Leadership Edge

Balancing “I say, you do” with empathy and stewardship Published by EMS1 By Guillermo Fuentes, MBA, Fitch & Associates I often hear the theory of servant leadership and how it doesn’t apply to the concept of command, as paramilitary systems are inherently top-down structures. The concept in command structures is, “I say and you do.”...

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Surface the top talent your agency should develop with a focus on professional development and recognition Published by EMS1 By Jay Fitch, PhD, Fitch & Associates Attracting the best and brightest to EMS leadership is an important goal. The goal is elevated from important to imperative when one considers the impending retirement of the baby-boomer...

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Strategies for overcoming the unique challenges of leading a non-profit EMS organization By Roxanne Peek, MBA, Fitch & Associates Published by EMS1 What does it mean to be a non-profit EMS organization? Often, people hear the term “non-profit,” and have false assumptions about what that actually means regarding how an organization operates. There are several...

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A 3-step guide to disciplinary action that demonstrates good faith, while putting the responsibility for their actions on employees By Jay Fitch, PhD, Fitch & Associates Published by EMS1 It was a hot afternoon in St. Louis a number of years ago. I was the EMS director, following the city’s progressive discipline policy by handing...

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By Jay Fitch, PhD, Fitch & Associates Published by EMS1 Mentoring has been around for a long time. “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction,” according to John Crosby. Crosby was a businessman who also represented Massachusetts’ 12th District in Congress the late 1800’s and...

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By Les Polk Published by EMS1 Developing a cost-effective fleet maintenance plan for an EMS agency should be a priority for EMS leadership regardless of agency size or complexity. A safe and well-functioning fleet is critical to ensure the safety and wellbeing of clinicians in the field as well as providing reliable and consistent service to the...

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By John Yeast & Anthony W. Minge, EdD Fitch & Associates The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers. CISA, FBI, and HHS have...

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By Jay Fitch, PhD Fitch & Associates The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging EMS and other parts of healthcare systems throughout the world. It’s frequently described as a war. From the caregiver’s perspective, we are losing the battle. EMS caregivers are particularly hard hit, often facing intolerable pressures at both work and home. As leaders, our job is...

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By Jason Abel, JD “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill The weight of undertaking an internal investigation is one that most public safety managers would understandably wish to avoid. Fraught with possible legal, human resource and public relations concerns, internal investigations have the potential to...

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By Guillermo Fuentes, MBAFitch & Associates What is keeping you up at nights as EMS leaders? With COVID-19, there is the immediate risk to the population you serve, the staff you must take care of, the supplies you require and the money required to make the operations continue. Political leaders at all levels are pledging...

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By Jay Fitch, PhD As I pulled on my bunker pants, I started whining about taking a middle-of-the-night, low-priority ambulance call. It was early in my career, and an older firefighter leaned over and said, “Son, remember that the M on your EMS patch stands for medical, so quit whining and just get on with...

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By Anthony W. Minge, EdD “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” — Scottish saying Have you ever heard that noise in the middle of the night? You know, the one just when you are dozing off and there it is … thump! And...

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Many EMS agencies realize that new employees, whether new graduates of pre-service paramedic programs or employees with experience in other organizations, are not fully prepared to climb into an ambulance and head out to serve the community.

EMS leaders set the tone for nurturing employees and moving organizations forward with integrity

Nurturing one of the most pivotal positions in your agency will create a more engaged and aligned workforce

A veteran EMS leader shares some of the most valuable leadership lessons he has learned in more than four decades of serving patients, communities and the profession

Higher education can help EMS providers tackle the five biggest challenges facing emergency services today By Steven Knight, Ph.D. As leaders, we both desire and have an obligation to leave our organizations and people better off than when we started in our roles. But clearly not all leaders succeed at achieving this goal, despite best...

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EMS Trend Report 2017 findings highlight the importance of fatigue management as a safety issue for both caregivers and patients By Jay Fitch, PhD Caregiver fatigue and increasing negative performance associated with longer shifts are often the underlying reasons for changing schedules that we hear from clients and colleagues. More than 50 percent of the...

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Challenging ALS and BLS standards of emergency medicine to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction By Guillermo Fuentes The term “evidence-based practice” has been used in EMS for more than a decade. The reality is, as a profession, we fail to understand what implementing an evidence-based practice actually means. One of the most influential thinkers on...

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Climbing the ranks of EMS often fails to prepare new chiefs to discuss financial issues with local elected and appointed officials By Dianne Wright Local government budget processes may seem daunting at first, especially for new leaders whose focus has just recently shifted from EMS operations and patient care. Whether you recently took over as...

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If the EMS profession truly wants to prioritize safety, we must address distracted driving and all the ways we currently make it worse By Meg Chandler and J. Todd Sheridan Motor vehicle collisions continue to pose a significant risk to EMS providers and our patients. Some agencies have responded to this risk by addressing factors...

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Being a reliable and engaged community partner takes your EMS organization to lead agency status and makes you the authority when it comes to community health care By Thomas L. Little Every EMS service has many opportunities to build and maintain community support. Providing top-notch patient care is a priority, but public education and outreach pay big...

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It’s time for EMS leaders and educators to take compliance training as seriously as clinical training – caregivers’ careers and patients’ lives depend on it By Anthony Minge It seems like you can’t go a day lately without seeing a report or article related to compliance issues in health care. The statutes, guidelines, regulations and...

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EMS leaders need to focus on continually improving quality, efficiency and innovation to add value as health care undergoes dramatic changes By Roxanne Shanks Health care policy seems to be in constant change with little clarity on where it is headed. Several policy changes being considered in Washington, from repeal of Obamacare to other, less...

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Forming a partnership with other EMS organizations in your region can improve the bottom line and provide better service to the community By Christine Zalar, MA Consolidations, mergers and acquisitions continue to hold value in today’s complex health care marketplace, often delivering favorable economies of scale, increased operational efficacy and improved financial results. At the...

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Research into non-profit and public sector organizations can help leaders of volunteer and combined EMS departments understand their members’ motivations By Michael Ward Volunteer EMS and fire agencies throughout the United States have increasingly turned to paid or paid-on-call staff to supplement volunteer staffing. This has created an us-versus-them situation that interferes with the delivery...

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Engaging millennials is about more than simply welcoming a new generation to the workplace; it’s about accepting a seismic shift in how we view careers, technology and innovation By Jay Fitch, PhD Our profession has become preoccupied with millennials over the last few years. The number of magazine articles, conferences, books and blog posts dedicated...

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Whether implementing a major initiative or making small policy shifts, two-way communication with every level of the organization is critical By Chip Sovick “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” President John F. Kennedy spoke these words in 1963, but...

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In order to efficiently and effectively run an EMS system, leaders need to understand indicators of their organization’s health By Todd Sheridan Deployment metrics enable EMS administrators to demonstrate the productivity of their agency, show a return on investment and effectively use resources. Since many new EMS leaders lack familiarity with deployment metrics, they may...

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