BEMOcomm

October 2016 | Volume II, Issue II

Emergency Medical Services

EMS Leadership Orientation Sessions Cultivates Awareness of Common EMS Issues
The Emergency Medical Services Section and the EMS Advisory Council conducted an EMS Leadership Orientation during the October Advisory Council meeting. This program is intended to orient new and current EMS leaders to relevant EMS topics and issues. The program was designed to provide 30-minute high level overview sessions of common EMS topics and issues. This program provided the attendee with a basic awareness level of knowledge and the ability to find additional information on EMS topics and issue. A copy of the course content is available online.

4th Annual BBQ Cook-Off to Benefit the Indy Morgado Cancer Foundation—November 12, 2016

The 4th Annual Blazing Barbeque Cook-Off and Fall Festival will take place at the Metro-Dade Firefighter's Memorial Building on November 12. This family fundraising event is for the Indy Morgado Cancer Foundation.

Collaboration and Technology Improves Stroke Treatment, Creates a More Comprehensive System of Care
Peter Antevy, MD, Brijesh Mehta, MD and Chief Mark Ellis of South Florida have transformed stroke care and decreased the door-to-needle time for administration of IV tPA from 82 to 34 minutes. Read the full article published by EMSWORLD.

Trauma

Trauma Rule Development Workshops
The Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight, Trauma Section, held rule development workshops this summer in Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Tampa. The workshops addressed rules relating to the Florida Trauma Registry, allocation of trauma centers in the trauma service areas and the trauma center verification process.

The Department received public comment from numerous stakeholders within the trauma system. As a result, the Department held two additional workshops to specifically address the Florida Trauma Registry. Working in collaboration with the trauma center representatives, the Department staff was able to identify and implement immediate remedies that addressed some of the technical and manpower challenges experienced by Florida's trauma centers.

In addition, the Department has proposed a revised 2016 Florida Trauma Registry Manual Data Dictionary that will provide additional changes needed to address reporting challenges. The Department will use the public comments received during the workshops to analyze further changes to the Florida Trauma Registry in 2017, including aligning reporting requirements with the National Trauma Data Bank.

Brain & Spinal Cord Injury

7th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference is May 24-25, 2017
Arrowhead Publishers is pleased to announce its 7th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference in Washington, DC on May 24-25, 2017. This conference brings together researchers and clinicians to present ground-breaking research in a variety of areas related to traumatic brain injury.

Support Brain Injury Association of Florida’s (BIAF) Annual Walk About Brain Injury
The BIAF’s Annual Walk About Brain Injury raises awareness and dollars for brain injury prevention, education and treatment for the 136,000 Florida families that experience traumatic brain injury each year. Register now for upcoming events or participate as a virtual walker.

TODAY Features Halloween Costumes on the Go
A recent article in TODAY featured Halloween costumes for wheelchair-bound children. From Army trucks to “Quack Shacks,” these costumes make having wheels a lot of fun.

Injury Prevention

Injury Prevention Section Welcomes New Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) Assignee and Planning Consultant
The Department’s Injury Prevention Section said goodbye to Monica McKenzie on September 23 after her two-year assignment with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) came to an end. The Injury Prevention Section welcomes their new PHAP assignee, Jasmine Hulin, who began her two-year tenure on October 3. The Injury Prevention Section also welcomes Stephanie Brown as their new Planning Consultant.  Stephanie joins us with previous experience with the Department, having served in the Bureau of Preparedness and Response, Community Resilience Unit and in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program.

Florida Injury and Violence Prevention Advisory Council Update
The Florida Injury and Violence Prevention Advisory Council recently held a face-to-face meeting in Tampa, Florida on October 26–27, 2016.  The Council finalized their by-laws and developed goals and objectives for their charter. For more information, call: (850) 245-4440, ext. 2744.

CDC Provides Tips on Keeping Workers Safe from Zika
A recent Safety First blog from the National Safety Council lists preventative measures provided by the CDC for outdoor workers at risk for Zika or health care workers potentially exposed to Zika.

Data Insights

Florida Department of Health Wins 3rd Place in 2016 NASEMSO Abstract Award Competition
The National Association of EMS Officials recently announced the winners of their 2016 Abstract Competition. The Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight’s Data Unit won third place for their abstract on Racial Disparities on the identification of emergency department diagnosed stroke in the Florida EMS system. Authors of the abstract include: Junwei Jiang, MPH; Joshua Sturms, MS; Steve McCoy, BAS; Karen Card, MPH; Shamarial Robertson, PhD and Joe Nelson, DO.

City of Boston Uses Location Analysis to Improve Safety
To reduce emergency response times and improve the safety of first responders and residents, the city of Boston is developing a system that uses location data.

Cincinnati Looks to Predictive Analytics Project to Enhance EMS Services
In collaboration with the University of Chicago’s Data Science for Social Good program, Cincinnati city officials are finding better ways to deploy its emergency response process through a predictive analytics project.

Vendor Validations for EMSTARS – V3
The Department continues to work with ePCR software vendors to complete the Florida Vendor Validation Process, which ensures that Florida Data Dictionary elements, custom elements and Florida business rules that were developed by the EMSAC Data Committee are implemented correctly. The Department will validate NEMSIS compliant and non-NEMSIS compliant software. The Vendor Validation Process can be reviewed on the website at: www.floridaemstars.com. The following presents the status of vendor validations in Florida:

• Validated:
  • Beyond Lucid
  • Intermedix
  • ImageTrend
  • Zoll
  • ESO
• In Progress:
  • SafetyPad
  • AMR
• Applications Received:
  • Documented

Agencies interested in receiving assistance with EMSTARS submissions or transitioning from aggregate data reporting to EMSTARS reporting at this time or in the near future, please send an email to EMSTARS@flhealth.gov.