December 2023
Photo L to R: Front- Heidi Pickard, Logan Evans, Clare Colgan, Back- Joyce Onstead, Kevin Wieand, Joe Colyer Absent from photo: Peter Gonze, Darryl Speicher
Looking back on 2023 with appreciation is how we at Pocono Mountain Regional Emergency Medical Services want to start the new year. We’re incredibly grateful to our professionals and those who help our organization perform our duty to the community. Please share appreciation for the elected officials on our Board of Directors who selflessly devote countless hours to operations and ensuring fiscal responsibility remains a priority.
Our 2023 Board of Directors PARADISE TOWNSHIP Logan Evans, Chair Peter Gonze, Vice-Chair TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP Heidi Pickard, Treasurer Joe Colyer COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP Joyce Onstead, Secretary Clare Colgan TUNKHANNOCK TOWNSHIP Kevin Wieand BARRETT TOWNSHIP Darryl. Speicher
2 Thank You to Our Crew 3 ER Care You Trust 4 Signs of Winter 5 Tops in Maternity Care
6 Breakfast with Santa Success 8 2024 PMREMS Meetings
thank you, to our crew
Photo (left to right) Christian Torres/EMT, Kelsey Hovi/EMT, Jarrod Seamen/EMT, Jeffrey Kovalchik/Paramedic, Terry Walker/Patient
Earlier this month PMREMS
Terry was experiencing a
crews were able to
severe anaphylactic reaction
experience something
and there was little time to
special. Our professionals
spare. Thankfully, Terry’s son
had the opportunity to
immediatly dialed 911, an
meet someone who is
action that very likely saved
spending this Christmas
her life!
with family because of the actions they took.
PMREMS Paramedics and EMT’s raced to Terry’s aid,
This summer while cutting
administering life saving
the grass, Terry Walker was
medications and stabilizing
stung by multiple bees. The
her for transport to a local
situation quickly turned life
hospital.
threatening as her blood pressure plummeted and she lost responsiveness.
Has a PMREMS crew member helped you and you want to share your story? Let us know! EMAIL ASchrader@PMREMS.org
MESSAGE US
Four LVHN Hospitals
Rank Among Nation’s Best for Maternity Care
Hospitals received high performing designation for maternity care from U.S. News & World Report Four Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) hospitals are receiving national recognition from U.S. News & World Report for providing high-quality care to new mothers and their babies. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH), which includes LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Muhlenberg, LVH– Pocono and LVH–Hazleton, received high performing designations for maternity care for 2023-2024, and are the only hospitals in the region to achieve this honor. “Receiving a high performing designation for maternity care from U.S. News & World Report is a tremendous honor for me and my team,” says Amanda Flicker, MD, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at LVHN. “Our team of clinicians is among the best in the nation. We consistently provide high-quality, compassionate care at each step of pregnancy and postpartum.” LVHN provides evidence-based maternity care to ensure new mothers and infants have tools they need to thrive before, during and after pregnancy. Care is team-based, which means obstetricians, midwives, maternal fetal medicine specialists and highly skilled nurses all play a key role in support and education at each step of pregnancy. The maternity care team is continually learning and receives training based on best practices for care at every level. This training gives our team the tools necessary to make informed lifesaving decisions during the crucial moments of an emergency. LVHN hospitals in the Lehigh Valley region are Magnet-recognized, so our nurses demonstrate excellence and deliver high-quality care. Only 8% of hospitals earned a Magnet recognition. The U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals maternity care is based on objective measures, including C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breastfeeding rates, early elective delivery rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency about racial/ethnic disparities. “Hospitals that receive a high performing designation as part of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care meet a high standard in caring for parents with uncomplicated pregnancies,” says Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News. “These hospitals have C-section rates that are 26% lower, and newborn complication rates that are 37% lower than unrecognized hospitals. Parents-to-be can research their local hospitals’ performance metrics for free at health.usnews.com to help them choose where to have their baby.” U.S. News evaluated 680 hospitals from across the country. Participants submitted detailed labor and delivery data for analysis. Fewer than half of all hospitals that submitted data received a high performing designation.
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s s e c uc
Re-Organization Meeting January 25, 2024 February 22, 2024 March 28, 2024 April 25, 2024 May 23, 2024 June 27, 2024 July 25, 2024 August 22, 2024 September 26, 2024 October 24, 2024 November 21, 2024 December 19, 2024 PMREMS meetings will be held 7p.m. at Tobyhanna Township Municipal Center, 1015 Government Center Way, Pocono Pines, PA 18350 on the dates listed above. Google Meet joining info Video call link: https://meet.google.com/kpb-mphx-gdo Or dial: ( US) +1 573-370-1375PIN: 1 82 644 679# More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/kpb-mphx-gdo?pin=3436623020694