Magical Destinations By Steve Podcast

Episode 151 is Drew Dawson. Drew is the Interim Executive Director of National Registry of EMTs. Drew has a long career of public service which started in his home state of Montana. He was a volunteer EMT and Director of the Boulder, Montana Volunteer Ambulance Service for many years. Drew served as Montana’s State EMS Training Coordinator for several years and as the Montana State EMS Director. Drew was not done as he moved to DC to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration where he oversaw the emergency medical services activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. We talk about his long career, what it is like to work for NHTSA and the other programs NHSTA is involved with. We spend time discussing his work in his current role at the NREMT and why we all should be nationally registered.

Episode 150 is Gregg Margolis. Gregg is the Director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). In this role, Gregg leads the NAM’s four national health policy fellowship and scholar programs with a mission of building health policy leadership and expertise for the future. Prior to joining the NAM, Greg served as the Director of the Division of Health System Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he led a team of policy experts in formulating, analyzing, and implementing policies to build strong, integrated, and resilient healthcare systems that are prepared for, able to respond to, and recover quickly from disasters and public health emergencies. Way before briefing White House officials and working as the Associate Director NREMT he gave this podcast host a shot at writing at the national level. Gregg asked me to be part of writing and editing the national EMT-I curriculum. Even before that Gregg and I met when he was a paramedic student at the Center for Emergency Medicine In Pittsburgh. Gregg has over 20 years has clinical and flight paramedic, educator, author, speaker and holds a Ph.D. in administrative and policy studies and an MS in health care supervision and management from the University of Pittsburgh. Gregg continues to work to make this the world better for EMS and to improve the health of others. We talk about this fantastic career, his scuba diving, visits to the White House, and our Pittsburgh connection for this 150th episode.

Episode 149 is Kendra Hicks. Kendra is a 10-year veteran in EMS and for the last 8 years a Paramedic for Wake County EMS and the Wake County EMS System. Kendra is a recent graduate of Campbell University earning her degree in Psychology. Kendra discusses her entry into in EMS, love for EMS, balancing school and work, memorable calls and partners. During our podcast, you will hear Kendra's passion for being a Paramedic, taking care of patients, and working for Wake County EMS.

Episode 148 is Steve McGhie. Steve is the General Secretary of the Ambulance Employees Australia-Victoria. Steve is a long history in EMS and being involved in the Union that protects the 4,100 plus EMS employees in Victoria. Did you know that the CDC reported in 2014 that 2,600 EMS workers received hospital treatment from being injured from an assault? Did you know that 75% of EMS providers reported some type of violence had occurred to them over the past 12 months? Violence against EMS providers continues to rise. Steve and I talk about this issue and how an incident in Australia has sparked a change to mandatory jail time for the person or persons that assaults the provider. We talk about ways that we can try to prevent the violence from occurring.

Episode 147 is David Fifer. David is EMS Educator at Eastern Kentucky University and a fellow podcaster as he is the co-host of the Raw Medicine Podcast. When he is not teaching he is involved with the Red STAR- Red River Gorge Special Treatment, Access and Rescue. Red STAR is the volunteer ALS wilderness special operations unit of the Powell County Ambulance Service in Kentucky's Red River Gorge. David has always been interested in EMS, helping others and learned this at an early age. We talk about his career path, which was not always EMS, the current state of EMS education, and David and I discuss the value of EMS providers obtaining a 4-year college degree. This episode is sponsored by Erin Cohen Fathom Realty.

Episode 146 continues this podcast's continuing spotlight on the wellbeing of the people in public safety. This week Daniel and Ann Crampton, the founders of Status: Code 4i (SC4I) are the guests on Medic2Medic.SC4I was created following the numerous reports of First Responder suicides across the United States and Canada. SC4I is in the unique position to intimately understand the stressors associated with being a First Responder. Their mission is to provide counseling and mental wellness education services to First Responders and their family members. Daniel J. Crampton holds a Doctorate in Psychology and has served as a Paramedic with the Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District for over 23 years. Daniel’s Doctoral Dissertation is titled, “Comparison of PTSD and Compassion Fatigue between Urban and Rural Paramedics". Ann Rush Crampton holds a Ph.D. in Education specializing in Training & Performance Improvement. She is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, and she has spent over 30 years performing duties as an adult educator. While in the Air Force, she was on several Crisis Support Teams and provided Suicide Awareness Training. Daniel talks about his journey and difficult times and Ann tells why including the family in the process is important.

Episode 145 is Mike Pertz. Mike is on a mission to help EMS providers decrease the pediatric medication errors. Mike founded SmartSquad that is dedicated to creating products and software for EMS/Fire community to help with this mission. Mike is career Firefighter/Paramedic for fire department just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. He played professional soccer before entering the world of public safety. Mike is also the founder of FirefighterNOW a site dedicated to giving aspiring firefighters the best and most affordable tools to ace their entry exam and interview. Our discussion talks about his journey from soccer player to Firefighter/Paramedic and why he choose the profession. We talk about his entrepreneur spirit and what inspired him to create SmartSquad and FirefighterNOW?

Episode 144 is Rhonda Kelly. Rhonda is the Program Manager for ResponderStrong. ResponderStrong is an organization committed to the notion that mental resiliency is vital to the overall performance and wellbeing of emergency responders. Rhonda's path to ResponderStrong is unique, fun and interesting. Rhonda goes from nursing to working on a research vessel to EMS and Firefighting. We talk about her journey, the mission of ResponderStrong and the innovative use of virtual reality to train and assist responders on how to handle stressful situations before they occur. It is an interesting vision and project that ResponderStrong is undertaking.

Episode 143 goes law enforcement with Chief Tony Godwin of the Cary Police Department. Chief Tony Godwin began his career with Cary PD in 1990. Chief Godwin has had the opportunity to serve in many different roles through the years, including Emergency Response Team Sniper/Sniper Team Leader/Team Commander, Bike Team Sgt., Undercover Narcotics, Criminal Investigations Lieutenant, Major over both the Operations and Services Bureaus, Deputy Chief of Police and now Chief. The Chief was one of the first police officers I met when I arrived at Cary Area EMS. I invited Chief Godwin to talk about the opioid crisis and how his department is working through the problem. We also talk about his venture into law enforcement and he tells a good story about his days undercover.

Episode 142 is Dr. James Woodson. James is the founder and Medical Director of Pulsara. Pulsara is a care coordination company focused in the acute care setting of healthcare. Pulsara set out to answer the following questions: How can we improve patient care in our facilities? How can we help our healthcare system pursue improved quality of care at a lower cost? James states that he is a start-up entrepreneur stuck in an Emergency Medicine Physician body. After completing his Emergency Medicine specialty training at Carolinas Medical Center. James joined Leading Edge Medical Associates. James is a frequent contributor to JEMS and was named an EMS 10 Innovator in 2016. Around 5 years ago he and his family left their home in Texas and moved to Bozman, Montana to launch Pulsara. Our conversation takes us on this journey and his path into Emergency Medicine. James discusses his special interest in decreasing medical errors and written about this topic. We discuss the good and the bad about technology that is used in EMS. We also spend time talking about Pulsara's mission.

Episode 141 is Nathan Hudson. The podcast goes overseas to speak with Nathan Hudson. Nathan is the Emergency Service Operations Delivery Director for the West Midlands Ambulance Service in the United Kingdom. Nathan joined West Midlands Ambulance Service 26 years ago. He has been a registered Paramedic for 19 years Nathan qualified as an emergency medical technician and worked on front-line ambulances to respond to 999 calls. Two years later he became a qualified Paramedic, before furthering his skills to become a Trauma Paramedic. Nathan’s career during the next 13 years continued with progression where he undertook roles numerous roles. In 2010 Nathan was appointed as General Manager for Birmingham and was responsible for the day-to-day running of front-line operations in England’s 2nd largest city. Last year Nathan was appointed to the position he currently holds as Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director and is now responsible for the operational running of the Trusts emergency front-line operations in the West Midlands. Nathan discusses how the service covers 5000 square miles and responds to 4000 calls a day? Wait there is more, as Nathan tells about the staggering number of personnel and ambulances that make up the West Midlands. We discuss where did 999 come from? If you thought about working in the UK, Nathan explains how West Midlands hire. If you want to know more about their hiring process contact Nathan via email nathan.hudson@wmas.nhs.uk

Episode 140 is Scott Sampy. Scott and I go way back to our days at Zepfel Ambulance. We almost went to nursing school together. He did and I went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Scott is currently the Administrator of Vidant EastCare, the 5 helicopter, 22 ambulance medical transport division at Vidant Medical Center, which is the only level one trauma center in eastern North Carolina. Scott has more than 40 years of clinical, leadership, and educational experience in the air medical and ground transport industry. A western Pennsylvania native, Scott began his career as an EMT then Paramedic and RN and later received a BA degree in Legal Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Management and Technology degree from Carlow University. After finishing nursing school he worked at the WVU and UPMC Presbyterian Hospital emergency departments, then became a flight nurse at STAT MedEvac. In addition to his professional career, in his spare time, Scott has volunteered as a firefighter at several fire departments, rising to the rank of Chief at the Marshall Township Volunteer Fire Department in Pennsylvania. Scott discusses his career, his first day as a flight medic, and ins and outs of the air ambulance industry. We had fun catching up.

Episode 139 is Dr. Ronald Stewart. From Canada, Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, a former Minister of Health and by the way also was part of the iconic television show Emergency! Dr. Stewart takes us on his adventure in this episode of Medic2Medic. An accomplished physician and former minister in theCabinet of Nova Scotia, Dr. Stewart has focused his career on health system excellence. Educated at Dalhousie University and the University of Southern California. His career has ranged from general practice in a Nova Scotiacoastal fishing village, staff positions at several noted medical schools, and the Medical Director of the paramedic system of the City of Pittsburgh. Dr. Stewart was my first medical director when I work for the City of Pittsburgh. His work in medical research has been recognized in the United States through the creation of the Ronald D. Stewart Chair in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and in 2009 the American College of Emergency Physicians named him a Hero of Emergency Medicine.The Canadian Health Association honored him in 2013 as the recipient of their Distinguished Service Award for work in improving the health system in Canada, humanitarian serviceabroad, and his part in the creation of a new medical specialty emergency medicine. He has received the James O. Page Award in the United States, recognizing lifetime achievement in Emergency Health Services in America and throughout the world. We talk about his amazing and astonishing journey and of course we talk his role in Emergency! I am humbled and lucky to have had the opportunity to record this podcast. I am not sure were EMS and Emergency Medicine would be without Dr. Stewart's contributions and wisdom.

Episode 138 is Jack Glass. Jack like so many of us in Pittsburgh started as a volunteer and then being paid at Zepfel Ambulance Service before moving to the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS in 1978. Jack, now retired played a significant role in each area he worked for the City. Jack started in the Ambulance Division but spent most of his career in the Rescue Division. How did he end up in the Rescue Division? It is a good question and Jack was surprised too when this occurred. Jack will take us through his career and the positions he held as well as Jack will take us inside some of his rescues. Jack is a National EMS Memorial Service board member (emeritus)

Episode 137 is Hilary Gates. Have you attended an EMS National Conference? Did you ever wonder how one is put together or how the conference chooses the city to hold the conference? Hilary Gates is the Program Director for EMS World Expo. She is also a volunteer paramedic in Alexandria, VA, where she began the department’s community paramedic program. She is an EMT Instructor and teaches in the School of Education at American University. She began her career as a volunteer EMT with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in Montgomery County, MD. Hilary will answer the above questions and tells us what is like for her a few days before EMS World Expo starts. We also discuss what led her to EMS World, community paramedicine and what EMS in 2018 will bring.