September 2020

"What we're finding is that adversity doesn't need to be the dangerous stuff that causes us to break down," said organizational psychologist, author and former paramedic John Becknell during a recent EMS Focus webinar. In the compelling and deeply personal session, Becknell and Mike Washington, a Seattle firefighter/EMT and therapist, shared insight into how EMS professionals and their public safety colleagues can use adversity to grow and thrive.

NHTSA has partnered with the team at the NEMSIS Technical Assistance Center to create a Resource Reporting Tool that allows local EMS organizations to report personnel shortages and PPE supply status to State and Federal officials. NHTSA and its Federal partners also continue to update the EMS.gov COVID-19 page with more resources for EMS clinicians and leaders.

Members of the EMS community have been hard at work on several efforts to advance evidence-based EMS systems, including revising the field trauma triage guidelines, updating the National EMS Education Standards, and developing evidence-based guidelines for airway management and treating pain in the prehospital setting.

Based on a survey of EMS officials in nearly every state and territory, the 2020 National EMS Assessment provides a national overview of EMS systems across the U.S., building on the previous 2011 national assessment. The study, conducted by the National Association of State EMS Officials through a cooperative agreement with NHTSA, includes information such as the number and types of EMS organizations across the country and who staffs them.

In August, Clary Mole became the latest experienced EMS clinician and leader to join the team at the NHTSA Office of EMS. Mole comes to Washington from Atlanta, where he was most recently director of education and staff development for Grady EMS.