The Five Reasons EMS Injury and Illness Prevention Programs Fail

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

3:45 PM – 4:45 PM EDT

Location: Tangerine Ballroom 1-2

Panelist(s)

Keith Griffiths, BA

Founding Partner
RedFlash Group
Encinitas, California
Michael S. Gerber, MPH, NRP

Paramedic
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad
Washington, District of Columbia
John Ehrhart, EMT-P

Director
California Paramedic Foundation
San Diego, California
JK

Josh P. Krimston

Engineer/Paramedic
Bonita Fire Department
La Mesa, California
Gene Hern, MD

EMS Medical Director
CA Bridge
San Francisco, California

Description: EMS providers are a valuable partner to public health programs addressing everything from COVID-19 and opioid use disorder to senior fall risk and homelessness. However, EMS-led injury and illness prevention programs often face existential challenges. During implementation, stakeholders must successfully develop and fund public health initiatives that are not supported by current EMS funding models that only reimburse for medical transportation. Even after successful launches, otherwise successful programs often struggle to find sustainability, thanks to continued lack of resources or other challenges, including promotions, retirements, and burnout.

For more than two decades, the Nicholas Rosecrans Award has recognized excellence in EMS-led injury prevention programs. In 2022, the award pivoted to recognize excellence in sustainable EMS-led public health programming. In this session, speakers will review five common reasons these programs fail and discuss strategies EMS providers can use to develop sound and resilient public health programs. Attendees will also learn more about this year’s winner of the Nicholas Rosecrans Award and how they are making a sustainable difference in their community.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the current state of EMS injury and illness prevention and the areas of current and future development in EMS and public health interface.
Describe the common reasons EMS injury and illness programs fail and by inverse the ways that these initiatives can be hardened and sustained indefinitely.
List sustainable program strategies from the 2022 Nicholas Rosecrans Award winner in an area of current relevance, helping them initialize or refine their initiatives and programs.