In New York City, just about everyone recognizes FDNY firefighters in uniform. And the recognition doesn’t end there: Thanks to movies, news accounts and TV shows, FDNY’s 11,000 firefighters are known the world over for their heroism on 9-11.
But the 3,300 EMTs and paramedics who make up the department’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Service, or FDNY EMS? Not so much.
“If you ask people what EMTs and paramedics do, most people will say, ‘Oh, the ambulance drivers?’” says Ross Terranova, division chief of FDNY EMS, which was created in 1996 when the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation merged with FDNY to form the nation’s largest municipal EMS agency. “There isn’t a definitive understanding as to the role of the EMT and paramedic in the 911 system … we know what our mission is within the fire department, but the problem we find is that the public doesn’t always know it.”
So each year for EMS Week—to be held this year from May 20–26—Terranova and his team create a marketing campaign and series of events to thank EMS providers and raise awareness about FDNY EMS. Activities include lighting the Empire State Building in blue (for the Star of Life), white (for the FDNY EMS patch) and yellow (for the state EMS patch). In addition, a local church holds an EMS Recognition Mass, in which parishioners offer a special prayer for prehospital providers.
One event that always draws a crowd is the EMT and Paramedic Competition & Health Fair, which pits teams representing each of the five boroughs against one another in elaborately staged simulations. Last year, the scenario involved tandem parachute jumpers who had veered off course and landed on a car on a highway. One jumper died; the other had traumatic injuries. The passengers in the vehicle were a man and his pregnant wife—who went into labor and delivered the baby.
Competing in a courtyard outside FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn, the 11 teams (five BLS, five ALS and one team of EMTs/dispatchers) are rated by a panel of judges made up of physicians and EMS instructors.
Other EMS Week events include giving all EMS employees a commemorative pin and duffle bag personalized with each station’s logo, and bringing together sudden cardiac arrest survivors with their EMS rescuers for a “Second Chance Brunch.”
One of Terranova’s favorite aspects of EMS Week is creating the annual EMS poster, 500 of which are placed in phone booths to help raise awareness about EMS and educate the public about the proper use of 911. The 2012 poster featured a striking image of paramedic Don Faeth, a 25-year veteran of the department, with his head bent, stethoscope hung around his neck, gripping his gear bags against a backdrop of the city at night. “This kind of job isn’t for everybody,” says Faeth in a video about the making of the poster. “The work that our emergency medical technicians and paramedics do every day puts them in touch with realities of life most people don’t want to be associated with.”
To create the poster and other EMS Week events, Terranova worked with a team of experts from elsewhere in the department, including graphic designers, public information officers, and staff from operations, training and recruitment. Collaboration is key to EMS Week’s success, he says.
“EMS people are humble people. They are used to being in the background,” Terranova says. “This is an opportunity for them to be proud of their accomplishments and to be acknowledged for the work they do.”
