NAEMT News

NAEMT Installs New President, Officers at Annual Meeting

Ken Bouvier was installed as the new NAEMT President at the NAEMT Annual Meeting, which was co-located with EMS EXPO, held October 19–23 in Atlanta, GA. NAEMT’s Annual Meeting was attended by several hundred NAEMT members and guests who were in town for the EMS EXPO.

The other new officers are: President-Elect Jerry Johnston, Vice President Patrick Moore, Treasurer Ed Sawicki, Secretary Bob Loftus and Directors Paul Maniscalco, Connie Meyer, Will Chapleau, Richard Ellis and Gregg Lord. The addition of the president-elect position and the additional director were approved last year, bringing the total number of board of director positions to 11, including Immediate Past President John Roquemore.

The installation of officers occurred at the close of the meeting. Prior to that time, the previous officers and board of directors met and took the following actions:

• Authorized the expenditure of $1,000 for the creation of new AMLS teaching slides;
• Approved and sent a letter to Blue Cross/Blue Shield protesting the airing of a television advertisement that portrays EMTs and paramedics in a negative way;
• Limited future eligibility for NAEMT awards to individuals and organizations that have not already won an award in the same category;
• Created an International Division, headed up by Vernard Gudnason from the Iceland National Union of Fire Fighters and EMT-Paramedics; and
• Voted to support the nomination of paramedic Tim Hayes for the Department of Justice’s Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor.

The NAEMT board of governors also met in Atlanta. At its meeting, the governors, prompted by the Military Division, asked for a clarification from the National Registry of EMTs about re-registration requirements for military EMTs and paramedics deployed in combat zones. NREMT representative Gregg Margolis and Registry Director Bill Brown assured the governors that the Registry was working closely with military leaders to create fair re-registration policies for the military. The governors took no further action.

EMS EXPO 2004

The NAEMT Annual Meeting was once again held in conjunction with EMS EXPO, which attracted 4,665 attendees.

The meeting opened with a keynote address by Charlotte, NC-based paramedic Tim Hayes, who suffered bilateral leg amputations while working at a vehicle crash on January 23, 2003.

In a moving and powerful presentation titled Are You Ready?, Hayes described the accident using videos and dispatch recordings. Hayes encouraged his audience to consider issues of safety, the aftermath that follows such an accident and the life one has following such an injury. NAEMT member Sue Roundy described the presentation as “personally soul stirring” and said that all EMS providers should heed Hayes’ message.

The closing keynote address was delivered by Richard C. Hunt, MD, FACEP, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Injury and Disability Outcomes and Programs. Hunt spoke about how EMS can become involved in injury prevention.

The 2005 NAEMT Annual Meeting will again be co-located with EMS EXPO. The conference is scheduled for August 23–27 in New Orleans, LA. For more information, call 877/EMS-EXPO, or visit www.emsmagazine.com.

National Association of EMTs Presents Annual Awards at EMS EXPO

NAEMT presented its annual awards at a banquet on Saturday, October 23. The awards banquet, which was sponsored by Moore Medical Corp., concluded the organization’s Annual Meeting, which was held in conjunction with EMS EXPO 2004 in Atlanta, GA.

Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) was honored as Legislator of the Year for his ongoing support of EMTs and paramedics and especially for his work on the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act, which he introduced in the House in February 2003. The Act became law in December 2003.

Also recognized for their contributions to the EMS community were:

• Keith Edmonds, EMT-A, Bruno, AR: Robert E. Motley EMT of the Year
• David Calkin, NREMT-P, Clinton, AR: Asmund S. Laerdal Paramedic of the Year
• Leslee Stein-Spencer, RN, MS, Chicago, IL: William Klingensmith EMS Administrator of the Year
• Richard Slevinski, MD, FACEP, Pace, FL: Richard Ferneau EMS Medical Director of the Year
• John Greg Clarkes, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Mary Ann Talley Instructor/Coordinator of the Year
• Ellington Volunteer Ambulance Corps Inc., Ellington, CT: Leo R. Schwartz EMS Service of the Year
• East Baton Rouge Parish EMS, Baton Rouge, LA: EMT-Paramedic Emergency Medical Service of the Year
• Alexander Butman, BA, DSc, NREMT-P, EMSI, Fairlawn, OH: Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award
• Raphael M. Barishansky, EMT-B, Teaneck, NJ: Anthony S. Maniscalco Memorial Scholarship.
• Gregg Lord, AS, NREMT-P, Roswell, GA: Global Med-Net Scholarship.
• Mathew Cassavechia, Danbury, CT: 2004 Harvard/ADPI Scholar, funding by Advanced Data Processing Inc.
• Michael Brooks, CNN correspondent: Journalist of the Year.

Each year, NAEMT recognizes excellence in various areas of prehospital medical care with the presentation of individual and organizational achievement awards. These awards honor America’s EMS providers and organizations that demonstrate exceptional leadership within the profession and outstanding commitment to prehospital medical care. For more information, visit the NAEMT website at www.naemt.org.

In Other News

NAEMT membership has doubled since last year to 14,523 members. This growth has resulted, in large part, from a program to give away a free one-year membership to anyone who completes an NAEMT educational program.

Using grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NAEMT has started a website to disseminate information to the EMS community about bioterrorism. The site, called the Bio-Terrorism Information Distribution System, is located at bidc.naemt.org.

NAEMT has signed a contract with NetOnLine to develop and maintain a new website at www.naemt.org. Representatives from NetOnLine made a presentation to the board of governors about plans for the new website, which is expected to go live in January.

The Paramedic Division has established a liaison with the San Francisco Injury Center to facilitate research of occupational injuries to EMS providers.

The Instructor/Coordinator Division elected new officers. Rick Ellis was elected to a second term as Vice Chair. David Garmon was elected as Secretary/Treasurer. Jo Ann Cobble will continue as Chair for the second year of her two-year term. Bob Loftus is the Immediate Past Chair.

The Instructor/Coordinator Division wants to publish an updated Membership Directory. If you do not want your contact information included, please contact Jo Ann Cobble at 405/682-7507 or jacobble@okccc.edu.

NAEMT is formulating a response to the draft National EMS Scope of Practice Model document, which is the next step in implementing the EMS Education Agenda for the Future. The document can be found at www.emsscopeofpractice.org. NAEMT members can comment on the document by responding to a survey that can be found online at naemt.org by December 15.

NAEMT has secured sponsorship commitments for 2005 from Tri-anim, AMBU, Welch Allyn and the law firm of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth.

Sylvia McGowan has joined the NAEMT headquarters staff. Lisa Lindsay was given the new title of Association Manager.