What will you be doing from May 20–26? Will it by chance involve EMS Week?
If you haven’t started to plan, get busy! You’ve got a lot of competition for the public’s attention, as May is also host to Trauma Awareness Month, National Nurses Week, National Police Week, Digestive Diseases Awareness Month, National Tinnitus Month, Schizophrenia Awareness Week, Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week, Correct Posture Month—and 56 other causes. (Yes, there are people who track this, and every one of these is real.)
The origins of EMS Week date back to 1973, when Congress authorized the EMS Systems Act; President Ford signed the bill a year later. Dr. David Boyd, the first director of the Division of EMS Systems (in what was then part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare) convinced President Ford to proclaim a week dedicated to celebrating the men and women of EMS and educating the public about the service they provide. (For more on this story and ways to celebrate, go to emsweekideas.com.)
When we do surveys of our readers and ask which issues we should cover in the newsletter, one topic always emerges: connecting with community. That is, making sure the people you care for, and those who oversee public safety and pay the bills, understand what you do and why you do it—and how they can help. An effective way to do this is through initiatives that not only provide a public service but also demonstrate how integrated EMS is with the community. Examples include injury prevention programs such as drowning prevention, home safety, elderly fall prevention and car seat checks. The key is to not make these superficial PR campaigns, but to integrate them into your mission, just as the fire service has adopted fire prevention as a core part of what it does.
EMS Week is a perfect reason to get started if you haven’t already, or if you want to expand on existing programs. (And there can be further benefits. Much has been made this past year of the importance of creating a culture of safety in EMS for responders, their patients and the general public. Any organization that adopts a credible, public-oriented injury prevention program is one step closer to this goal.)
In addition to public education, EMS Week also provides an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable job that EMS practitioners do in challenging conditions, often at low salaries, and usually without the recognition received by their counterparts in the fire service or law enforcement.
As President Obama said in his official proclamation for EMS Week last year, “Emergency medical technicians, paramedics and first responders serve on the front lines of our health care and public health system … our Nation’s EMS system represents the American spirit at it best … this week we take time to recognize the inspiring contribution of our nation’s EMS practitioners and honor their dedication to serving their country and fellow citizen.”
One of the basic tenets of leadership is to show appreciation and publicly recognize good work. While I don’t discount the value of any of the other causes recognized in May, can any compare to EMS?
Keith Griffiths can be reached at editorinchief@emergencybestpractices.com.
To download a copy of the 2012 EMS Week Planning Guide, produced each year by the American College of Emergency Physicians, go to emsweek.org.
