Medic2medic Podcast

Episode 143 goes law enforcement with Chief Tony Godwin of the Cary Police Department. Chief Tony Godwin began his career with Cary PD in 1990. Chief Godwin has had the opportunity to serve in many different roles through the years, including Emergency Response Team Sniper/Sniper Team Leader/Team Commander, Bike Team Sgt., Undercover Narcotics, Criminal Investigations Lieutenant, Major over both the Operations and Services Bureaus, Deputy Chief of Police and now Chief. The Chief was one of the first police officers I met when I arrived at Cary Area EMS. I invited Chief Godwin to talk about the opioid crisis and how his department is working through the problem. We also talk about his venture into law enforcement and he tells a good story about his days undercover.

Episode 142 is Dr. James Woodson. James is the founder and Medical Director of Pulsara. Pulsara is a care coordination company focused in the acute care setting of healthcare. Pulsara set out to answer the following questions: How can we improve patient care in our facilities? How can we help our healthcare system pursue improved quality of care at a lower cost? James states that he is a start-up entrepreneur stuck in an Emergency Medicine Physician body. After completing his Emergency Medicine specialty training at Carolinas Medical Center. James joined Leading Edge Medical Associates. James is a frequent contributor to JEMS and was named an EMS 10 Innovator in 2016. Around 5 years ago he and his family left their home in Texas and moved to Bozman, Montana to launch Pulsara. Our conversation takes us on this journey and his path into Emergency Medicine. James discusses his special interest in decreasing medical errors and written about this topic. We discuss the good and the bad about technology that is use

Episode 141 is Nathan Hudson. The podcast goes overseas to speak with Nathan Hudson. Nathan is the Emergency Service Operations Delivery Director for the West Midlands Ambulance Service in the United Kingdom. Nathan joined West Midlands Ambulance Service 26 years ago. He has been a registered Paramedic for 19 years Nathan qualified as an emergency medical technician and worked on front-line ambulances to respond to 999 calls. Two years later he became a qualified Paramedic, before furthering his skills to become a Trauma Paramedic. Nathan’s career during the next 13 years continued with progression where he undertook roles numerous roles. In 2010 Nathan was appointed as General Manager for Birmingham and was responsible for the day-to-day running of front-line operations in England’s 2nd largest city. Last year Nathan was appointed to the position he currently holds as Emergency Services Operations Delivery Director and is now responsible for the operational running of the Trusts emergency front-line operat

Episode 140 is Scott Sampy. Scott and I go way back to our days at Zepfel Ambulance. We almost went to nursing school together. He did and I went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Scott is currently the Administrator of Vidant EastCare, the 5 helicopter, 22 ambulance medical transport division at Vidant Medical Center, which is the only level one trauma center in eastern North Carolina. Scott has more than 40 years of clinical, leadership, and educational experience in the air medical and ground transport industry. A western Pennsylvania native, Scott began his career as an EMT then Paramedic and RN and later received a BA degree in Legal Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters of Management and Technology degree from Carlow University. After finishing nursing school he worked at the WVU and UPMC Presbyterian Hospital emergency departments, then became a flight nurse at STAT MedEvac. In addition to his professional career, in his spare time, Scott has volunteered as a firefighter at severa

Episode 139 is Dr. Ronald Stewart. From Canada, Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, a former Minister of Health and by the way also was part of the iconic television show Emergency! Dr. Stewart takes us on his adventure in this episode of Medic2Medic. An accomplished physician and former minister in theCabinet of Nova Scotia, Dr. Stewart has focused his career on health system excellence. Educated at Dalhousie University and the University of Southern California. His career has ranged from general practice in a Nova Scotiacoastal fishing village, staff positions at several noted medical schools, and the Medical Director of the paramedic system of the City of Pittsburgh. Dr. Stewart was my first medical director when I work for the City of Pittsburgh. His work in medical research has been recognized in the United States through the creation of the Ronald D. Stewart Chair in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and in 2009 the American College of Emergency Physicians named him a Hero of Emergency Medicine

Episode 138 is Jack Glass. Jack like so many of us in Pittsburgh started as a volunteer and then being paid at Zepfel Ambulance Service before moving to the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS in 1978. Jack, now retired played a significant role in each area he worked for the City. Jack started in the Ambulance Division but spent most of his career in the Rescue Division. How did he end up in the Rescue Division? It is a good question and Jack was surprised too when this occurred. Jack will take us through his career and the positions he held as well as Jack will take us inside some of his rescues. Jack is a National EMS Memorial Service board member (emeritus)

Episode 137 is Hilary Gates. Have you attended an EMS National Conference? Did you ever wonder how one is put together or how the conference chooses the city to hold the conference? Hilary Gates is the Program Director for EMS World Expo. She is also a volunteer paramedic in Alexandria, VA, where she began the department’s community paramedic program. She is an EMT Instructor and teaches in the School of Education at American University. She began her career as a volunteer EMT with the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad in Montgomery County, MD. Hilary will answer the above questions and tells us what is like for her a few days before EMS World Expo starts. We also discuss what led her to EMS World, community paramedicine and what EMS in 2018 will bring.

Episode 136 is Avi Golden. Avi was a Paramedic and his plan was to attend medical school. In early June 2007, at 33 years of age, Avi was admitted to Columbia Hospital, in New York, for surgery for a mitral valve prolapse repair that was discovered near the aortic valve in his heart. Like many people who go to the hospital for serious, but seemingly routine, surgery, Avi thought he’d be out and recovering in short order. However, that was not to be. During the surgery, Avi experienced a stroke on the left side of his brain, leaving him with right-sided paralysis, and profound aphasia, which proceeded to wreak havoc with his life. Did this stop Avi? Avi tells his story about his stroke and the effects of suffering from Expressive Aphasia. Avi still has balance problems and weakness on the right side of his body, but it’s his Expressive Aphasia that frustrates and confounds him more than any of his other post-stroke residuals. Avi can understand what people are saying to him and he can still read quite well. Ho

Episode 135 is a Film Documentary called TRAUMA. TRAUMA depicts the heroism and struggles of a medevac unit in Afghanistan and their lives afterward as they deal with PTSD and other challenges. Medic2Medic speaks with Harry Sanna who is the DIrector and Ryan Cumminham the Producer. Harry is Australian journalist and filmmaker who was based in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2011. In early 2011, Harry was embedded with the C Company Dustoff, Mountain Division, 3-10 GSAB medevac unit at FOB Shank in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Harry intensively filmed the time he spent living and flying alongside a Blackhawk medevac platoon, capturing daily life on base and on missions and befriending the medics. Harry also has contributed articles to TIME Magazine and the New York Times. Ryan Cunningham is a native of Pittsburgh and an Emmy nominated producer with experience in the entertainment and visual effects industry. Ryan has worked on numerous films which we are familiar with like Anchorman 2. Ryan talks about being a pr

Episode 134 is Vince Mosesso. Vince is an Emergency Medicine Physician with 27 years of experience. Vince is the Medical Director for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Prehospital Care, Associate Medical Director for the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS, a professor of Emergency Medicine for the Universtiy of Pittsburgh and has a passion for EMS. I ask Vince how did he go from studying to be a priest to EMT, Paramedic, and Physician?  We discuss the challenges of EMS, being a Medical Director and working with EMS icons Dr. Ron Stewart and Dr. Paul Paris. 

Episode 133 is Dan Patterson. Dr. P. Daniel Patterson studies safety in emergency care settings with special emphasis on safety culture, fatigue, shift work, sleep health, teamwork, medical errors and adverse events, and clinician injury in the prehospital EMS setting. Fatigue in EMS is a hot topic. EMS fatigue is a common workplace problem. The number of EMS fatigue-related occurrences involving EMS personnel and their patients is on the rise. Some of the most recent research shows that more than half of emergency medical services personnel report severe mental and physical fatigue while at work. What is the right shift? Are EMS leaders prepared and educated to handle this problem? This week Dan discusses the findings after his team of co-investigators reviewed over 38,000 pieces of literature to develop guidelines on this important subject. We discuss the 5 recommendations and what are the next steps in this project?

Episode 132 is Zach Almond. Zach is a Paramedic for the London Ambulance Service. Believe it or not, Zach is from Texas. In this podcast, you will find out the interesting path Zach takes to ends up in England. This includes his love for music, playing in a band, his spark to enter EMS and where he studied to become a Paramedic? Zach answers what it is like to be a Paramedic in London, delivering his first baby and his love for adventure.

Episode 131 is Dena Ali. Dena is a 10-year member of the Raleigh Fire Department, which she is a Captain. Dena also works in EMS and started her public safety career as a Police Officer. Dena has personally experienced the benefits of peer support and recognizes how critical it is to simply be heard and understood.You will hear Dena's passion about the well being of all of us in public safety and her effort to prevent suicides by Firefighters, Police Officers, Paramedics, Advanced EMTs, and EMTs. We talk about her fascinating journey, why all the above is important and the new Peer Support Team for Public Safety that she is a founding member. If you need help or need someone to talk to you can call 855-7NC-Peer (855-762-7337) anytime.

Episode 130 is Simon Taxel a Paramedic Crew Chief with the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of EMS. Simon is also on the Dive Team, a medical specialist on the Pennsylvania urban search and rescue strike team as well as a contributing author for JEMS and CE Solutions. He started his EMS career 14 years for Meadville Area Ambulance Service. After receiving his bachelor's degree he moved to Pittsburgh to attend Paramedic School at Community College of Allegheny County and went to work for the City of Pittsburgh. Simon, as mentioned above is a frequent contributor to JEMS and his article on employee retention caught my eye. We discuss this article as well as others, his start in EMS, City of Pittsburgh EMS, the cold rivers of Pittsburgh and how he becomes involved in writing articles for JEMS.

Episode 129: Uber versus Ambulance. Which one would you call if you were having a heart attack or a sprained ankle? David Slusky, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Economics and an Oswald Scholar at the University of Kansas, where he also co-directs the Health Policy Research Group and is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Policy & Social Research. David and his co-author Dr. Leon Moskatel take a look at what Uber has done to ambulance calls in cities across America. David discusses how the idea came about, methods and the surprising results of the research. Our conversation also leads us to what may be the next step with this research? This episode is sponsored by The PulsePoint Foundation.

Episode 128 brings back the editors from EMS1.com and JEMS to the podcast. Greg Friese and AJ Heightman join me to talk about their picks for the impact stories in 2017. Both AJ and Greg offer their insight into the stories as well as they give you a peek into the stories in 2018 that will be of interest. All of us had a spirited discussion and it was a fun podcast to produce. Enjoy and Happy New Year from Medic2Medic.

Episode127 is Jon Politis. I could tell you that Jon retired from EMS and Public Safety after starting his career in 1971. I would be not telling you the truth. Jon is an engaging educator who has presented at many state and national conferences across the US and Canada. Jon has served in many capacities: firefighter, ski patroller, Paramedic, Paramedic Program Coordinator, State EMS Training Coordinator and EMS Chief. He was the first Chief of EMS of the Town of Colonie EMS Department Jon continues to practice as a Paramedic, continues as an active volunteer firefighter and alpine ski patroller. In the summers he works as a Seasonal Ranger/Paramedic in Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole, WY. Jon and I talk about bringing 6 EMS agencies into one, leadership, politics, ski patrol and his Boot Camp Educational Program for supervisors.

Episode 126 is Benjamin Currie. Benji is an EMT-P, currently serves as a District Chief for the Wake County EMS Advanced-Practice Paramedic (Community Paramedicine) program for the Wake County EMS System. He graduated from the inaugural APP academy administered by Wake County and spent three years functioning in the street as an advanced-practice paramedic. Since being promoted to supervisor, he serves as a front-line asset that also works with program managers within the community who serve high-risk patient populations to coordinate and facilitate care and increase collaboration between multidisciplinary agencies. Benji is a believer in Peer Support and a leader in the Wake County EMS System Peer Support Team. During our talk, you can hear Benji's passion regarding Peer Support and how important this is to him. We also discuss a few other EMS related topics.

This episode is sponsored by my friends at the PulsePoint Foundation.Episode 125: Greg Mears, MD serves as the Medical Director for ZOLL, providing clinical guidance to ZOLL’s Data and Resuscitation Divisions. Greg has been an Emergency Medical Services Physician, educator, and specialist in performance improvement for more than 25 years. Prior to joining ZOLL, Dr. Mears was a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State EMS Medical Director. EMS Agenda 2050, being a State EMS Medical Director, his responsibilities at ZOLL and his love of data and information are some of the topics we discuss. We also touch on the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), which Greg was a key player. Episode 125: Greg Mears, MD serves as the Medical Director for ZOLL, providing clinical guidance to ZOLL’s Data and Resuscitation Divisions. Greg has been an Emergency Medical Services Physician, educator, and specialist in performance improvement for more than 2

Episode124: Charles A. Blankenship is the Manager of System Transport for Mission Health System in Asheville, North Carolina. Charles has over 25 years of EMS experience that includes being a Critical Care Paramedic and being an officer from American College of Paramedic Executives. Charles is the Chair of the Accreditation Committee for the National EMS Management Association. We talk about his military career, why EMS, how he ended up in North Carolina and how he leads 5 different departments.