There is a large population out there who has no idea what services we provide. The sad thing is, even after receiving our services, they still don’t get it. About seven years ago, I was working an overnight with one of my former partners. We were both avid people watchers, so a majority of our time was spent in the Entertainment District of our city. On most Friday and Saturday nights, this section of town lived up to its name. On one particular Saturday night, we were doing our usual “loop” checking out all of the sites, when we turned the corner, and found a group of people standing in the middle of the road flagging us down. When we pulled up, we noticed a woman lying in the middle of the road, and a car parked off to the side with a large “star” to the windshield. The woman’s friends informed us that she was walking across the street when she was struck by the motor vehicle in question. She was now unconcious. My partner and I went to work, assessing her, and starting a quick trauma workup on scene before we headed off to the hospital. As many of you know, part of that trauma assessment involves the concept of “exposing” the patient to assess for injuries. Due to her unconcious nature, our patient’s clothes were cut off. We kept her covered though to preserve her dignity. When we were getting ready to leave for the hospital, she regained conciousness. She asked me what happened, and I explained to her the events that led her to be boarded and collared with an IV in the back of my ambulance. She told me that was impossible. I asked her what the last thing that she remembered was, and she shared with me the events leading up to the accident, stating that the last thing she remembered was walking across the street, and then here she was with me. No matter how much I tried to explain to the woman, she was convinced that she was not hit by a car. Was it the alcohol? Was it just defiance? Was it a head injury?...

“The Genisis for change is Awareness.” – Michael Angier That quote was shared with me by a colleague of mine the other day, and it inspired me to write this blog. . . There has been lots of talk about what needs to change about EMS for EMS 2.0 to take effect, and be accepted. Ideas have to change, Medical Directors have to adapt to different ways of thinking. I think that what we need first is we need to develop strategies for the movement at the street level. More people need to be aware of the ideas and thoughts that are out there. I’ve taken it upon myself to take some steps to help make that happen. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, some of us here in my company have started putting a bug in people’s ears at the earliest stage: when the new EMT walks through our doors. Level Zero: The Movie has become an official part of our New Employee Academy. The instructor that showed the movie and the class loved it. Along with the movie, a series of handouts were put together by our Lead Supervisor (who is also an EMS 2.0 advocate) that revolved around professionalism, and how to handle one’s self. I’ve taken that a step further. As I’ve found different blog posts and articles that I like, I’ve printed them out, and left a stack in our Deployment Office for people to take and read. Additionally, I usually carry some of them with me as well, and I’ll hand them out to interested folks when I run into them on the street. One prime example of this was an article written by Chris Kaiser of Life Under the Lights last week called “What Difference Does EMS Make? Choose Your Own Ending.” The article itself had a profound effect on me. Chris a terrific writer, and the message he conveys about how our job effects those around us, and the personal pride that we should take to “become the best EMS Provider (we) can” played over and over again in my head. I handed out this article to one employee in particular who seemed very interested in...

For this edition of EMS in the New Decade, I’ve asked my father, Peter Kier to share with us his experience related to the events of September 11th, 2001. My father is an 18 year EMT and has over 20 years experience as a Prehospital Provider in New Jersey. A few days after September 11th, he was able to participate in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero. These are his thoughts and reflections on those events nine years later. As we approach the anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy, I can’t help but think back to the trip we took to New York on September 15th. When the attack happened, I had this compelling need to go and help. With all of the training and experience I had I was sure I could be useful. But, I also felt the need to be there, to experience first hand what I was seeing on TV night after night. Our First Aid Squad finally got a chance to participate when we became part of a convoy of 21 squads and Paramedic units assigned to help assist FDNY EMS units and other volunteer squads that were already in the city. With a stop in Newark to get a briefing, pick up supplies and eat, we ventured into New York by way of the Holland Tunnel, which had been closed to public traffic since the attack. It was an eerie trip into the city, being the only vehicles on the normally crowded highways, almost like a Sci-Fi movie about being the last people on earth. Once on the other side, the reception from the crowds that lined the streets was something to behold. In an article I wrote for our town paper, I likened it to being treated as a rock star. Nine years later I can still visualize the people, hear them cheering and I continue to wonder why. This was 4 days after the attack, but they were still out there, giving us food and water at every intersection. To this day I will never understand that. Maybe they had the same need as I did, to be there, to help and participate in whatever...

An employee walked up to my window this morning to pick up his gear before going on the road. We engaged in some small talk, and before he left, this was the exchange that we had: Employee: “Hey, EMS 2.0!” Me: “Where did you hear about that?” Employee: “(My partner) told me about it.” Me: “Wow! Who told her?” Employee: “Its out there, man. People are talking about it.” Our conversation shifted briefly to some of the movement’s origins, and then he was off to start his day. For those of you who know me, you’ll realize that rendering me speechless is not an easy task. This employee was almost able to do it. All it takes is telling one person a day about what EMS 2.0 is, and what it means. They will take care of the rest. People are talking. People are taking notice. People want to listen. People want to...

As you all know, I got started in EMS at a very young age. The area of New Jersey that I grew up in is rich with a long, distinguished history of Volunteer EMS and Fire personnel. I remember being in my EMT class at the age of 16. It was taught in a large auditorium filled with about 75 people. Every Tuesday and Thursday night, we’d sit there enjoying lectures, or break up into groups and run skills stations, with the ultimate goal of adding all of us to the long, distiguished list of graduates of Community Medical Center’s EMT program. That was where I met a man by the name of “Big John” Glowacki. He was a man whose reputation as a gruff, hard nosed, demanding yet professional person preceded him. John was an EMT Instructor, one of our dispatchers, and Life Member and Captain of the East Dover Volunteer First Aid Squad. It was impressive that had accomplished all of this by the age of 30. When I turned 18, John approached me and asked me if I would be interested in riding with him on his Tuesday Day Duty Crew on his squad. I wasn’t a member, but a lot of us who rode days down in Dover Twp (now known as Toms River) worked together to do what we could to get as many trucks on the road as possible. At some point during my career down there, I rode on a rig from five of the six Township departments. For the next three summers, and starting in the afternoons when I was in high school, I would come home, call John, and let him know I was in service. During that time, I learned a lot from him, not only from a patient care stand point, but also from an attitude and professionalism stand point. John wasn’t as mean as some people made him out to be. Sure, he was demanding and authoritative sometimes, but there are few people who I have encountered in my career who were more dedicated to the field. I never saw John lose his cool on a call. He was always so calm,...