Enhancing EMS Practice Through Data and Performance Improvement

We invite you to read, "An Emergency Medical Services Toolkit for Improving Systems of Care for Stroke in North Carolina" (Adobe PDF, 408 Kb) to see how the partnership between North Carolina EMS Agencies, the Office of EMS and the EMSPIC is impacting and shaping how prehospital stroke care will be evaluated and improved at the national level.

Journal of Emergency Medical Services Announces Recipients of
EMS 10: Innovators in EMS 2008 Awards

Awards Recognize professionals who drove profession forward

Greg Mears, MD has been named one of the top 10 innovators in EMS who drove the profession forward in 2008 by the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, in conjunction with Physio-Control, Inc. Dr. Mears is recognized for his work in obtaining grants to develop a statewide system for accumulation and structured use of prehospital data consistent with NEMSIS.

"We were proud to partner with Physio-Control, Inc., on this program to recognize and publicize the work of these innovators," stated A.J. Heightman, editorial director of Elsevier Public Safety and the editor-in-chief of JEMS. "Many, many people are working very hard to advance prehospital care around our nation, and it is vital that we recognize them because their efforts can be an incentive to others to apply the same ideas in their communities."

Recipients were judged on their fulfillment of at least one of the following 2008 criteria:

• Introduced or published a new clinical or operational program or concept that constitutes an extraordinary contribution to prehospital emergency medicine;

• Championed the development or enactment of federal, state or local legislation that resulted in improved EMS delivery or additional funding;

• Revised a local protocol or standard operating procedure (SOP) that significantly enhanced the efficiency, safety or quality of EMS care or the work environment for EMS personnel;

• Implemented a unique educational model or recruitment and retention program that drastically increased or improved the local workforce;

• Spearheaded the development of a new state or regional group or agreement in an effort to improve preparedness for major incidents.          

The "EMS 10" were recognized today during the opening ceremonies of the EMS Today Conference & Exposition in Baltimore, Maryland and at a banquet that was held in their honor. Additionally, an in-depth article on Dr. Mears, The Data Man, will be featured in special supplement in the upcoming April issue JEMS.

The EMS Performance Improvement Center (EMSPIC) in collaboration with the North Carolina RACE project are pleased to offer Tim Phalen's new Online 12 Lead ECG Interpretation Course to all EMT-Paramedics in North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

It is the goal of the EMSPIC and RACE to have all active EMT-Paramedics complete this course within the next 2 years.

Please note that the course is only available to EMS Agencies in North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia who have enrolled in CIS for data submission. If your agency has not yet enrolled, please contact the EMSPIC (866-773-6477) for further instructions.

The list of paramedic students and credentialed paramedics is refreshed on the first and the fifteenth of each month. If a new paramedic student is added to a paramedic course or a new paramedic is credentialed during the time between refreshes, they will be able to access the course after the next refresh.

If you already know how to log in to the 12 Lead Course, you can log in here:
Click Here to Log In to the 12 Lead Course

If your username and password are not working, please contact the EMSPIC at (866) 773-6477

If you do not know how to log in, please read the Instructions and FAQ listed here - pay special attention to page two where login information is discussed:
Click Here for the FAQ and Instructions Including Login Information (Adobe PDF, 196 Kb)