This Week: EMS On The Hill Day Participants Make Requests to Congress

NAEMT Recognizes the 2024 National EMS Advocates of the Year

We are honored to announce the 2024 EMS Advocate of the Year Award recipients tomorrow at the EMS On The Hill Day Briefing in Arlington, VA. Sponsored this year by Demers-Braun-Crestline-Medix, Solutions Group, and Stryker, the awards recognize EMS professionals whose volunteer efforts advance EMS through educating and engaging elected government leaders, EMS and healthcare communities, and the public. We congratulate this year’s recipients and thank them for their tremendous efforts to advance EMS care. 

Michael Loiz, Paramedic/EMT-P (Connecticut) has served EMS and Public Safety for over 34 years, mostly in leadership roles. He is Chief of Stratford EMS and an active EMS Instructor, teaching EMT and Paramedic programs. He is the NAEMT Advocacy Coordinator for Connecticut and serves as the Legislative Chair of the Connecticut EMS Advisory Board. Read more 

Cathryn “Catie” Holstein, BA, Paramedic (Washington) is the State EMS Director for Washington State. She has built strong relationships with elected officials and their staff through networking, attending events such as town halls and committee meetings, and engaging in meaningful communication. Local officials hold her in high regard and view her as an expert on EMS policy. Read more

Scott Willits, NRP, BS, CPC (Oregon) is a seasoned advocate, leader, and investor in healthcare transformation. He focuses on advancing patient-centric models through Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) and Community Paramedicine (CP). He is the NAEMT Advocacy Coordinator for Oregon and travels extensively to meet with and present content to leaders across the country. Read more

Take advantage of deep discussions between industry leaders on trending topics. NAEMT Radio Episode 30 focuses on EMS Apprenticeship Programs with Henry Lewis, executive director of the South Carolina EMS Association and Lieutenant Joseph Coley of Tazewell EMS in Virgina. Topics include scholarships, apprenticeship, rural health tuition assistance and an "earn while you learn" program to increase his staffing numbers.

Community Population Health needs through Mobile Integrated Healthcare-Community Paramedicine (MIH-CP) Programs is discussed in Episode 28 with Melinda Wilson, a community paramedic in a hospital-based EMS system in the East Tennessee Region, and Justin Duncan, CEO for Washington County Ambulance District in rural Missouri. 

Episode 29 focuses on Prehospital Antibiotics for Open Fractures. NAEMT Medical Director Dr. Douglas Kupas, medical director for Geisinger EMS and co-director of MIH for Geisinger Health System, and Dr. Joey Johnson, associate professor of orthopedic surgery and director of clinical research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham discuss prehospital antibiotic administration for suspected open fractures.

NAEMT Radio is hosted by NAEMT Member and Lighthouse Leadership Program Mentor – Rob Lawrence.

May 19-25 marks the 50th anniversary of EMS Week. It's a time to show our gratitude for EMTs and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. EMS Week is also a time to educate the public about EMS, and the essential service we provide to communities. This year’s theme is “Honoring Our Past. Forging Our Future.” NAEMT partners with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) on EMS Week to encourage the nationwide recognition of EMS Week and contributions of EMS professionals.  

Looking for ideas on how to celebrate? 

• Recognize Health, Wellness and Resilience Day on Sunday, May 19, by offering the Mental Health Resilience Officer (MHRO) course to your team. 

• For Save-A-Life Day on Thursday, May 23, prepare members of your community to respond quickly to medical emergencies and mass casualty incidents by inviting the public to a First On The Scene (FOTS) course. 

Check out our website for more. 

Hear President’s Message

View 50-year Timeline

Save up to $50 on your next purchase using NAEMT’s Amazon Business Account. If you’re already signed up on the NAEMT Amazon Business Prime account, follow these easy steps to receive your discount:

1. To activate the discount, click here (activate the discount before April 30, 2024)
2. Make sure you see National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians’ account name in the upper right-hand corner of the Amazon Business account
3. Purchase items sold and shipped by Amazon (terms apply)

If you have not signed up on the NAEMT Amazon Business Prime account, login through the NAEMT website and request access here. 

Joint Letter to VA Committee Supports 9-1-1 Access for Veterans

On March 21, NAEMT, the American Ambulance Association, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs sent a letter of support on the VA Emergency Transportation Access Act (H.R. 5530) to the leaders of the Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health. The legislation would protect access for veterans to essential 911 emergency and urgent interfacility ground ambulance services. View Letter

Ask Your House Representative to Support EMS by Joining the EMS Caucus

The Congressional EMS Caucus helps to promote, educate, and increase awareness around the federal policy issues impacting EMS, forming a cohesive bipartisan effort to support EMS practitioners of all types nationwide. If your U.S. House Representative is not a member of the Caucus, please send a “Join the EMS Caucus” email to the representative. 

Get Involved in EMS Advocacy — Receive Tips from NAEMT’s Advocacy Coordinators

Do you want to help advance the EMS profession through advocacy? Reach out to your state’s NAEMT Advocacy Coordinator who is appointed to educate and engage members on NAEMT's federal advocacy efforts. Reach out to learn more about the advocacy process and how to build support in your state for federal advocacy initiatives. If your NAEMT Advocacy Coordinator position is “OPEN”, consider applying for the position!

EDUCATION

Register for Superior Trauma Education – World Trauma Symposium in Las Vegas

An outstanding line-up of expert presenters and topics are coming to Las Vegas and the World Trauma Symposium on September 10. The day’s stellar program will also be live streamed. Participants can receive up to 8 hours of ACCME or CAPCE-approved CE credits. 

Moderated by Col. (Ret) Warren Dorlac, MD, FACS, USAF, PHTLS Medical Director and Margaret M. Morgan, MD, FACS, CAPT MC(FS) USN, PHTLS Associate Medical Director, the Symposium offers more than a dozen topics, including:

• Trauma resuscitation
• Managing MCIs
• Geriatric trauma
• Prehospital ultrasound
• Maternal/obstetric trauma
• Freeze-dried plasma
• Traumatic stress in prehospital clinicians
• Top prehospital trauma research

Register by May 31: 

$205 in-person

$110 virtual

(physicians add $30)

Remember, NAEMT members save $125 on EMS World Expo 3-day program registration.

Top NAEMT Faculty to Present a Preconference Workshop at ACCREDITCON

Are you attending ACCREDITCON?Join top NAEMT faculty on May 30 for a new preconference workshop on Integrating Evidence-Based Courses into Your Paramedic Program. Paramedic program directors can leverage continuing education curricula to enhance initial education and meet paramedic competency requirements. NAEMT educators will review the importance of patient simulation; address administrative challenges; offer sample course activities, case studies, and patient simulations; and assist with mapping to course curricula and Student Minimum Competency Recommendations (previously Appendix G). Learn More

AHDR 2nd Edition Prepares EMS Practitioners for an All Hazards Response to Disasters

We are excited to announce the new 2nd edition of All Hazards Disaster Response (AHDR) course, providing a systems-based approach to disaster preparedness and response. With a focus on caring for ill and injured patients during a mass-casualty incident or disaster, the 2nd edition has all-new lessons, a new library of disaster simulations, course activities, and a revised Course Manual. 

Learn more | Locate a Course

Locate an NAEMT Course Near You!

We are excited to announce a new feature on the NAEMT website that makes locating an NAEMT course near you even easier! Search for an NAEMT course within a specified number of miles from your location, or by zip code. Further refine your search by choosing specific criteria, such as program or course type, date, etc. Locate a Course  

Register for NAEMT courses being held in conjunction with EMS World Expo, September 9-13, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Full NAEMT members save $125 on core 3-day EMS World Expo registration.

Participants will receive 8 hours of CAPCE-approved continuing education credit.

PHTLS 10th Edition Special Topics / Monday, September 9, 8-5pm – This session takes excellence in EMS trauma care one step further and offers participants a one-day course consisting of additional trauma topics not currently covered in the 16-hour Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) provider course.

Leveraging PHTLS principles of rapidly assessing a trauma patient using an orderly approach, immediately treating life-threatening problems as they are identified, and minimizing any delays in initiating transport to an appropriate destination, each lesson employs the latest evidence to reinforce EMS practitioners’ core knowledge and applies concepts through patient simulations and hands-on skills. Topics include advanced burn care, tourniquet conversion, crush injuries, advanced airways, sports injuries and equipment removal, and blast injuries.

Mental Health Resilience Officer (MHRO) / Tuesday, September 10, 8-5pm – Due to the difficult environments EMS personnel encounter every day, and the impact of both direct and vicarious trauma, our EMS workforce has long faced a disproportionate challenge in maintaining their mental health resilience.

NAEMT’s MHRO course assists EMS agencies in building and supporting the mental health resilience of their personnel. MHRO prepares EMS personnel to serve as their agency’s MHRO and engage with peers to: develop an understanding of mental health issues and resilience, identify peers who are experiencing mental health stressors and crises, navigate peers in need to the right services for help, and support the development of a culture of mental health resilience and emotional wellness within the agency.

Participants will receive 8 hours of CAPCE-approved credit and digital resources to support an agency resilience program.

Participants receive 16 hours of CAPCE-approved credit, textbook, and course manual.

Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) 4th Edition / Monday & Tuesday, September 9-10, 8-5pm – Endorsed by the National Association of EMS Physicians, AMLS emphasizes the use of the AMLS Assessment Pathway to best manage patients in medical crises. The AMLS 4th edition includes all new case-based presentations and patient simulations.

Participants learn to recognize and manage common medical crises through realistic case-based scenarios that challenge them to apply their knowledge to highly critical patients. Topics include pharmacology, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disorders, shock, sepsis, women’s health, neurologic disorders, endocrine/metabolic disorders, environmental emergencies, infectious diseases, abdominal disorders, and toxicologic emergencies.

In Case You Missed It: Attendees Rank the Top 5 NAEMT Webinars of 2023

We are pleased to include rich, experience-based webinars among the many member benefits you receive. One hour of CAPCE continuing education (CE) credit is offered for participation in a live webinar, and the webinar recordings are available to view year-round in the Member Portal. Based on feedback from attendees of our 2023 webinars, here are the Top 5 titles you don’t want to miss:

• Winning the Race on Stroke Assessment & Transport
• Extreme Weather Impacts on First Responders and Patient Care
• Preparing for EMS Disaster Response (clinical)
• Managing Difficult Airways, Parts 1 and 2
• Thoracic Trauma

April 30 Deadline Approaching:

NAEMT Scholarship Opportunity

NAEMT Foundation Scholarship – Up to $1,000 will be awarded in June for scholarships to become certified as an Emergency Medical Responder or EMT. The NAEMT Foundation works to strengthen and build a better future for EMS through funding EMS education and research. 

Learn more.

EMS News Briefs

• New York ambulance services are struggling. Here's what North Country EMS workers say needs to change. Read more
• EMS, fire departments in Virginia are facing tougher restrictions on medications. Read more
• Life-saving AEDs are rarely used in cases of cardiac arrest, a new study finds. Read more
• EMS is not an essential service in New York. Why local providers say public safety is at risk. Read more
• Hospitals are too busy to train Minnesota paramedic students, exacerbating shortage. Read more

The nomination period for the National EMS Awards of Excellence is open through Monday, May 20. Help us recognize deserving EMS professionals who demonstrate the very best in EMS and serve as a role model for their colleagues.

New this year is the Community Paramedic of the Year Award, recognizing a paramedic or EMT who serves in the primary role of community paramedic and demonstrates excellence in the performance of community paramedicine. Recipients receive $1,000 in cash and $1,200 for travel and lodging plus three core program registrations at this year’s EMS World Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Learn more

Attend NAEMT Annual Meeting – Save $125 on EMS World Expo Registration

We invite you to attend the NAEMT Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 9-11.

Held in conjunction with EMS World Expo, the free events, meetings and receptions provide time for NAEMT members to engage and socialize with association leaders and colleagues from around the nation and the world. During the meeting, we will celebrate our EMS profession at the General Membership Meeting and recognize the outstanding recipients of the National EMS Awards of Excellence. We look forward to welcoming you to Las Vegas! View Schedule

A Very Warm Welcome to Our New Agency Member!

We are pleased to welcome Norwood Fire Protection District of Norwood, Colorado, to the NAEMT family. We look forward to representing and serving you.

Learn moreabout NAEMT Agency Membership.



Sign up to become an NAEMT agency member and your agency will receive access to a complimentary NAEMT Mental Health Resilience Officer (MHRO)online course. 

Exclusive NAEMT Member Scholarship Opportunity

NAEMT is proud to offer scholarship opportunities to Active members to assist them in their professional and career advancement. Note the upcoming deadline of May 31 for the Columbia Southern University Scholarship, which will cover up to 60 credit hours toward one online degree program. Learn more

NAEMT Member Benefit Highlights

NAEMT provides a host of benefits and monthly specials to help you make the most of your budget and time. Log in to Access Your Benefits to take advantage of these and other discounts and promotions.

• GE Appliance Store: save up to 41% off select major appliances and FREE delivery on orders over $399 through April 24, 2024.
• HotelEngine.com: NAEMT members saved $977 last month using their complimentary membership (average of 26% off public rates).
• UPS: save 50% off domestic next day/deferred, 30% off ground commercial/residential, and savings starting at 75% on LTL Freight shipping services.
• 5.11 Inc.: save 20% off ALL EMS products and up to 40% off select merchandise. 
• MetLife Dental Program: receive access to a dental program that provides attractive group rates and optional plan features.
• VSP Individual Vision Plans: receive access to affordable vision care packages. The VSP Plan offers multiple plan options, flexible payments, large network of doctors, and no waiting periods.