National EMS Week Celebrates the 3 Rs: Ready, Responsive and Reliable

“EMS is a vital part of every community, but it often competes with the broader focus on fire, police, public health and homeland security,” notes the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) President Robert E. Suter, DO, MHA, FACEP, in this year’s EMS Week Planning Guide, available from ACEP. The planning guide is designed to help agencies build recognition in their communities by “offering advice, guidance, tools and products to take your message to the public, the media, elected officials, the medical community and the EMS workforce” during EMS Week, May 15–21, or anytime, he says.

The comprehensive guide supplies templates for handouts, 10 steps to hosting an open house event, tips for utilizing the media, how to speak to government, ways to improve links with public health and EDs, a catalog for promotional products and prizes, and more, all aimed at helping departments reach out. Color-coded sections address each of these five important stakeholder groups, including templates such as:

• What the Public Needs to Know About EMS
• What the Public Should Know About Traumatic Brain Injury
• What the Media Should Know About EMS
• A Guide for Nursing Homes: How to Work With EMS
• Why EMS Is a Great Career Choice (recruitment flyer)

Order the planner or download it, along with additional materials including a sample press release, from www.acep.org/emsweek.

2005 National EMS Memorial Service Honors the Ultimate Sacrifice

The National EMS Memorial Service will honor 26 individuals who gave their lives to EMS and died in the line of duty at the annual ceremony to be held this year on Saturday, May 28, at the First Baptist Church of Roanoke in Roanoke, VA. The honorees join 282 others previously honored. For more information, including a history of the National EMS Memorial Service, please visit https://nemsms.org.

In Memoriam

Molly O. Ahlgren of Sitka Fire Department, Sitka, AK, of injuries received in a boating accident responding to an offshore call on November 30, 2004.

David Stabbins Bacon Jr. of Regional One Air Medical Service, Spartanburg, SC, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on July 13, 2004.

Brandon Bow of EagleMed Air Ambulance, Wichita, KS, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on February 17, 2004.

Shane Scott Brown of DeSoto Parish Fire District 8, Mansfield, LA, of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision responding to a call on December 24, 2003.

Tye Patrick Brown of Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust, Kansas City, MO, of gunshot wounds received while on duty on April 3, 2004.

Brenda D. Cowan of the Lexington Division of Fire & Emergency Service, Lexington, KY, of gunshot wounds received at the scene of a call on February 13, 2004.

Jonathan Dye of EagleMed Air Ambulance, Wichita, KS, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on February 17, 2004.

Joseph Lon Griffin of First Health of the Carolinas EMS Chatham, Pittsboro, NC, of myocardial infarction/cardiac arrest while on duty on February 2, 2004.

Nadar Ali Hammett of Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Dept., Largo, MD, of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision while on duty on December 1, 2003.

Jennifer Hauptman of EagleMed Air Ambulance, Wichita, KS, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on February 17, 2004.

Todd Hellman of Access Air Ambulance, Elko, NV, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on August 21, 2004.

Nicole Dawn Kielar of LifeEvac of Virginia, Richmond, VA, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on January 10, 2005.

John Francis Legieko of Parkesburg Ambulance & Fire Co., Parkesburg, PA, of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision while on duty on February 25, 2002.

Paul H. Lujan of CareStar Air Ambulance, Odessa, TX, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on March 21, 2004.

Katherine Malone of Metropolitan Ambulance Services Trust, Kansas City, MO, of gunshot wounds received while on duty on April 3, 2004.

Justin Robert Mangum of Mechanicsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, Mechanicsville, MD, of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision responding to a call on December 16, 2002.

Roger Eldon Morrison of Access Air Ambulance, Elko, NV, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on August 21, 2004.

Edward C. Neustrom of Johnson County Med-Act, Olathe, KS, of myocardial infarction/cardiac arrest while on duty on June 18, 2004.

Lisa Marie Ortega-Landers of Access Air Ambulance, Elko, NV, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on August 21, 2004.

Richard Allen Pearlman of Forest Hills Ambulance Corp., Forest Hills, NY, in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Micky Lynn Price of CareStar Air Ambulance, Odessa, TX, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on March 21, 2004.

John G. Rhodes of Randolph County EMS, Asheboro, NC, of myocardial infarction/cardiac arrest while on duty on May 8, 2001.

Steven Rosenfeld of Salem Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Culpeper, VA, of myocardial infarction/cardiac arrest while on duty on September 9, 2004.

Benjamin Craig Rouchon of Acadian Ambulance, Baton Rouge, LA, of injuries received in a motor vehicle collision responding to a call on December 21, 2003.

Joseph Schaefer of LifeEvac of Virginia, Richmond, VA, of injuries received in an aeromedical aviation accident on January 10, 2005.

Gerald C. Stalker of Castleton Volunteer Ambulance, Castleton, NY, of myocardial infarction/cardiac arrest while on a call on April 3, 2004.