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 ArAA expresses its gratitude to the everyday heroes dedicating their lives to protect and serve our communities.
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"Our first responders represent the best of who we are as a people. They are the police officers and sheriff’s deputies who answer our calls, ready to help, no matter the situation. They are the firefighters running toward the flames to protect our communities. They are emergency medical technicians, paramedics, 911 dispatchers, 988 crisis responders, and all the medical professionals providing emergency care, who sacrifice so much to be there for us when a crisis hits. Our first responders are everyday heroes, and we are so grateful for their service..." |
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Arkansas Section of EMS 2024 EMS Medical Directors Conference
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The 2024 EMS Medical Directors Conference will be held in Little Rock on November 7 and 8. Both an agenda and conference flyer for the event can be found on the Arkansas Ambulance Association website. Continuing education credit will be available for attendees.
When? November 7-8, 2024
Where? Four Points by Sheraton Little Rock Midtown, 925 S University Ave, Little Rock, AR 72204 (Next to the Section of EMS Office).
Need a hotel reservation? Discounted hotel reservations can be made here; the discounted hotel rate is available through November 4.
Cost? Free admission for all EMS providers; registration is required
How do I sign up? Register here
Questions? Contact the Section of EMS at 501-661-2262.
Check out the Conference Agenda & Flyer.
Learn more here!
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Dartmouth College EMS Research Study Survey
EMS researchers at Dartmouth College are conducting a brief survey examining how EMS clinicians cope with work-related stress. The team will use your opinions to inform the development of a future smartphone app for EMS clinicians that provides specific resources for healthy stress management.
The goal is to design an app for EMS clinicians by EMS clinicians. Through the survey conducted by Dartmouth College, they are collecting data specific to the high-stress situations you handle as an EMS Practitioner on a daily basis and how these situations can contribute to burnout and impact your health. This survey will allow Dartmouth to learn more about these experiences and help support retention and wellness of the EMS profession through a future EMS stress management app.
If you have not already participated in this brief survey study, please follow this link to the survey to determine if you are eligible:
Click here to start the survey or scan the QR code below: 
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Have You Submitted Your NEMSIS v.3.5 Data Yet?
Be sure submit your EMS activation v.3.5 data to the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS). States have until the end of 2024 to make the transition, and nearly every state is on track to do so. NEMSIS v.3.5 introduces the NEMSIS Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), which is created automatically with every v3.5 ePCR. This will enhance data exchange easier allowing for the direct linkage of EMS, crash and trauma data nationally without requiring any personally identifiable information. The data your agency generates and shares improves evidence-based guidelines and post-crash care and helps EMS better understand risks in your communities as well as the mental and physical risks your clinicians experience in their work. You can also use this data to start or further a conversation with your state highway safety office to secure Section 402 and Section 405 grant funding that helps meet shared goals of safer streets and fewer deaths and serious injuries from motor vehicle crashes. Visit Home - NEMSIS to learn more.
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Emergency Medical Services (EMS): A Look at Disparities in Funding and Outcomes
To increase EMS data availability nationwide to further understand existing disparities in the industry, the CDC collected data from California's local EMS agency reports and conducted a case study. This case study illustrates geographic disparities in EMS revenue, spending, and cardiovascular-related quality indicators. The key points are below:
- Substantial geographic disparities in emergency medical services (EMS) exist based on urbanicity—for example, in rural areas more staff volunteer or work part time, response times are longer, paramedics typically have lower levels of certification, and EMS relies heavily on fee for service funding.
- EMS response times for patients with cardiac arrest are 10% longer in low-income neighborhoods than in high-income neighborhoods.
- Studies find substantial disparities in the provision of EMS based on race and sex.
- In a case study of eleven counties in California, local EMS agencies that served rural counties had lower per capita EMS funding and lower percentages of cases that met established quality standards.
Read the full article here! |
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A Wake-up Call on Airway Management
The National EMS Quality Alliance (NEMSQA) has provided evidence-based quality measures designed to improve EMS performance and patient care. These measures areas like clinical effectiveness, patient safety, and patient experience. Using standardized definitions that map directly to NEMSIS fields, these measures provide individual EMS agencies, regions, and states a way to measure and enhance their performance. On a national scale, these measures identify variations in care and highlight best practices to improve the EMS industry.
"Improving airway management isn’t about accepting low performance – it’s about taking the information we have and using it to drive change. By focusing on standardized processes, embedding essential checkpoints into our workflow and leaning on quality measures, we can make real strides. And with the lessons learned from the NEMSQA EQUIP Airway Collaborative, we’ll have the insights we need to close the gaps. The goal is straightforward: keep pushing EMS forward to a higher standard of care, one airway measure at a time."
Read the full article here!
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This section provides Arkansas-specific updates & notable information from past newsletters. |
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Arkansas DHS Section of EMS Staff Changes
Shalon Holloway, the current data manager at the DHS Section of EMS, is leaving. Your new points of contact for EMS data related issues are Derek Schulz and Christy Kresse. Derek is new to the Section of EMS and is learning Image Trend; he can be reached at derek.schulz@arkansas.gov or 501-614-5244. Christy Kresse can be reached by email at christine.kresse@arkansas.gov or by phone at 501-661-2178. |
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The Health Care Landscape in Arkansas & the 2024 Election
A KFF tool generates data-driven fact sheets that lay out the health care landscape in every state against the backdrop of the 2024 election. The Arkansas specific fact sheet can be found here: Arkansas Fact Sheet. |
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Arkansas Provider Courses: Availability & Registration
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Arkansas Respiratory Virus Update |
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Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations - Arkansas DHS Report The data is updated by the state weekly and can be accessed here. |
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Respiratory Virus - % of Emergency Department Visits - CDC Data The data is updated by the CDC weekly and can be accessed here. |
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November 1, 2024 - NEMSAC Applications are due on or before 5 p.m. ET (Learn More)
November 6, 2024 - Arkansas EMS Advisory Council Meeting at 1:30 pm central in Little Rock, AR (Learn More)
November 7-8, 2024 - EMS Medical Director's Conference in Little Rock, AR (Learn More)
November 11 - 13, 2024 - American Ambulance Association Stars of Life in Washington, D.C. (Learn More) November 12 - 14, 2024 - NEMSIS-PCRF Post-Crash Research Workshop in Salt Lake City, UT (Learn More) December 11, 2024 - Arkansas Fire Protection Service Board Monthly Meeting in North Little Rock, AR (Learn More) |
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