Blog

April 14, 2021Read more...
Priority Dispatch, Academy Analytics on Computer

What Academy Analytics Can do for You: What Treasures Are Hiding in Your Data? | May 26, 2021

View Recording Data is key to making informed decisions and strategic improvements. Priority Dispatch Corp. (PDC), the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and FirstWatch, the data analytics and improvement company, teamed up to create Academy Analytics (AA), a program that makes it easy to track, view and use your data, whether for individual team members or the entire emergency call center. From increased preparedness to streamlined workflows to mitigating training issues, you’ll be amazed at how...

April 8, 2021Read more...

In the News – Three Health Safety Alerts

Public Health Authorities in the United States have released two health safety alerts and Canadian Health Authorities have released one.  All three have implications for First Responders, primarily EMS, but appropriate for others who may encounter these situations too.  Each alert/advisory includes information about the alert, what EMS & First Responders can do to manage the situation, and a short list of Resources & Links for obtaining more complete information. #1 is from the CDC, FDA, & the Southern Nevada Health...

March 29, 2021Read more...
Resilience Dialogs

Resilience Dialogues – May 14th, 2021

These dialogues are open forums to explore resilience, all the things that cause stress in our lives, relationships, and more. Please join us for these monthly interactive sessions where everyone, including family members, is welcome. They will be held the second Friday of the month at 9am Pacific Time.

March 29, 2021Read more...
Resilience Dialogs

Resilience Dialogues – April 9th, 2021

These dialogues are open forums to explore resilience, all the things that cause stress in our lives, relationships, and more. Please join us for these monthly interactive sessions where everyone, including family members, is welcome. They will be held the second Friday of the month at 9am Pacific Time.

March 29, 2021Read more...

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Vaccine Information

The Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Vaccine started distribution this month and has been used at vaccination sites throughout the US. This vaccine is a different type of vaccine, called a virus vector vaccine; it requires only one shot to achieve full vaccination.  The vaccine is also easier to store since it needs only refrigeration and has a longer shelf life.  This article covers what is known about the vaccine and what is not, including how the vaccine was developed and...

March 22, 2021Read more...

1st CDC Guidance for Those Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

The CDC has issued its first Guidance for those who are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  The definition of fully vaccinated depends on which vaccine was administered, but is two weeks after the final shot; so two weeks after shot #2 for mRNA vaccines Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and two weeks after for the single shot adenovirus vaccine Janssen/J & J.  The CDC outlines what those that are fully vaccinated should do, and under what circumstances, while also outlining what should...

March 15, 2021Read more...

Ebola in Guinea & the DRC Update

There are now two separate Ebola Outbreaks in Africa; one is in the DRC and the other is in Guinea. Guinea, in West Africa is where the Ebola Epidemic of 2014-2016 occurred, which spread to countries in and out of Africa, including the United States. The last Ebola Outbreak in the DRC just ended 11/20 after 5 months. In an abundance of caution, the US Government has vowed to assist the WHO and other Partner Agencies with stopping the current outbreaks...

March 5, 2021Read more...
Todd Stout and Dr Clinchy

National EMS Museum – Coffee with Doc and Todd Stout

Dr. Richard Clinchy and Todd talk about Jack Stout, his impact on EMS systems and the academic research he conducted into how pre-hospital care is delivered, and hear about Todd's journey in EMS and what led him to form FirstWatch, one of the largest EMS tech companies in North America. To support the digitization of the Stout Collection at the National EMS Museum, please donate at emsmuseum.org/support

March 5, 2021Read more...
Hospital Status Dashboard

JEMS – EMS Agencies Combat Patient Offload Delays Due to COVID-19

JEMS article – While offload delays aren’t a new hurdle for EMS, they have become increasingly challenging as COVID-19 cases rise. Hospitals at full capacity have led to ambulances waiting longer—in some cases for several hours—to complete patient handoffs. These delays and subsequent diversions can have a negative impact on patient care and limit the availability of emergency resources. In response, some EMS systems are implementing new processes and technology to combat the extended wait times.

February 25, 2021Read more...
Resilience Dialogs

Resilience Dialogues – March 12th, 2021

These dialogues are open forums to explore resilience, all the things that cause stress in our lives, relationships, and more. Please join us for these monthly interactive sessions where everyone, including family members, is welcome. They will be held the second Friday of the month at 9am Pacific Time.

February 16, 2021Read more...

Finding Valid Information & Keeping Up-to-Date on COVID-19

A year into the Pandemic, there is lots of information about COVID-19 out there – more and more based on sound science -- but not all of it.  We absolutely want & need the cutting-edge info to help guide recommendations for all things COVID, but we also need it to be based on validatable science so we can rely on it.  This article explores some of the ways to find reliable scientific opinion if not completely validated science.  It also...

February 16, 2021Read more...

List of Employer & Employee COVID-19 Resources for the General Workplace & Specific Occupations

This list of Resources with links is provides In an attempt to make this updated info available more quickly, this document provides a list, divided into topics, each with links and a synopsis of what each site represents.  There are way too many available articles/sites to include them all, so these pages represent some of what I perceive are the best on the subject, at least at the moment selected.  Most of the sites also provide links to other sites...

February 16, 2021Read more...

Dept of Homeland Security National Terrorism Bulletin

The US DHS has released a Terrorism Advisory Bulletin to alert all people of a need to be aware of their surrounding and report any suspicious information or activity. It is included here, for Public Safety / First Responder Agencies, who may not be part of a direct intel sharing system.  It also includes a few ways that the Bulletin can be used by these agencies as well as information on how to report the info/activity. View/Download...

February 16, 2021Read more...

New Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is for awareness only.  A new Ebola outbreak in the Eastern Province of North Kivu, DRC, has been announced by the DRC and WHO.  Only two cases have been reported although there are more than 100 contacts, many of them high risk, which are being surveilled.   The two cases were women who had close contact and have both died.  The first case is married to an Ebola survivor from a previous outbreak in the Region, which just ended...

February 16, 2021Read more...

COVID-19 In the News Update

The available information about COVID-19 is updating/changing on a daily, if not hourly, basis.  In an attempt to make this updated info available more quickly, this document provides a list, divided into topics, each with links and a synopsis of what each site represents.  There are way too many available articles/sites to include them all, so these pages represent some of what I perceive are the best on the subject, at least at the moment selected. Most of the sites also...

January 29, 2021Read more...

COVID-19 Vaccine and Vaccination Update

The two mRNA vaccines have been out for more than a month and 4,263,056 individuals have already completed their vaccination series, while millions more await their second shot in the series, and even more are waiting to begin their vaccinations.  This update covers what is known about the current vaccines and what is not, that even after vaccination, it is essential that everyone continue their current protective behaviors, particularly with the finding of COVID-19 Variants in both Canada and the...

January 26, 2021Read more...

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Variants

A year into the COVID Pandemic, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus has mutated millions of times as it transmitted between people.  It is what viruses do to survive & thrive.  Several of those mutations have resulted in COVID Virus Variants.  These variants have been identified by genetic sequencing in the few countries that have been doing aggressive testing for just these changes.  Three global variants have been officially identified and, at least temporarily, named. This article outlines why this happens, what...

January 22, 2021Read more...

Paramedic Chiefs of Canada White Paper: Discussion on 10 Guiding Principles for Paramedicine in Canada | February 4th

In this session, we presented the results of research study that has led to the generation of 10 guiding principles for paramedicine in Canada to consider in structuring the profession’s transition and evolution. Collectively, these principles provide a national coordinated vision and guidance on how to proceed within paramedicine in Canada, while permitting enactment in ways that are sensitive to local and contextual variation.