Tag Archive: EMS

Fiscal things that can go bump in the night
By Anthony W. Minge, EdD “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” — Scottish saying Have you ever heard that noise in the middle of the night? You know, the one just when you are dozing off and there it is … thump! And…

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Does Diet Impact Fire/EMS Performance and Outcomes?
While it is well known that good nutrition plays a significant role in our overall wellbeing, the impact of our diet tends to fall behind issues like exercise, fatigue, and exposure to carcinogens when we discuss the health risks related to performance and safety in Fire and EMS. It is time for a closer look into what…

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Are we as collaborative as we think we are?
We know collaboration is key to thriving in our profession, especially as our communities become more interconnected. But truly fostering the collaborative relationships that can take your organization to the next level takes strong leadership and commitment. We in public safety often think we are being effective collaborators. On an incident scene, we frequently work…

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What does CMS’s support of home health monitoring mean for EMS?
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced proposed changes to how it reimburses home health agencies. Specifically, CMS will now allow home health providers to report the costs of remote monitoring. Like many initiatives happening at the local, state and national levels, this move by CMS appears to recognize and support…

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3 Ways EMS Leaders Make or Break Paramedic Training Programs
Many EMS agencies realize that new employees, whether new graduates of pre-service paramedic programs or employees with experience in other organizations, are not fully prepared to climb into an ambulance and head out to serve the community.

Engage your team to be Stronger Together this EMS Week
As EMS leaders, we often struggle with how best to recognize, reward and retain our top performers. There are the obvious answers: higher pay, better benefits, promotional opportunities. And we all know the value of employee engagement — but how many of us work in organizations that actually do something about it, in a planned, organized…

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Collaboration Between 911 and EMS in Bend, Oregon, Gets Big Results
Every year I enjoy attending Navigator, the annual meeting of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. At this year’s conference, held last month in Las Vegas, we were again proud to honor graduates of the Communications Center Manager course during the opening ceremonies. Fitch & Associates created the program with IAED more than 15 years ago and it now has more…

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8 tips for talking about sexual harassment with caregivers
EMS leaders set the tone for nurturing employees and moving organizations forward with integrity

A new model for healthcare reimbursement?
We’ve heard it for several years now: Value-based purchasing is coming. But some of you, I know, are beginning to wonder if that future will ever arrive. After years of hearing about these changes, we still largely get reimbursed the same way we have for decades. A recent report out of Maryland shows that the…

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Getting the Most Out of Your EMS Billing: An Interview with Anthony Minge, EdD, Fitch & Associates
City and county officials, EMS agency directors and fire chiefs who struggle to balance budgets may want to analyze the efficacy of their EMS billing operations to recover additional revenue.