Magical Destinations By Steve Podcast

Episode 136 is Avi Golden. Avi was a Paramedic and his plan was to attend medical school. In early June 2007, at 33 years of age, Avi was admitted to Columbia Hospital, in New York, for surgery for a mitral valve prolapse repair that was discovered near the aortic valve in his heart. Like many people who go to the hospital for serious, but seemingly routine, surgery, Avi thought he’d be out and recovering in short order. However, that was not to be. During the surgery, Avi experienced a stroke on the left side of his brain, leaving him with right-sided paralysis, and profound aphasia, which proceeded to wreak havoc with his life. Did this stop Avi? Avi tells his story about his stroke and the effects of suffering from Expressive Aphasia. Avi still has balance problems and weakness on the right side of his body, but it’s his Expressive Aphasia that frustrates and confounds him more than any of his other post-stroke residuals. Avi can understand what people are saying to him and he can still read quite well. However, he continues to have a lot of trouble speaking and writing. This can be devastating for any friendly and outgoing person. Avi refuses to let aphasia get in his way. Avi is an EMT and more importantly, he’s embarked on a new mission of “aphasia advocacy,” educating others about aphasia and how it impacts a stroke survivor’s day-to-day life.To make this new goal a reality, Avi has been involved in a lot of aphasia-related projects. Like the myriad of activities in his pre-stroke life, he’s done so many things since his stroke like snowboarding, skiing, and scuba diving to name a few. Avi is joined by Katlin Brooks, who is a Speech Pathologist and Professor at Mercy College. Katlin works with Avi and she tells how they met and explains the art of speech pathology.

Episode 135 is a Film Documentary called TRAUMA. TRAUMA depicts the heroism and struggles of a medevac unit in Afghanistan and their lives afterward as they deal with PTSD and other challenges. Medic2Medic speaks with Harry Sanna who is the DIrector and Ryan Cumminham the Producer. Harry is Australian journalist and filmmaker who was based in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011. In early 2011, Harry was embedded with the C Company Dustoff, Mountain Division, 3-10 GSAB medevac unit at FOB Shank in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Harry intensively filmed the time he spent living and flying alongside a Blackhawk medevac platoon, capturing daily life on base and on missions and befriending the medics. Harry also has contributed articles to TIME Magazine and the New York Times. Ryan Cunningham is a native of Pittsburgh and an Emmy nominated producer with experience in the entertainment and visual effects industry. Ryan has worked on numerous films which we are familiar with like Anchorman 2. Ryan talks about being a producer on this film and states that “The film gives the audience an authentic and relentless first-person experience of the medics’ mission – a high-powered mix of adrenaline, dust and heroism.”We talk about the access that Harry (Harry was in Australia when we recorded) had and how he gained the trust of the Soldiers. We talk about how the idea came about and how Ryan and his production team got involved. The stories and struggles the Soldiers tell are gripping. Harry tells about his struggles after how that led to the additional storyline. Host Note: TRAUMA is a powerful film and left an impression on me. I believe that the stories told here, those of us in public safety will relate and understand. The film is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Episode 134 is Vince Mosesso. Vince is an Emergency Medicine Physician with 27 years of experience. Vince is the Medical Director for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Prehospital Care, Associate Medical Director for the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS, a professor of Emergency Medicine for the Universtiy of Pittsburgh and has a passion for EMS. I ask Vince how did he go from studying to be a priest to EMT, Paramedic, and Physician?  We discuss the challenges of EMS, being a Medical Director and working with EMS icons Dr. Ron Stewart and Dr. Paul Paris. 

Episode 133 is Dan Patterson. Dr. P. Daniel Patterson studies safety in emergency care settings with special emphasis on safety culture, fatigue, shift work, sleep health, teamwork, medical errors and adverse events, and clinician injury in the prehospital EMS setting. Fatigue in EMS is a hot topic. EMS fatigue is a common workplace problem. The number of EMS fatigue-related occurrences involving EMS personnel and their patients is on the rise. Some of the most recent research shows that more than half of emergency medical services personnel report severe mental and physical fatigue while at work. What is the right shift? Are EMS leaders prepared and educated to handle this problem? This week Dan discusses the findings after his team of co-investigators reviewed over 38,000 pieces of literature to develop guidelines on this important subject. We discuss the 5 recommendations and what are the next steps in this project?

Episode 132 is Zach Almond. Zach is a Paramedic for the London Ambulance Service. Believe it or not, Zach is from Texas. In this podcast, you will find out the interesting path Zach takes to ends up in England. This includes his love for music, playing in a band, his spark to enter EMS and where he studied to become a Paramedic? Zach answers what it is like to be a Paramedic in London, delivering his first baby and his love for adventure.

Episode 131 is Dena Ali. Dena is a 10-year member of the Raleigh Fire Department, which she is a Captain. Dena also works in EMS and started her public safety career as a Police Officer. Dena has personally experienced the benefits of peer support and recognizes how critical it is to simply be heard and understood.You will hear Dena's passion about the well being of all of us in public safety and her effort to prevent suicides by Firefighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, Advanced EMTs, and EMTs. We talk about her fascinating journey, why all the above is important and the new Peer Support Team for Public Safety that she is a founding member. If you need help or need someone to talk to you can call 855-7NC-Peer (855-762-7337) anytime.

Episode 130 is Simon Taxel a Paramedic Crew Chief with the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS. Simon is also on the Dive Team, a medical specialist on the Pennsylvania urban search and rescue strike team as well as a contributing author for JEMS and CE Solutions. He started his EMS career 14 years for Meadville Area Ambulance Service. After receiving his bachelor's degree he moved to Pittsburgh to attend Paramedic School at Community College of Allegheny County and went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Simon, as mentioned above is a frequent contributor to JEMS and his article on employee retention caught my eye. We discuss this article as well as others, his start in EMS, City of Pittsburgh EMS, the cold rivers of Pittsburgh and how he becomes involved in writing articles for JEMS.

Episode 129: Uber versus Ambulance. Which one would you call if you were having a heart attack or a sprained ankle? David Slusky, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Economics and an Oswald Scholar at the University of Kansas, where he also co-directs the Health Policy Research Group and is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Policy & Social Research. David and his co-author Dr. Leon Moskatel take a look at what Uber has done to ambulance calls in cities across America. David discusses how the idea came about, methods and the surprising results of the research. Our conversation also leads us to what may be the next step with this research? This episode is sponsored by The PulsePoint Foundation.

Episode 128 brings back the editors from EMS1.com and JEMS to the podcast. Greg Friese and AJ Heightman join me to talk about their picks for the impact stories in 2017. Both AJ and Greg offer their insight into the stories as well as they give you a peek into the stories in 2018 that will be of interest. All of us had a spirited discussion and it was a fun podcast to produce. Enjoy and Happy New Year from Medic2Medic.

Episode127 is Jon Politis. I could tell you that Jon retired from EMS and Public Safety after starting his career in 1971. I would be not telling you the truth. Jon is an engaging educator who has presented at many state and national conferences across the US and Canada. Jon has served in many capacities: firefighter, ski patroller, Paramedic, Paramedic Program Coordinator, State EMS Training Coordinator and EMS Chief. He was the first Chief of EMS of the Town of Colonie EMS Department Jon continues to practice as a Paramedic, continues as an active volunteer firefighter and alpine ski patroller. In the summers he works as a Seasonal Ranger/Paramedic in Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole, WY. Jon and I talk about bringing 6 EMS agencies into one, leadership, politics, ski patrol and his Boot Camp Educational Program for supervisors.

Episode 126 is Benjamin Currie. Benji is an EMT-P, currently serves as a District Chief for the Wake County EMS Advanced-Practice Paramedic (Community Paramedicine) program for the Wake County EMS System. He graduated from the inaugural APP academy administered by Wake County and spent three years functioning in the street as an advanced-practice paramedic. Since being promoted to supervisor, he serves as a front-line asset that also works with program managers within the community who serve high-risk patient populations to coordinate and facilitate care and increase collaboration between multidisciplinary agencies. Benji is a believer in Peer Support and a leader in the Wake County EMS System Peer Support Team. During our talk, you can hear Benji's passion regarding Peer Support and how important this is to him. We also discuss a few other EMS related topics.

This episode is sponsored by my friends at the PulsePoint Foundation.Episode 125: Greg Mears, MD serves as the Medical Director for ZOLL, providing clinical guidance to ZOLL’s Data and Resuscitation Divisions. Greg has been an Emergency Medical Services Physician, educator, and specialist in performance improvement for more than 25 years. Prior to joining ZOLL, Dr. Mears was a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State EMS Medical Director. EMS Agenda 2050, being a State EMS Medical Director, his responsibilities at ZOLL and his love of data and information are some of the topics we discuss. We also touch on the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), which Greg was a key player. Episode 125: Greg Mears, MD serves as the Medical Director for ZOLL, providing clinical guidance to ZOLL’s Data and Resuscitation Divisions. Greg has been an Emergency Medical Services Physician, educator, and specialist in performance improvement for more than 25 years. His passion is building integrated systems of care and for using real-time data to drive EMS operational and clinical decisions. Greg is the recipient of the Journal of Emergency Medical Services as a Top Innovator in EMS. Prior to joining ZOLL, Dr. Mears was a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State EMS Medical Director. EMS Agenda 2050, being a State EMS Medical Director, his responsibilities at ZOLL and his love of data and information are some of the topics we discuss. We also touch on the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), which Greg was a key player.

Episode124: Charles A. Blankenship is the Manager of System Transport for Mission Health System in Asheville, North Carolina. Charles has over 25 years of EMS experience that includes being a Critical Care Paramedic and being an officer from American College of Paramedic Executives. Charles is the Chair of the Accreditation Committee for the National EMS Management Association. We talk about his military career, why EMS, how he ended up in North Carolina and how he leads 5 different departments.

Episode123: Colene James joins me this week. Colene is a former volunteer and full-time employee at Cary Area EMS. Colene has over 10 years of EMS experience. She began her career at Florida State University's Medical Responder Unit where she quickly moved up the ranks to serve as Director of Operations, EMT Field Supervisor, and Teaching Assistant. She has served with three different Counties in Florida before arriving at Cary Area EMS. She is currently working as a paramedic in a local ER in Salt Lake City, UT. We talk about her experiences and her attempt to become an American Ninja Warrior.

Episode 122: Richard Price is the Founder and President of the PulsePoint Foundation.The foundation provides a suite of mobile apps designed to support public safety agencies working to improve cardiac arrest survival rates by using technology that sends nearby citizens trained in CPR to the scene. Listen how a retired Fire Chief goes from fighting fires to the tech world and the story/call that inspired Richard to start PulsePoint.