmericanAmbulanceAsc (@amerambassoc) August 24, 2023
NAEMSP | Board Nominations Open
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2023 Mentorship Guide for EMS
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EMS Workforce Quick Take: Sign-on and Referral Bonuses
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National EMS Museum News
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Support EMS Professionals Impacted by the Maui Fires
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2024 Vanguard Nominations Open Through January 1
Nominations Are Due January 1, 2024!
Recognize woman leaders with at least 35 years of service in EMS! Nominations are open for the second annual American Ambulance Association Vanguard Awards! The Vanguards honor those who blazed the trail for fellow women EMS professionals.
The Vanguards are presented in collaboration with our colleagues from Women in Emergency Services (WiES), a newly-founded organization dedicated to supporting and advancing women’s careers in the emergency services industry through empowerment, networking, mentorship, and education.
Selection Process & Criteria
To submit a 2024 Vanguard nomination, please complete the form below before January 1, 2024.
Honorees will be selected based ONLY on the information provided in their nomination form. Nominees should have contributed to their organization, state ambulance association, AAA, other professional associations, and/or the EMS profession in an extraordinary way beyond faithful completion of job duties. Please be sure to include detail about the nominee’s impact to date.
Please note that nominees must be women with 35+ years of service in the EMS industry. No specific job role or title is required for consideration.
Recognition
Honorees will be recognized at the American Ambulance Association President’s Reception award ceremony, and will be recognized on the AAA and WiEMS websites and social media platforms. Winners will also receive complimentary registration to the AAA Annual Conference & Trade Show.
2024 AAA Annual Conference & Trade Show
Gaylord Opryland
April 22–24, 2024
Nashville, TN
GADCS Submission Notices
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EEOC Issues Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence an Employer’s Selection Process
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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
Voluntary AEMT Accreditation to Launch January 1, 2025
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All Clear Foundation Names Mike Taigman Chairman of the Board
This appointment demonstrates its commitment to serving those in emergency services with the wellness resources they need, when they need them, free of charge
Denver, Colorado, USA – All Clear Foundation (ACF), a national 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to improving the wellbeing and longevity of Emergency Responders, including Healthcare Workers, and their families, has appointed Mike Taigman Chairman of the Board.
“My life’s purpose–for my entire life–has been to recognize suffering in all its forms and do something about it. All Clear Foundation’s mission is in complete alignment with that passion,” says Taigman. “I am humbled and excited by this opportunity.”
A Proven Track Record
Taigman brings a wealth of experience to this role. He spent decades on the streets of Denver as a paramedic, honing his “people first” approach. The author of more than 600 articles in professional journals, Taigman is a recognized expert in the areas of quality improvement, data science, leadership, and EMS. He serves as adjunct faculty at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and UCSF, and he is the Improvement Guide at FirstWatch, a data analytics firm dedicated to quality improvement in public safety.
“We are thrilled to have Mike on board,” says Rhonda Kelly, the foundation’s Executive Director. “His passion for improving quality of life among Emergency Responders is sincere and his track record is unparalleled. We appreciate his focus on the full spectrum of wellness supports from proactive education to crisis intervention. And we are very excited about his commitment to utilizing evidence-based practices to drive improvement.”
ACF relies upon the power of strategic partnerships to affect change and appreciates Taigman’s extensive experience building and growing partnerships in the Responder wellness world. In addition to facilitating development of EMS Agenda 2050, a vision EMS 20 years into the future, he is the author of Super-Charge Your Stress Management in the Age of COVID and is regular faculty at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
A Vision Forward
Among his top priorities, Taigman looks forward to ensuring the sustainability of All Clear’s mission. “My hope is to support the ongoing mission and build sustainable support and funding for the foundation so we can continue this important work,” says Taigman. “There’s so much evidence that being involved in emergency services and healthcare takes a toll on the folks doing the job.”
“All Clear Foundation has pulled together an ecosystem of resources that is unmatched and provides them free of charge to Emergency Responders, their agencies, and their families. Securing reliable support for these efforts is essential and ongoing.”
A Clear Need
The need is there. One study found Emergency Responders suffer from depression and PTSD at five times the rate of the general population. Among the many challenges inherent in the work are frequent trauma exposure, rotating shift schedules, limited agency support, amplified stress on the family and other relationships, and physical injury.
“Too many Emergency Responders have paid for their service with their lives, either in quality or longevity,” says Director Kelly. “The barriers of shame, stigma, lack of local resources, and lack of finances have kept many from accessing the supports they deserve and need. This is where All Clear Foundation steps in. Built by Responders, for Responders, we are here to help across the domains of wellness: mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual.”
Supporting First Responders
All Clear Foundation provides an array of easily accessible and navigable wellness solutions at no cost to agencies or participants. ResponderStrong, its mental health initiative, has had a significant impact nationally and continues to grow with hybrid-format educational content and digital tools. Partners organizations include Global Medical Response, FirstNet-Built with AT&T, Abbott Nutrition, The Center for Relationship Education, IndyCar, IPSDI, Sigma Tactical Wellness, and NERPSC.
“The work All Clear and its partner organizations provide is saving lives,” says Taigman. “But, beyond that, it’s making Emergency Responders happier, healthier, and more resilient. This is good news for all of us.”
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ABOUT FIRSTWATCH
Since 1998, FirstWatch has been helping EMS agencies monitor real-time situational awareness, operational performance, clinical quality and performance improvement measures, as well as health surveillance, bioterrorism or other potentially concerning incidents. FirstWatch is designed to aggregate data from your agency’s CAD, ePCR, ProQA, RMS, Hospital ED, Billing and Phone system into a single, automated real-time view. For more information, visit www.firstwatch.net.
ABOUT ALL CLEAR FOUNDATION
Through assessing community wellness needs, priorities, and barriers, All Clear Foundation, a 501c3 public charity, leverages the power of strategic partnerships to create easily accessible and navigable systems of wellness solutions, improving the wellbeing and longevity of those who serve our communities. In 2019, ACF was founded by Global Medical Response as an autonomous public charity designed to serve and benefit the national Emergency Responder community. As one of the largest employers of Public Safety personnel in the U.S., GMR believes it has a duty to support the overall wellness of all Responders nationally. All Clear Foundation’s mission is to improve the overall wellbeing and longevity of those who serve our communities in times of need. We believe that healthy emergency responders contribute to healthier communities. For more information, visit www.allclearfoundation.org.
For more information, please contact Crawford Coates at ccoates@firstwatch.net.
Employee Turnover Study Due 4/30 | iPad Raffle
The American Ambulance Association is partnering with Newton 360, an ambulance industry partner and Human Resource support firm, to conduct our fifth annual industry turnover study. Our intent is to comprehensively collect and analyze ambulance industry employee turnover data to produce a report that provides useful and actionable data. We are inviting EMS organizations to participate in the study. The study will be conducted and managed by Dennis Doverspike, PhD, and Rosanna Miguel, PhD, who are associated with the Center for Applied Talent Analytics at John Carroll University. Each individual or organizational response will be strictly confidential.
The purpose of the study is to better quantify and understand the reasons for turnover at nearly every organizational level within the EMS Industry. Thank you very much for your time and support.
Laying the Groundwork for Reducing Employee Turnover
Why participate in the survey?
- Educate elected officials, municipalities, and healthcare clients. The insight gained from this survey can help influence the actions, practices, or decisions of officials regarding regulatory and funding policies at the federal, regional, or local level. Specifically, this important data can help validate the critical staffing challenges faced by the EMS industry. This year, we continue to have queries related to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) even though it is scheduled to end on May 11, 2023. We feel that it is important to understand the lingering impact of the PHE on EMS turnover and its related costs.
- This study is critical to gaining insight into combating staff shortages. The AAA / Newton 360 2023 Ambulance Industry Employee Turnover Study aims to yield the information that organizations need to identify and benchmark their turnover challenges. Over the years this survey has been conducted, it has generated the largest response to a turnover survey ever published for the private EMS industry.
- Participating organizations will have full access to the final report at no charge. The comprehensive results of the study will be shared exclusively with each participating organization. Shorter write-ups and summaries of the results may be shared at conferences or published in relevant periodicals or journals.
Before You Start
It is recommended you gather information about your employees and about turnover before completing the questionnaire.
In this survey, we will be asking about headcount (filled and open positions), the number of employees leaving the organization, and reasons for employees leaving. We will be asking these questions for each of the following job categories: supervisor, dispatch, EMT, part-time EMT, paramedic, and part-time paramedic. Headcount refers to the number of filled and open positions for each job category at the end of 2022. Filled positions refer to the number of employees in each job category that were on payroll at the end of 2022. For each job category, the number of filled positions should be added to the number of open positions at the end of 2022 to determine the total headcount.
The survey will open on April 17th, 2023, and close at end of the day, on April 30th, 2023. The survey can be accessed by following the link below. If the hyperlink does not work when clicked, please copy the hyperlink and paste it into your browser.
https://johncarroll.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57s6B8d92GW44wS
Thank you,
Scott Moore, Esq.
Newton 360
Workforce Dynamics, Inc.
(781) 236-4411 office
(781) 771-9914 mobile
www.newton360.com
AAA Provides Comments to the Senate HELP Committee Related to Workforce Shortage
The American Ambulance Association has submitted comments to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) in response to their request for input on crafting legislation to address the health care workforce shortage.
Ground ambulance service organizations are facing a severe shortage of paramedics and EMTs which is placing a significant strain on an emergency medical system already in financial distress. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide our legislative solutions to the committee to help address the ongoing workforce crisis.
Please see the document linked below, which was sent to the HELP Committee Chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders, and the Ranking Member, Senator Bill Cassidy.
3-17-2023 HELP Workforce Comments