Medic2Medic Podcast

Voices of EMS #2. The limited series of Voices of EMS (VOEMS) continues this week with Cary Area EMS Part 1. VOEMS lets me revisit some of the Medic2Medic Podcast guests for them to tell one more story. I spent 19 years as the Chief of Cary Area EMS, and we experienced lots of changes. One thing that did not change, as you will hear, is that we are family. I was lucky to reconnect with 5 family me...

Voices of EMS #1: Welcome to the limited series of Voices of EMS (VOEMS). VOEMS lets me revisit some of the Medic2Medic Podcast guests for them to tell one more story. Some of the segments will have one or two guests telling their stories. VOEMS will air stories regularly until the end of March, as Medic2Medic will end. The final podcast guest will be me, with guest host Eric Chase. Daniel Mills a...

Episode 269 is Michael Sugrue. Michael is the author of RELENTLESS COURAGE: Winning the Battle Against Frontline Trauma, along with Dr. Shauna Springer, Ph. D., they tackle the complexity of trauma within the law enforcement community, uncovering the unspoken barriers, and outline a path to healing. Michael Sugrue began his law enforcement career in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces...

Episode 268 is Valerie Bestland. Valerie is a critical care flight medic and is the founder and CEO of “All EMS Women." Valerie uses her expertise and decades of EMS experience to mentor other women in the EMS industry as a blogger and podcaster, she started her EMS career in 1995 as a volunteer EMT and transitioned to paramedic in 1998. We talk about how she got started in EMS and her passion for...

Episode 267 is Kelsay Irby. Kelsay is a nurse who did something ER nurses thought about doing but never acted on. Kelsay called for an EMS response to help out in the Emergency Room. At that time, the ER was in chaos. Kelsay grew up in Alaska working on a fishing boat in the Bering Sea, as well as many other jobs before starting her nursing career. We talk about Alaska, her career, how the decisio...

Episode 266 is Dekek Hanley. Derek is a long-time paramedic and disabled veteran combat medic, author, and published photographer. His new forthcoming book, Photos from the Front Line: A Year on the Streets of Alameda County lands on December 1, 2022. We talk about his US Air Force career, EMS, his disability, and his interest in photography. We learn how the book came about and his experience rid...

Episode 265 is Michael Levy. Michael is the Medical Director for a few fire departments in Anchorage, Alaska, including the Anchorage Fire Department. Michael has served in Alaska for over 30 years, and if you recall the show Northern Exposure, he has a similar path to Alaska that you will hear. Michael talks about his career, passion for EMS, and a few Dr. Marvin Wayne stories that are fun to hea...

Episode 264 is about the company safeBVM. Co-Founders Haris Shekhani and Prathamesh Prabhudesai and Chief Revenue Officer Holly Stewart join me to discuss their company and their new airway product Sotair. Sotair is a flow limiting valve that limits the inspiratory flow. Drs. Shekhani and Prabhudesial, after finishing medical school, met at Georgia Tech. Both have a great interest in knowledge in...

Episode 263 is John Moon and Kevin Hazzard. It was my honor to have both John and Kevin on Medic2Medic to talk about Kevin's new book Ambulance Sirens: The story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics. It was a double honor as I had a chance to catch up with John, as I worked for John when I was a young medic for the City of Pittsburgh. We talk about John's path into EMS, Freedom H...

Episode 262 is Dr. Marvin Wayne. Marv, as he is liked to be called, joins me for his 2nd appearance.on Medic2Medic. Do you know how the AED was invented? Do you know where it came from? Where was the first out of the hospital use of an AED? What did the New England Journal of Medicine think of the AED? Marv answers all these questions and more on the history of the AED and EMS in Whatcom County. M...

Episode 261 is Jennifer Russell and Josh Bennett. Jennifer and Josh are the founders of the EMS Consulting Firm Protego Critical Communications Consultants (PC3). They started PC3 because they both recognized that the current trajectory of the EMS system is not sustainable. Jennifer has 33 years of EMS and fire experience, is an educator, and is currently working in her spare time on dual Master's...

Episode 260: You are on an airplane. You hear over the intercom, is there a medical professional on board, please identify yourself. I am joined by Dr. Christian Martin-Gill to answer questions about inflight emergencies. Chris serves as Chief of the Division of EMS, EMS Fellowship Director, and is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He...

Episode 259 is Dan Schwester. Dan has been a paramedic since June 2000. He has served in a variety of roles, including education, field training, clinical supervision, and active practice as a paramedic He is the Managing Partner of Overrun Productions, LLC, and a co-host of The Overrun Podcast. Our conversation includes Dan's insightful article Toxic Heroism: The Perfect Storm in EMS Recruitment....

Episode 258 is Jamie Pafford-Gresham. As President and CEO of Pafford Medical Services, Inc., company co-owner, Jamie declares the vision, mission, culture and image for Pafford Medical Services’ leaders, managers, supervisors, and employees. By so doing, Jamie has defined a brand promise for treating customers and end-users with competence and compassion or like members of an extended"Pafford fam...

After the tragedy at Robb Elementary, I thought I would replay my conversation with Scarlett Lewis. Scarlett's son Jesse was at Sandy Hook and Scarlett relives that day with me and see where it has led her. Episode 166 is Scarlett Lewis and a different podcast for you and me. Scarlett is the mom of Jesse Lewis who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting 6 years ago. That day in Dec...

Episode 257 is the ESO EMS Index with Brent Myers, Remle Crowe, and Tony Fernandez. We take an inside look at the Index and answer a few questions about the process and what is EMS data? To have the three guests on the podcast for this discussion and to provide their expertise as well as to take a peek into the future of EMS data was an honor. It also gave me a chance to catch up with Brent and Re...

Episode 256 is Christy Warren. Christy is a retired Fire Captain from the Berkeley (California) Fire Department. She has twenty-five years of service as a professional paramedic, with seventeen years as a professional firefighter. Christy shares her amazing journey with us and her battle with PTSD. Christy talks about her suicidal thoughts and what started her recovery. Christy is candid about her...

Episode 255 is Executive Director Jeff Kelly and Chief Josh Worth from Medical Rescue Team South Authority (MRTSA). Both have extensive EMS experience as providers, educators, and leaders, as you will hear in the podcast. Both were born in the Pittsburgh area with strong Western PA EMS ties came to MRTSA in 2021 to bring a new direction to the organization. Jeff and Josh talk about the roles, chan...

Episode 254 is Roy Cox. Roy retired from the City of Pittsburgh EMS after 41 years in 2018. Roy was one of my Training Officers when I was hired by the City of Pittsburgh. We talk about Roy's extraordinary career with the City, a few stories are told, we drop a few names, the importance of EMS education and degrees. Roy talks about surviving a helicopter crash and how being a flight medic ties bac...

Episode 253 is Dov Maisel. Dov is the Co-founder & Director of Operations at United Hatzalla of Israel. He is an inventor, innovator, public speaker, podcaster, and expert in disaster management. Dov is making a repeat appearance on Medic2Medic. We catch up and talk about United Hatzalla, and their response to Covid, Surfside Condimuimn collapse, and his new podcast Real Life Rescues on the JEMS p...

Episode 252 is Steven Nelson. Steven is currently a licensed paramedic with Harris County Emergency Corps, a 911 EMS agency in Houston, Texas, Steven is the author of the article in JEMS "My Experience As a Black Paramedic". After his time as a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy, Steven went on to obtain undergraduate degrees in EMS, his master’s degree in healthcare administration, and is currently wo...

Episode 251 is Mike Davis. After 10 plus years in the Army, Mike started his EMS career at Cary Area EMS. Mike also has an entrepreneurial spirit, which led him to start his business Guardians Nutrition & Fitness. Guardians Nutrition & Fitness serves frontline workers and military clients in reaching their weight loss and fitness goals. Mike takes us on his journey from moving around the world as...

Episode 250 is Rickquel Tripp, MD MPH. Rikki is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, EMS faculty, and Medical Director of 4 different EMS agencies in the Pittsburgh area. She has chaired the Networking Committee of the Physician Inclusion Council of Pitt and UPMC (PICUP) for 5 years and now serves as the first Vice-Chair of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion of UPMC Graduate Medical E...

Episode 249: Dr. Paul Louis is making his second visit to the podcast. Paul is the co-founder of Aerosoless Medical and the Safety Neb. Paul is here to provide an update on the Safety Neb.  The Safety Nebulizer mask with viral filters that were created by Aerosoless. The mask was created in response to the concern about nebulizer treatments during Covid-19. Paul is an experienced, Board Certified...

Episode 248 is Ginny Renkiewicz is an Assistant Professor of Healthcare Administration at Methodist University and an award winning EMS educator and innovator. Ginny is 22 years in EMS as a Paramedic, instructor, and Program Director. Ginny volunteers for several peer-reviewed journals and serves as the Executive Director of the Foundation for Prehospital Medicine and Research. Ginny and I talk ab...