Dr. Dan Cox, Board President of the Utah Chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA), discusses the AHA's objectives, how community outreach can still function during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether compressions-only CPR is effective...
Brett Patterson, Chair of the Medical Council of Standards for the IAED, discusses Proposals for Change (PFCs), a key part of the process of protocol evolution that keeps it as up-to-date as possible. He explains how PFCs came about, what makes a compelling proposal, and some common mistakes made when submitting one...
Adrianne Miller, QA/QI and ETC instructor for Ford County 911 Communications, discusses dealing with suicide calls in rural areas, whether from the callers themselves or from people reporting the aftermath. She talks about her own personal experiences with these calls and the resources emergency dispatchers can use...
Samantha Hawkins, communications officer with Cobb County 911 in Marietta, Georgia, discusses the role of customer service in emergency dispatch, bias in the dispatch center, and what it's like to be a woman of color working in 911...
In 2003 the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™) created the Severe Respiratory Infection (SRI) Tool in response to the SARS pandemic that year, when multiple cases were reported in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Then in 2009, an electronic version of the tool was developed for ProQA® dispatch software and deployed in multiple dispatch agencies during the 2009 H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic. This tool was later modified in response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and became what is known today as the Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance (EIDS) Tool. The EIDS Tool enables EMS...
Janell Farr, president, and Jenean Hansen, head of programs and operations, discuss their nonprofit the All Clear Foundation, whose aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of first responders through resources like a peer-to-peer app, a mobile wellness tool, and a robust resource database...
Kate Jennings, executive director of Wellington Free Ambulance Clinical Communication Center in New Zealand, discusses her center's programs to text PDIs and PAIs to patients and do welfare checks...
SHOULD WE ASK CALLERS "IS ANYONE PINNED (TRAPPED)?" DURING MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS (MVAs)? We should! The question directs callers to pay attention to what matters most. For a traffic collision, the higher the speed of the vehicle, the higher the chances an occupant suffers severe injuries. After a serious crash, the absorbed kinetic energy can cause the vehicle to deform significantly, displacing parts of the vehicle into the interior. This displacement frequently limits an occupant's ability to move or be removed. When there is need for extrication, deformity and damage hinder an occupant's...
Kerri Hatt, editor–in–chief of EMS1 magazine, and Anthony Minge, senior partner with Fitch & Associates, discuss the 2020 EMS Trend Report, which continues a five-year effort to identify how EMS providers, managers, and leaders perceive the challenges impacting the sustainability and future of the industry...
Reverend France A. Davis, civil rights activist and advisory member of the IAED's new Diversity and Inclusion Board, discusses his background as an activist, the steps we need to take to achieve equality in America, and how emergency dispatch specifically can help effect change...