Magical Destinations By Steve Podcast

Episode 235 is Keenan Hart. Keenan is the Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Integrated TeleHealth Solutions (ITS). The use of TeleHealth Services is becoming mainstream in healthcare and starting to enter the world of EMS. Keenan's path into this industry and the start of ITS is unique and he shares his story, his entrepreneurial spirit, and the start of ITS. There is also a connection to the television show The Big Bang Theory that is part of his story. 

Episode 234 is Andrew Odgers. We head to New Zealand this week and speak to Andrew Odgers. Andrew is a Paramedic in New Zealand for the Emergency Ambulance Service. Andrew gives us an inside look at the EMS practice in New Zealand as well as the EMS educational structure. Andrew takes us through his first call and what has learned over the years. We learn about "Coffee and Cases" and a mentoring program that Andrew is establishing. 

Episode 233 is Melissa Bernstein. Melissa along with her husband Doug is the Co-Founder of the toy company Melissa & Doug, which has created over 5,000 children’s products and sold billions of dollars of toys since its inception. Raised by educators, Melissa and Doug started the business in their garage in 1988. With all the success of Melissa’s remarkable career, she kept secret her lifelong battle with severe depression and anxiety. During our conversation, we talk about the struggles, suicide, and anxiety. We also discuss when they began, and she reveals much more in her book LIfelines.  Melissa wrote the book to help others who are also suffering. Melissa’s book heralds the launch of Lifelines.com, an online ecosystem she and Doug are underwriting to support those seeking support, guidance, and community on their mental health journeys. 

Episode 232 is Cali Estes. Dr. Estes has over 20 years of experience working with drug, alcohol, and food addictions. Her deep understanding of drug and alcohol addiction, including the behaviors and ramifications that areassociated with it, place her at the top in the field of addiction therapy. Cali has a program for first responders that we talk about. Cali shares personal stories about her struggles and how she overcame her addiction to become a leader in the field of addiction therapy. 

Episode 231 is Rob Lawrence. Rob is the Executive Director of the California Ambulance Association as well as the part-time Director of Strategic Implementation for Pro EMS of Cambridge Massachusetts. Rob is originally from the United Kingdom where he served in the military for 22 years and has served in leadership roles in the EMS world in the UK. Rob came to America to be the Executive Director of Richmond Ambulance Authority. We talk about his journey from the UK to America, his military service, and numerous EMS topics. 

Episode 230 is Ann Doll and Jonathan Larsen. Ann Doll serves as Executive Director of the ResuscitationAcademy Foundation. Ann helped create the RA in 2008. She also serves as the Secretariat for the Global Resuscitation Alliance, a coalition of worldwide leaders committed to saving more lives from sudden cardiac arrest. Jonathan Larsen retired from the Seattle Fire Department as a Senior Paramedic and the Captain of Medic One. He is one of the founding faculty of the Resuscitation Academy and leads the HP-CPR effort. Ann and Jonathan have fun during our conversation that takes us through their unique beginnings in healthcare and the Resuscitation Academy. We discuss numerous aspects of the RA and how this program makes a difference.

Episode 229 is Malora Christensen. Malora is the Program Manager for Whatcom County’s high-intensity diversion programs; GRACE and LEAD. Both programs provide intensive services for people in Whatcom County who have complex challenges and often interact with crisis response systems in ineffective and avoidable ways. We discuss Malora's path to social work, her India experience, diversion, EMS, Community Paramedicine, the development of both programs in Whatcom County, and the success and possible future of the GRACE and LEAD programs. If you want to learn more about Whatcom County's Diversion Programs you can contact Malora at malorachristensen@seamarchc.org or respondwhatcom.org

Episode 228 is Nick Nudell and Katie Simon. Nick is the Co-founder and Katie is the Executive Director of the American Paramedic Association. Nick is a paramedic currently working in a moderately busy suburban remote 911 system in Colorado. He is completing his dissertation for a Ph.D. and making his second appearance on Medic2Medic. Katie is an NREMT-P and has been in EMS for 16 years and has a passion for EMS and Cardiac Care. Both Nick and Katie have interesting paths into EMS and we talk about their path. Katie became the Executive Director a short time ago and Katie and Nick provide us the mission and vision of the American Paramedic Association in this podcast. 

Episode 227 is Scott Moore. Scott Moore, Esq. is the owner of Moore EMS Consulting, LLC and an active EMT for over 30 years. Scott has held various executive positions, at several ambulance services in Massachusetts. Scott specializes in Human Resources, employment law, reimbursement, and compliance matters. During my recertification for the NREMT process and using Refresh2021, I attended Scott's Violence in the EMS Workplace lecture. This topic is important, and we expand on his lecture in the podcast. Scott provides alarming statistics on the violence occurring to EMS. providers. Scott provides us a few stories that occurred in his life that you want to hear and how he survived. We also talk about tips on avoiding violence to EMS providers.

Episode 226 is Rick Pionkowski. Rick is an Emergency Physician and the Co-Founder of Julota. Julota automates collaboration between emergency responders, clinical practitioners, and caseworkers. Julota is the first and only platform built to connect the helper community. We discuss his beginning in medicine and his interest in computers. Rick provides the details behind the workings of Julota, the impact the software is having, and the incredible story behind the name creation.

Episode 225 is John Barile. John is 30 plus year Paramedic with Cary Area EMS. John has served as a firefighter, educator, paramedic, Chief, and numerous other roles in public safety. We talk about John's start in EMS, his role on National Medical Response Team, and he offers his advice to those new to the EMS world. 

Episode 224 is Graeme Taylor who spent 21 years working in EMS in British Columbia, Canada, and the author of "A Paramedic Tales". The book provides an uncensored look at the life of first responders. Graeme is living in Australia and we discuss how he ended up down under his EMS career, and he shares a few stories from the book. 

Episode 223 is Michael Sayre. Michael is the Medical Director for the Seattle Fire Department and works as an EM Physician at Harborview Medical Center. He also serves as the Medical Director for the Michael K. Copass Paramedic Training Program at the University of Washington. Our discussion takes us from Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and to Seattle as we explore Michael's path in medicine and EMS. We spend time talking about the Seattle Fire Department, their Paramedic Academy, their response to COVID-19, and the future of EMS. 

Episode 222 is Marion Houle. Marion is the Chief of Cary Area EMS and was my replacement when I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Marion is making his second appearance on the podcast. We catch up on how the new position and transition is going? We discuss how things for him are different in his new role. Marion and I during my tenure had many conversations about hockey and football, which we continued during the podcast. Note: This podcast was recorded prior to Wake County Government's decision to terminate the 911 contract with Cary Area EMS.

Episode 221 is Travis Dierks. Travis is an Emergency Physician out of Spokane WA and the founder of EMSConnect. EMSConnect is an online EMS Education platform that is nationally accredited. Travis is also a Medical Advisor to services in the Spokane area. Travis explains how he goes from Oceanography to Medical School, his first encounters with EMS, as well as few stories from his residency. We talk about EMSConnect's beginning and the success of the platform.