What does the future of EMS look like, and are we ready for it? This week on EMS One-Stop, host Rob Lawrence welcomes Donnie Woodyard Jr., executive director of the EMS Compact, aviator and EMS futurist, for a wide-ranging conversation about the technologies and policies shaping the next generation of emergency medical services.
Fresh from qualifying to fly Pivotal’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Woodyard shares his firsthand experience and explains why emerging aviation technology could transform emergency response. The discussion moves from autonomous helicopters and AI-powered patient assessments, to body-worn cameras, clinical documentation, and the opportunities and responsibilities that come with collecting more patient data. Woodyard challenges EMS leaders to look beyond today’s technology and consider how the profession will fit into the wider healthcare system over the next decade.
The conversation then turns to the EMS Compact and its expanding role in workforce mobility, professional regulation and public protection. With 28 states having enacted the Compact and more than 500,000 EMS clinicians expected to be covered as data integration progresses, Woodyard explains how interstate license recognition can help agencies recruit, allow clinicians to work across state lines, and strengthen regulatory oversight. He also discusses Alaska’s recent entry, legislative activity in other states, and the connection between Compact participation and federal rural healthcare transformation funding.
The episode closes with a look back at the origins of EMS certification and licensure, alongside a call for EMS professionals to engage with newly elected lawmakers, tell their stories, and help shape the policies that will determine the profession’s future.
Key quotes
- “What we are seeing is small aircraft that can I think solve a real-world problem when it comes to access, time, traffic, etc.” — Donnie Woodyard, Jr.
- “EMS is going to be very uniquely positioned to gather huge amounts of data and information from where the patient’s at, the home, the environment, the situation.” — Donnie Woodyard, Jr.
- “I want to make sure that our EMS colleagues have the same opportunities for mobility and licensure recognition as our other colleagues in healthcare.” — Donnie Woodyard, Jr.
- “Speak to them from the heart because they want to know about your stories and then give their chief of staff the data.” — Donnie Woodyard, Jr.
- “We have to be performative now because everyone is recording us, and if we say nothing, it kind of infers that we’re thinking nothing and doing nothing.” — Rob Lawrence
- “It’s a shame to see organizations saying that they’re either underfunded in one way, they’re living in an ambulance desert, or they can’t recruit, yet they’re not taking the steps to actually help themselves.” — Rob Lawrence
Additional resources:
- Paramedic Quinn Reece and her flying machine. Reece and James Robinson describe flying a single-seat eVTOL on 911 calls in rural North Carolina, from simulator drills to landing beside patients
- First in flight, first on scene. Hyde County EMS is the first in the nation to deploy an eVTOL aircraft, putting a paramedic in the air to overcome the time and distance challenges of rural response
- Inside the EMS Compact: How REPLICA transforms disaster response, licensing and leadership
- The United States EMS Compact
Episode timeline
- 00:38 – Introduction and welcome to Donnie Woodyard, Jr.
- 02:13 – Flying Pivotal’s eVTOL aircraft — training and first impressions
- 06:16 – The future of aviation, autonomous helicopters and EMS transportation
- 10:04 – AI, data integration and EMS’s place in healthcare
- 12:57 – Body-worn cameras, clinical documentation and recording patient care
- 17:24 – EMS Compact explained — 28 states and workforce mobility
- 20:44 – Online Compact credentials and interstate practice privileges
- 21:40 – Non-Compact states, recruitment opportunities and legislative expansion
- 23:38 – Alaska, Connecticut and emerging Compact legislation
- 25:01 – Rural healthcare transformation funding and infrastructure investment
- 27:00 – The history of EMS certification and licensure
- 29:11 – Engaging lawmakers and advocating for EMS
