During the time it takes to make a 911 call to help arriving, minutes matter. Recently, an educational movement has launched in the City of Pittsburgh in partnership with UPMC to empower bystanders to take proactive measures in saving lives until professional medical help arrives on scene. Altogether, Minutes Matter trains communities throughout the entire city to value basic emergency knowledge that will ultimately help save lives in a time of crisis. Cheryl Rickens, EMS Specialist for the AED Program in UPMC’s Prehospital Care Department has helped lead the way in promoting basic emergency education. Her vast experience includes 30 years of first-hand knowledge by being a bedside nurse for 15 years, then diving into prehospital care for the last 15 years. Rickens says, “I was destined to be a nurse. My mother was a nurse and my father was a police officer in public safety.” She continues, “My

    In the fast-paced, call-to-action world of EMS, every minute counts. Providing safe but swift measures in patient care are two binary concepts that can sometimes clash in the heat of the moment. In recent celebratory news, #SavvikSays feature, Executive Director Beth Wolfe and Pittsburgh Emergency Medicine Foundation (PEMF) have forged dynamic, safe innovations to help save lives and time in Pittsburgh, Pa. by funding a LUCAS device to the city’s EMS Bureau. Wolfe says, “Thanks to the support and work of everyone involved, it benefits both the patient and provider, and it kicks off something exciting for 2020” The LUCAS Device stands for Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System and has a two-fold benefit for the EMS industry in being a chest compression device that saves lives. First, the device provides continuous CPR with the correct rhythm, rate and depth when serving a patient. By providing continuous assistance to

   There are always helping hands throughout the public safety industry with new initiatives, assistance and opportunities to improve patient care. In recent celebratory news, The Savvik Foundation and the American Ambulance Association (AAA) have launched a grant program exclusively available to Savvik member ambulance services who are 1.) classified as rural or super-rural and 2.) who are preparing to comply with the Cost Data Collection program through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  Through Savvik Member purchases under contracts, the Savvik Foundation was able to fund grant dollars through AAA to provide more opportunities of resource accessibility and transparency to it members. Executive Director Mickey Schulte says, “We are happy to provide more opportunities in order to enhance the public safety sector through educational, technological and resource support. A grant like this will surely open more avenues to fuel innovation for qualifying members.” The Savvik Foundation prides itself

                Managing an EMS organization can involve mundane tasks that help assist with the everyday functions. It can be tedious, time-consuming and tiresome, but it is a vital background component to a thriving service. EMS has evolved from its booming catalyst in the 1960’s and continues to change the landscape of providing optimized services for the patient. Part of the success stems from the empathetic strategies that come from EMS managers. Louis Cox, retired Operations Director of Hall Ambulance in California, provides insight as to what make an effective manager. Cox started his career in EMS almost 45 years ago in Missouri with launching its first EMT initiative and quickly grew tired of the massive winters. Adventuring west, Cox landed in the sunny, Golden State of California and found his continued passion with Hall Ambulance with the management of 75 ambulances. In explaining