Planning for EMS Week 2014: Are You Ready?

National EMS Week is coming up May 18-24. It’s an annual opportunity to showcase EMS to the public and honor EMS practitioners across the nation.

If your agency still needs to prepare, visit the EMS Week Ideas web site at www.emsweekideas.org. The site is hosted by NAEMT and sponsored by Jones & Bartlett Learning, with resources including:

• Time tested, as well as new, innovative ideas for celebrating EMS Week
• How to use social media to support your agency and enhance your career
• A complete "how-to" guide on advocating for EMS at the local, state and federal levels, including a new video on meeting with your members of Congress
• Great resources for building a Community Education program
• Everything you need to know to create your personal "EMS Career Path"
• A virtual library on EMS history and how you can get involved in honoring our heroes

One agency known for its EMS Week program is the Richmond Ambulance Authority in Richmond, Va.

First, “Simply saying thank you is a great start,” says RAA Chief Operating Officer Rob Lawrence. “People are your greatest and most expensive asset.”

In addition, he points out, the size of your agency doesn’t matter. Even if there’s little time or budget to plan for EMS Week, “Anything as simple as a cookout at the station goes a long way,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be an extravaganza.”

For those who do envision a larger program like the RAA’s, Lawrence says they begin planning several months ahead.  “It’s the same week every year, yet people act surprised when it comes along,” he jokes. Planning months ahead provides the opportunity to organize, and to order any giveaways or food.

As for when to publicize your agency’s plans, “The sooner the better, as soon as you have a plan formed,” he says.

The strength of the RAA’s program is in collaborating with other area agencies rather than limiting the celebration to just their own. That builds relationships, as well as a robust celebration week.

“Liaise with those around you,” Lawrence says. “You’d be surprised how fast your program fills up.”

His agency collects information on all the local hospital and agency events and releases the information on Facebook. “Social media helps a lot these days,” he notes.

Among the events the RAA has held are prize drawings (“We’ve had every kind of give-away over the years,”  Lawrence says) and pancake breakfasts or other meals. He suggests making a special effort to hold such events for all shifts, not just at traditional meal times.

“It’s not just about covering daytime because we’re a 24-7 business,” he says. That accommodation for all shifts has been one of the RAA’s most well-received EMS Week efforts, he says.

Of course, it’s always popular to do something funny as well, such as a dunk tank. Lawrence says one of their local hospitals once organized one and enlisted the EMS chiefs to participate. “So many did,” he says, including himself. “The important thing is to take part in the spirit of EMS Week.”

Rob’s top tips for EMS Week:

• Start planning early
• Involve staff in the planning
• Give each department an event to plan throughout the week (pancake breakfast, prize drawing, cook out/BBQ, car wash, etc.)
• If possible, set aside an operational budget to support it–a little bit of time and investment goes a long way
• Find out what other organizations are up to and share programs
• Remember you are a 24/7 organization–a midnight ice cream social is always very welcome
• Plan events around shift changes when you can catch the most people (it may mean the leadership team and office staff have to come in early, but its only once a year)
• Take lots of photos
• Most important, have fun