EMS

July 29, 2021Read more...

CDC HAN Advisory of Monkeypox in a US Citizen Traveler

A US Citizen traveled from Nigeria to Dallas, Texas via Atlanta on two different flights over two days.  After a few days here, the individual visited a Dallas Emergency Room for a rash and was confirmed to have Monkeypox. Public Health Authorities are monitoring over 200 people in 27 states, who may have been exposed during the flights or in the airports. This article describes the details of the flights and what EMS needs to know to manage anyone who may...

July 13, 2021Read more...
RQI logo and FirstWatch logo

PSC – RQI Partners and FirstWatch Combine Resuscitation Quality Improvement Solution, Analytics and Data to Help Save More Lives

RQI Partners, a partnership between and service provider for the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, and FirstWatch, a technology company that uses improvement science to support public safety and healthcare organizations, launched today RQI®-T Analytics powered by FirstWatch. This new collaboration empowers emergency communication centers and 9-1-1 telecommunicators to optimize data to measure and improve T-CPR performance.

July 13, 2021Read more...
JEMS-Resuscitation

JEMS – Companies Combine Resuscitation Quality Improvement Solution, Analytics and Data to Save More Lives

RQI Partners, a partnership between and service provider for the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, and FirstWatch, a technology company that uses improvement science to support public safety and healthcare organizations, launched RQI®-T Analytics powered by FirstWatch. This new collaboration empowers emergency communication centers and 911 telecommunicators to optimize data to measure and improve T-CPR performance.

July 6, 2021Read more...
RQI logo and FirstWatch logo

RQI Partners and FirstWatch combine resuscitation quality improvement solution, analytics and data to help save more lives

RQI Partners, a partnership between and service provider for the American Heart Association and Laerdal Medical, and FirstWatch, a technology company that uses improvement science to support public safety and healthcare organizations, launched today RQI®-T Analytics powered by FirstWatch. This new collaboration empowers emergency communication centers and 9-1-1 telecommunicators to optimize data to measure and improve T-CPR performance.

June 25, 2021Read more...

iPhone 12/Implanted Cardiac Devices Warning and Monkeypox in the UK

This article is a quick briefing on two topics. The first topic is very important for all First Responders, especially those performing any EMS functions, to be aware of and pre-plan management. The second topic is a reminder that not only COVID-19 can travel fast but it's also not the only virus that a country had to consider during a COVID surge. Instead of a separate list of Resources & Links, a few pertinent links are listed with each of the...

June 22, 2021Read more...
EMS World Podcast

EMS World Podcast – Dispatch vs. Field Crews

EMS crews and those who dispatch them carry out two of the most high-intensity jobs around—it's only natural there will be moments of tension between the two. But small gestures, communication styles, and a sense of mutual respect go a long way toward keeping the working relationship as efficient and professional as possible. In this podcast Mike McCabe hosts Mike Taigman, Audrey Fraizer, and Jonathan Bassett, coauthors of the EMS World June 2021 cover story, "Partners in Stress."

June 22, 2021Read more...

Flipping OFF the Switch on HOT Emergency Medical Vehicle Responses! | July 7th

HOT (red light and siren) responses put EMS providers and the public at significant risk. Studies have demonstrated that the time saved during this mode of vehicle operation and that reducing HOT responses enhances safety of personnel, with little to no impact on patient outcomes. Some agencies have ‘dabbled’ with responding COLD (without lights and sirens) to some calls, but perhaps none as dramatic as Niagara Region EMS in Ontario, Canada – who successfully flipped their HOT responses to a...

June 21, 2021Read more...

COVID-19 Variants Update

COVID-19 Variants, particularly those named Variants of Concern, are increasingly posing a greater risk to countries throughout the world, including the US and Canada. Currently, the Delta Variant (aka B.1.617.2), which has rampaged India, has very rapidly become the dominant variant in the UK, replacing the previously dominant Alpha Variant (B.1.1.7). It is rapidly gaining the same ground in the US and some experts expect it to be dominant in the next month. This article discusses the Variants and looks specifically...

June 1, 2021Read more...
Prince George's County man looking at computer screen

EMS World – Partners in Stress

FirstWatch, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, and EMS World—set out to learn about the current state of dispatch and field crew relations. Authors: Mike Taigman, Audrey Fraizer, and Jonathan Bassett, MA, NREMT

May 14, 2021Read more...
Todd Stout and Jack Stout

JEMS – Jack Stout Archive Available at The National EMS Museum

The National EMS Museum will digitally transcribe and catalog the documents as part of its digital library and research archives—part of the virtual museum program created and maintained by volunteers. Many of the articles are already available in the museum’s online Jack Stout Archive. Additional material will be added in future months.

May 10, 2021Read more...

J&J (Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccination Restart

After about a 10 day pause in the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) Vaccine being administered in the US, on April 23, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice (APIC), recommended to the CDC & FDA to restart J&J vaccinations again.  The pause was due to reports of multiple cases of a new syndrome that identified as an apparently rare cerebral venous sinus thrombosis with thrombocytopenia, later called TTS, and potentially associated with the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. This turned out to be...

April 26, 2021Read more...

Seasonal Flu – So NOT in the News in 2020-2021

Seasonal Flu, for both the US and Canada, has pretty much been a no show for the 2020-21 Season.  Even though both countries did more surveillance and Flu tests than in other seasons, the number of Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) health care provider visits as well as positive Flu tests was nearly flat, even compared to previous very low seasons.  Canada wrote in their last report that there isn't even enough Flu detected to declare a start to the 2020-21 Flu Season. ...

April 26, 2021Read more...

Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) & Guinea Update

There is good news in the DRC regarding Ebola, while the fight against it in Guinea continues.  Both the DRC and Guinea began their 42-day countdowns from their last known cases on 3/21 and 3/24, respectively.  The DRC continues their countdown, but Guinea's was interrupted with a new case in Soulouta, along with a cluster of suspicious deaths.  If no new cases emerge, the DRC's outbreak will be declared over in early May.  Guinea's newest case was reported on 4/2. ...

April 23, 2021Read more...

Health Canada Issues an Advisory/Recall for Face Masks Containing Graphene

Health Canada published an Advisory to warn Canadians (the general public, healthcare professionals and hospitals) to NOT wear face masks that contain Graphene or Biomass Graphene until further notice. The warning explains the concern that wearers of these masks may inhale graphene particles from some masks that could pose health risks, including pulmonary injury.  Graphene is a fairly new nanotechnology, particularly when it comes to face masks, so a small introduction to the technology with regards to human health is included. 

April 23, 2021Read more...

FDA & CDC Recommend Pause in Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Vaccinations

THE FDA & CDC have recommended a pause in administering J&J (Janssen) COVID vaccinations after the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) had reports of six (6) women, between the ages of 18 and 48, developing a rare type of blood clot between 6 & 13 days after receiving the J&J vaccine.  This article contains an overview of the HAN Alert Recommendation and why it is so important, some information about this rare clot, adenovirus- vector COVID vaccines, a chart...

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...