Mary Meeks Reflects on a Year as the 2024 Jack Stout EMS Fellow

Serving the People Behind the Data

How do we add value to our community?

“That has been stuck in my head as a huge and fundamental question,” says Mary E. Meeks, the 2024 Jack Stout EMS Fellow. As district chief at Chatham Emergency Services (CES), headquartered in Savannah, Ga., she saw the relevance of this question daily in her work. “What do we as an EMS agency do to add value to the community of Savannah? How do we ensure equitable treatment and engagement of our citizenry?”

These questions arose for Meeks throughout the fellowship year. They continue to motivate her actions as a leader.

Named for Jack Stout, a pioneer of high-performance EMS systems, the Jack Stout Fellowship was created by FirstWatch and the Fitch EMS Foundation to develop aspiring EMS leaders. The fellowship promotes people-centered leadership, improvement science, data fluency, and systems thinking to improve clinical outcomes, both in the community of the recipient and nationally.

Making Meaningful Differences to EMS Service

“When I was awarded the fellowship I was asked to make a meaningful and measurable change in our department,” says Meeks. “We have the data, and then we have the work out there in the real world. My crew loves working with patients – it’s what sets their heart on fire. Humanizing the data is the legacy of Jack Stout. It’s how you get buy-in at the street level.”

CES is a private, not-for-profit fire and EMS service covering approximately 630 square miles and a population of more than 276,000. It employs a mixed career/volunteer staff of approximately 450 people. “Every dollar we bring in, goes right back into our organization,” says Meeks. “Our greatest resource is our people. I believe that if you treat your people well, they treat their patients well.”

Working with FirstWatch Improvement Guide Mike Taigman, Meeks has undertaken a project looking into census data from Savannah’s Metropolitan Planning Committee. “We’re looking at racial, ethnic, income data, and much more. We’re looking at projections for population growth and changing demographics from a patient care perspective. Are we providing equitable, high-level treatment? But also from an economic perspective — that’s Jack Stout — we need to balance patient outcomes within the economic reality of our system.”

“For leaders in established EMS systems, their primary job is to make measurable and meaningful improvements,” says Taigman. “This pertains to clinical care, customer experience, equity, employee joy, community health, and fiscal stability.”

Experiences Gained as Jack Stout EMS Fellow

In addition to working on an improvement science project with industry experts, the Jack Stout EMS Fellowship offers recipients room and board at Fitch and Associates Pinnacle Conference, as well as attendance at the Ambulance Service Manager (ASM) Program. For Meeks, who loves books and describes herself as shy, these were life-changing experiences.

“I learned so much at Pinnacle,” she says, “but I had imposter syndrome. Like, why am I here with all these rock stars? … Coming out of my shell has been good for me. At ASM I was more comfortable putting myself out there, and I felt so supported and appreciated by the instructors and my cohort. I have gained a ton of confidence.”

About the fellowship, she says: “The networking is great. The education is exemplary.”

“The Jack Stout Fellowship has been the most transformative experience in my professional life,” says Meeks. “I would encourage anyone interested to apply. It takes some time, sure, but it’s incredibly beneficial to think about who you are as a person, your career, and what you value.”

Leading with Intentionality

“Being more intentional about what we do is part of being a good steward of our money and people,” says Meeks. And for this “you need to have data.”

As a case in point, she mentions the rapid development of artificial intelligence. “The challenge with this technology is that we just don’t know where it’s going. Whereas I can read a patient narrative and instantly know the medic who wrote it. I hear their voice. We need to be really intentional about what we’re after in what we do.”

How do we add value to our community? That question drives the mission forward in a changing world, both for Meeks and CES.

The Jack Stout EMS Fellowship “has opened up more possibilities than I ever thought possible. I’ve always worked at Chatham EMS and never had a chance to see how other agencies work. The connectivity with other professionals has opened my eyes to what’s possible.”

For more about the Jack Stout EMS Fellowship, including how to apply, click here.