JUNE 2013
News
Vol. 22
Newsletter of the National Association of EMS Physicians®
No. 2
President’s Corner Ritu Sahni, MD, MPH
NAEMSP® President (2013-2015)
In This Issue: Are You In or Out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ACGME Accredited EMS Fellowships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 JEMS Board Members Present Street Medicine Society Award . . . . . 3 NHTSA Releases National EMS Advisory Council Summary Report . .4 A Case Study – Spontaneous Uterine Rupture Chief Complaint: Abdominal Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 EMS Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Medical Director Selected for Johnson County, Kansas EMS Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CDC Unveils New NHSN Website . . 7 REACH Air Medical Services Receives FAA Approval for Global Positioning System (GPS) Routes in Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 NAEMSP® Call for Abstracts 2014 . . 8 NAEMSP® Call for 2014-2016 Board of Director Nominations . . . . . 9
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pril was a difficult month in the United States as we were rocked by significant tragedies in Boston and Texas. These events, while incredibly difficult, also show the best in people. As Mr. Rogers’ mother said to him when he was a child, “Look for the helpers.” As EMS professionals, we pride ourselves on being the helpers and we are proud that we are a key component of the nation’s readiness. As I saw the footage of bystanders pitching in in Boston, I also saw members of the EMS and Emergency Medicine community in key positions of leadership as the Prehospital and trauma system responded to bombing. Just a few days later, a devastating industrial explosion rocked West Texas and the EMS community was a key portion of the response. I heard firsthand accounts from NAEMSP® members of the magnitude of both the explosion and damage inflicted upon that community. In the future, I look forward to hearing about and learning from the lessons learned in such high impact responses. Today, I remain proud of the work performed by our colleagues and I am proud to be associated with “the helpers.”
Nomination for NAEMSP® Awards. . 10
Advocacy Update
NAEMSP®/Physio-Control EMS Medicine Medical Director Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
In March, NAEMSP® members participated in, and NAEMSP® helped sponsor, EMS on the Hill Day. This annual event, organized by NAEMT, consisted of members of the EMS community participating in meetings and visits with their congressional delegation. The goal is to educate members of congress about EMS and EMS issues as well as put forth some specific “asks.” This year visitors asked
Welcome New Members . . . . . . . . . 15
their members of congress to support the EMS Field Bill, support Veterans to EMTs legislation and to join the EMS caucus. Although this year’s event faced some weather challenges, it appears to have been a success – as the EMS Field Bill has picked up new sponsors (including former NAEMSP® member Congressman Joe Heck from Nevada). Although EMS on the Hill Day has completed, advocacy never stops and it is important that many of you participate in advocacy throughout the year. The more those congressional members hear from us, the better we will be received. NAEMT has setup and manages “Capwiz” (http://capwiz.com/naemt/home/) – an easy method for learning who your member of congress is and how to send them information. Ideally, find out when your Senator or Representative is home and schedule an appointment. It turns out that is both easy and effective. Speaking of the EMS Field Bill, leadership of promoting that important legislation has shifted from Advocates to EMS to NAEMT. They will be funding the effort and NAEMSP® has agreed to continue to support the bill and provide membership in their steering committee. This has led to some changes in Advocates in EMS, with NAEMT and NAEMSE pulling out of the coalition. This has provided an opportunity for rethinking Advocates’ priorities and actually creating a continued on page 2