Jul 6

Jul 6 Episode 74: The FDNY*EMS Struggle with Michael Greco

Michael Greco is the Vice President of Local 2507, who represents the EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors of the Fire Department of the City of New York. You may remember we had him on last in Episode 29, and unfortunately, conditions have not improved much since our last talk.

The FDNY*EMS members will be boycotting the ticker-tape parade held for the City’s “Hometown Heroes”, because quite simply, while New York City will give them a parade; they will not pay them a fair living for the critical job they do in one of the most expensive places to live in the world.

Feb 23

Feb 23 Episode 69: The Problem with Media and EMS

Daniel Schwester

Controversy, Interview

Have you ever wondered why the news media gets EMS stories so messed up? Do you cringe each time you see a news story talk about “ambulance drivers”? Is your agency concerned with sharing your work with the community because of “HIPAA”?

Dan sits down with journalist and clinician Rich Huff (@richmhuff) as well as our good friend Margaret Keavney (www.keavneystreger.com) to discuss the problems with EMS and media, and solutions we can use to tell our stories better to the people we serve.

“We don’t have to be first; we have to be better.”

The story on LA County cardiac arrest transport:

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/01/05/953653359/los-angeles-ambulances-told-to-conserve-oxygen-and-limit-hospital-transfers

EMS Aegis is a great source for training and information for both individual clinicians and agencies looking to do better:

Sep 25

Sep 25 Episode 45: POLST and End of Life in Prehospital Care

Daniel Schwester

FOAMed, Controversy

Anna and Dan sit down with attorney and former paramedic Margaret Keavney to discuss end-of-life issues in EMS. How do we honor patient wishes, and the law? What is our standard, and how does our culture and training sometimes work against us?

We don't get great initial training in the end of life, although EMS is present at the majority of these events. Check it out!

Keavney-Streger Law Firm can be found here:

https://keavneystreger.com

OPALS study on cardiac arrest termination of care:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/182615

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa052620

New Jersey's POLST:

https://www.nj.gov/health/advancedirective/polst/

About the late Dr John Hinds and his mission to bring advanced care to the patient:

http://www.delta7hems.com

#DoBetter