Your Community Needs You

     In July of this year, I attended our sister show Firehouse Expo in Baltimore, where I had the pleasure of meeting "Pam the Paramedic." Pam is part of a comprehensive fire-safety education program based on the children's animated series Rainbow Valley Fire Department (www.rvfdfiresafety.com).

     Having volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for many years, I am a big supporter of the concept of community outreach, and nowhere is this more important than in EMS.

     In this issue, we debut an annual section that will focus on successful community outreach programs being conducted by departments across the country. In Reach Out & Touch Someone on page 184, Associate Editor John Erich profiles some of the outreach projects being conducted by NorthStar EMS of Farrington, ME, and Friendswood EMS of Friendswood, TX, which include Operation Santa Claus, babysitting education classes, vaccination programs and safety clowns.

     This is a very important topic for the industry, as much of the money that comes to EMS is local and a good community PR campaign can assist in several ways, such as increasing donations and funding, and improving recruitment and retention rates.

     This issue also features our annual Buyer's Guide, which we like to think of as our very own community outreach program. The Company Index starts on page 42 and contains contact information and product descriptions for hundreds of companies that provide EMS equipment, goods and services. The Product Index can be found on page 110 and lists companies by the type of products they make. Our Buyer's Guide also features our Annual State and Province Survey, listings of government agencies and EMS organizations, and the 5th Annual National EMS Systems Survey.

     I hope you enjoy this issue and encourage you to contact us about how you are making inroads in community education.