In this episode of the EMS One-Stop podcast, host Rob Lawrence sits down with Danielle Thomas, chief operating officer, Lifeline EMS of Los Angeles, to explore how her team is harnessing “actual intelligence” — through a proprietary, closed-source AI platform called InCheck — to solve a perennial EMS headache: information overload. Thomas explains how embedding agency-specific protocols, an 800-page policy manual and multi-language translation into a single voice-activated app gives every crew member a “mentor in their pocket,” shrinking cognitive load, sharpening clinical decision-making and smoothing onboarding during the critical first 80 hours of employment.
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The conversation ranges from her move from Boston to California and the regulatory culture shock that followed, to Lifeline’s recent CAAS accreditation push and the wider potential of AI-driven tools to boost recruitment, retention, compliance and patient safety.
In the second half, Rob and Danielle expanded the conversation from tools to leadership strategy, focusing on how EMS agencies can better support staff in high-pressure, multi-jurisdictional environments.
Thomas shares how her team tackled issues like protocol confusion, inconsistent policy knowledge and language barriers — not by adding more training sessions, but by rethinking how information is delivered, accessed and retained on the front lines. She emphasizes the importance of aligning education with the way today’s workforce learns, communicates and engages — especially during the critical first days of employment.
The episode closes with a preview of Danielle’s upcoming AAA conference presentation with Carly Strong, which challenges perceptions of gender in EMS leadership and spotlights the untapped potential of inclusive, thoughtful organizational development.
In this series, learn how to onboard team members to set them up for long-term success, through the first 90 days, the first 6 months and beyond; as well as strategies for new candidates, from getting through the academy to the first days and weeks on the job.
Memorable quotes
- “If you can, as the leader in an EMS organization, figure out how to enhance not only that first 80 hours, but that team member experience.” — Danielle Thomas
- “As everybody listening knows, I’m sure that every new policy probably has somebody’s secret name attached to it because of what happened.” — Rob Lawrence
- “It honestly solves our recruitment and retention issues because they want to come to work.” — Danielle Thomas
- “I happen to believe that [AI is] an on-the-train or under at the moment kind of thing … we now have to move forward. It’s part of our life. We have to embrace it and we have to employ it.” — Rob Lawrence
- “The left coast is more highly regulated and so I was not used to the labor laws in California and I was not used to the way that the local EMS authorities work.” — Danielle Thomas
- “I think every company I’ve worked at that that was a thing and so we had to create a solution to the problem we had, which was information overload.” — Danielle Thomas
Episode timeline
- 01:25 – Welcome to Danielle Thomas
- 02:56 – East-to-West move and California’s regulatory maze
- 4:12 – Lifeline EMS footprint across Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties
- 6:27 – The policy-overload dilemma in multi-county operations
- 10:01 – InCheck: turning 800 pages into actionable intel
- 14:53 – From AI skeptic to evangelist — programming county-specific protocols
- 18:30 – Five operating modes explained (Rampart, Angel, Nova, L-Chat Narrative)
- 28:00 – 100-language instant translation with Nova
- 34:51 – Building the tool in-house; cost and compliance advantages
- 38:43 – Preview of AAA Conference session, “Just one of the guys”
- 41:33 – Final takeaways: enhancing the first 80 hours and keeping crews engaged
- 42:44 – Closing remarks
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