In this edition of NAEMT Radio we discuss the 2022 National Report on Engagement and Satisfaction in EMS Worker Engagement Survey with Rob Luckritz, EMS Chief of the Austin-Travis County EMS System and Matt Zavadsky, Chief Transformation Officer for MedStar Mobile Healthcare in Fort Worth, TX.

The Discussion covers the survey findings including - The Impact of Employee Satisfaction and Engagement, Pay in EMS, Job Satisfaction in EMS, How Well Do Employers Support and Engage EMS Practitioners? Reasons for Leaving EMS, Solutions: What EMS Practitioners Want from Their Employers.

Before we close, Matt discusses the recent extreme weather event in Fort Worth and the decision to switch off Red Lights and Sirens in the service area.  This will be a subject of a future podcast featuring Dr Doug Kupas. NAEMT Radio is hosted by NAEMT Member and Lighthouse Leadership Mentor - Rob Lawrence.

Resources:

NAEMT 2022 National Report on Engagement and Satisfaction in EMS: https://www.naemt.org/naemt-2022-national-report-ems-engagement

EMS1 Article - The EMS workforce: Critical condition! https://www.ems1.com/ems-advocacy/articles/the-ems-workforce-critical-condition-uQLsAE6niAsqzjvA/

AAA/ Newton 360 2021 Ambulance Industry Employee Turnover Study:  https://ambulance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-AAA-EMS-Turnover-Study.pdf

About Rob Luckritz

Robert Luckritz, JD, NRP, is EMS Chief of the Austin-Travis County EMS System, serving Austin, TX and Travis County, TX, where he leads the largest municipal third-service EMS agency in the nation with an authorized staff of 665 sworn personnel and nearly 100 civilians across 46 stations and 1,100 square miles, responding to approximately 150,000 requests for service annually and a budget exceeding $100M.

Robert received his bachelor's degree in EMS Management from Springfield College, a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University, and is currently working towards a master's degree in public administration at Northeastern University. In 2015, he received the JEMS Magazine EMS10 Innovators in EMS Award, and was the recipient of a 2016 NAEMT Presidential Leadership Award. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Urban Hospitals and the New Jersey Association of Paramedics.

About Matt Zavadsky

Matt is the Chief Transformation Officer for MedStar Mobile Healthcare in Fort Worth, TX.  He has helped guide the implementation and financial sustainability of numerous innovative programs with healthcare partners that have transformed MedStar fully as a Mobile Integrated Healthcare provider. Most recently, he has led the negotiations with multiple third-party payers to change the basic economic model for EMS to better align patient, provider and payer focus on patient centered care as opposed to simply payment for ambulance transport.

Matt serves as an EMS SME for multiple consulting firms working with city and county leaders to evaluate and redesign EMS systems with a focus on high performance and high value for the community.

Matt also chairs NAEMT's EMS Economics Committee. He has recently worked with CMS/CMMI to help facilitate recent new payment models such as Emergency Triage, Treat and Transport (ET3) model and Medicare waivers for Treatment in Place during the pandemic. He has a master’s degree in healthcare administration, with a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Data Management.

In this episode of NAEMT Radio, NAEMT President Elect, Chris Way and Region II Director, Juan Cardona join Rob Lawrence to discuss Advocacy.  The guests identify why advocacy is important to the future of EMS at the local, state and federal levels. 

In the second half of the podcast, the discussion turns to the upcoming EMS on the Hill (EMSOTH) Day event, taking place on Thursday, March 30, 2023 (briefing: evening on March 29) at  the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA and up on Capitol Hill. Chris and Juan tell us about preparing to attend EMSOTH, what to expect, who will you meet, how long will it last, how to deliver 'The Ask' and how to follow up with your elected officials. 

Preliminary Schedule:

March 29: 5:30pm – 8:30pm – Pre-Hill Briefing and Networking Reception

March 30: 8:00am – 5pm – EMS On The Hill Day Congressional Hill Visits

March 30: 5:30pm – 7:30pm – Post Hill Reception

Resources / Links:

EMS On The Hill Day: https://naemt.org/events/ems-on-the-hill-day

EMSOTH Welcome Guide: https://naemt.org/docs/default-source/events/emshd-2023/emshd-welcome-guide-2023-02-08-2023-v4-final.pdf?sfvrsn=f848f493_2

GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY GUIDE http://www.naemt.org/docs/default-source/advocacy-documents/how-to-advocate/naemt_2016grassrootsadvocacyguide_final.pdf?status=Temp&sfvrsn=0.925529093585135

Mid Show Break

During the Mid Show break, Macara Trusty talks about the Mental Health Resilience Officer (MHRO) course presented with support from FirstNet®, Built with AT&T, has developed a course to assist EMS agencies in building and supporting the mental health resilience of their personnel. For more information visit https://naemt.org/education/mhro

Welcome to Episode 1 of NAEMT Radio - the official podcast of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians!

We begin with a warm welcome from NAEMT President, Susan Bailey who introduces herself and provides an overview of upcoming NAEMT events which include:  

EMS ON THE HILL www.naemt.org/events/ems-on-the-hill-day

Advocacy is core to NAEMT’s mission. EMS on the Hill is on March 29 and 30. We encourage everyone to attend in person, if possible. If attending in person is not possible, consider going to your Senator’s and Congressional Representative’s local office to advocate for EMS.

NAEMT Key Legislative Priorities are:

• Reauthorization of SIREN. Senate bill 26 authored by Senators Durbin and Collins

• Treatment in place

LIGHTHOUSE LEADERSHIP MENTEE DEADLINE

The Lighthouse Leadership program identifies, develops and mentors the next generation of EMS leaders. We have received over 50 mentee applications and will shortly be announcing the selectees. 

LISTENING SESSIONS

NAEMT will be hosting listening sessions at the end of this month:

• Region 1 – 2/21/2023 at 11am CT

Invitations to the members in each region will be sent out shortly.

APP

NAEMT will be developing an APP that will allow access to courses, membership benefits, membership renewal, etc. We are currently in the development stages.

NAEMT Radio is hosted by NAEMT member and Light House Leadership Mentor Rob Lawrence, Director at ProEMS / Prodigy EMS.

To learn more visit www.naemt.org