As AI tools move quickly from concept to deployment, EMS leaders face practical questions about value, risk and readiness. This series provides clear, applied guidance for chiefs, directors and agency leaders on how to evaluate and implement AI to support clinical care, reduce documentation burden, improve decision-making, streamline operations and simplify workforce management.
Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore on recognizing EMS as an essential service with the funding and career pathways to match
SPOTLIGHT ON AI
Closing out the year with a rapid-fire look at what frontline providers are really saying — from spinal immobilization, to swiping through microlearning
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
An annual retreat where EMS leaders reflect on what they’ve learned from employees and patients helps one agency set a clear direction and establish priorities for the coming year
Fitch & Associates suggested minor tweaks to Pinellas County’s service, rather than decommissioning 25 fire-based rescue vehicles and eliminating 150 county firefighter positions
Understanding each others’ personalities fosters openness and trust, different approaches to a problem, and allows for alignment of strengths with team tasks
The simple yet powerful Model for Improvement holds the key to making real changes to an EMS organization
Rural/Metro executive Robert “Boo” Heffner accused the agency of cheating San Diego out of revenues in 2010, and then moved on to Falck, a Denmark company that operates fire and EMS services in 37 countries worldwide
From its rescue swimmer programs to its innovative use of data to improve clinical care, Nature Coast EMS is continually seeking out ways to be more efficient while doing more for the community
To determine the barriers to timely STEMI treatment in rural areas, a team of researchers conducted a web-based survey of 65 critical access hospitals in Nebraska
We must have communication practices that encourage people to speak about concerns, and encourage others to hear those concerns and give them due consideration
Studies also explore at how extreme temperatures affect EMS response, and the use of long backboards