By EMS1 Staff
WASHINGTON — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will host a webinar discussing lights and siren use and fatigue in EMS providers.
Two recent projects reviewed evidence in order to develop recommendations for improving the safety of EMS patients as well as EMS providers. The lead investigators on the projects will share the data in the webinar and how you can incorporate the policies into your agency.
Pennsylvania Medical Director Douglas Kupas looked at operational and clinical research to provide protocols and recommendations for EMS agencies on lights and siren use. He published the findings in “Lights and Siren Use by Emergency Medical Services (EMS): Above All Do No Harm” and will explain them in the webinar.
Paramedic and researcher Daniel Patterson, PhD, published a NHTSA-sponsored study with the National Association of State EMS Officials’ on the impact of fatigue and how to mitigate its effects. In the webinar, Dr. Patterson will share his discoveries.
The webinar will include discussions on the following:
• The impact of emergency lights and siren on response time and transportation time, safety and patient outcomes.
• Performance measures and quality improvement programs for agencies to ensure proper use of emergency medical dispatch (EMD) protocols.
• The research, literature and findings on workforce fatigue for EMS and other high-risk occupations.
• What EMS agencies can do to reduce the impact of fatigue on the safety of the workforce, patients and the public.
Participators will be encouraged to submit questions. You can register for the event here.