A Rare Dip Into Association Politics

I don't do this often, so listen up. Here are my endorsements for the upcoming NAEMT elections:

Aimee Binning, NAEMT President Elect:

          

My name is Aimee Binning and I am asking for your vote as NAEMT’s President-Elect. NAEMT represents the essential voice for all EMS providers and it is the responsibility of the President to focus the power of our members in meeting the needs of EMS and the goals of our profession. As President of NAEMT I will work to make sure our needs are met.

As I have progressed in my EMS career I have seen many changes in our profession and in our clinical practice. Policies and procedures, protocols and equipment have changed over the years as we have fought to define the science of prehospital medicine and establish ourselves as a profession. We continue to rise to the challenges we face, creating new ways of delivering care such as community and public health initiatives and by making that care safer for patients and providers through our national culture of safety initiatives.

With all of this change, we continue to fight for the resources and the recognition we deserve. Our goal of educating our congressional leaders and our communities about the critical services our EMS agencies provide the care we deliver and the risks that we take must remain our top priority. We will continue to fight for EMS providers, paid and volunteer, to be covered by death benefits like our brothers and sisters in fire and law enforcement.

Peter F. Drucker said, “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” Our NAEMT committees, powered by our members, have that same untapped potential to increase funding, improve educational opportunities, and garner the recognition we deserve as an essential service in all of our communities.

As President of NAEMT, I will lead NAEMT to achieve our goals and realize our full potential as the nation’s voice for EMS providers, working with other organizations, both local and national, to obtain the resources and recognition we deserve to achieve our potential as caregivers and professional health care providers.
 

Jules Scadden, NAEMT Director-at-Large:

My name is Julie “Jules” Scadden and I am seeking re-election for the NAEMT At-Large Director position. I am a paramedic from Iowa and have spent the past 20 years working in urban and rural communities as both a volunteer and career EMS practitioner, an EMS educator and advocate for EMS.
 

Like many of you, I have spent the majority of my career working in services with limited resources. Lack of adequate reimbursement and funding for training and equipment, loss of experienced EMS practitioners with no one to replace them, a dwindling volunteer force and patient, practitioner and ambulance safety issues that directly stem from those losses are all critical issues and challenges to which EMS continues to seek solutions. Advocacy for EMS as an essential profession to our lawmakers is required to bring attention to these challenges.
 

Through partnerships with other organizations and through the work of committees on advocacy, health and safety and education, NAEMT continues to bring these and other issues to the attention of our federal leaders. My goal as NAEMT board of director is to strengthen awareness and increase participation by EMS practitioners in safe and healthy practices and federal advocacy, all of which will improve EMS at
the local level.

 

As At-Large Director on the NAEMT Board of Directors these past two years, I have worked on the Advocacy Committee to push legislation benefiting EMS forward. As a member of the Health and Safety Committee we have been working hard to build a culture of safety through development of a fitness program for EMS and the EVENT reporting system which gathers data which will provide direction for safe practices; protecting both patients and EMS providers. I represent volunteer EMS providers serving as the NAEMT liaison on the National Volunteer Fire Council. This past summer, as the Chair of the newly formed Social Media Networking Committee, work has begun on developing a social media program with a purpose of strengthening the connection and improving direct, two-way communication with our membership and EMS practitioners on the streets.
 

My professional experiences include working as the CQI/IT/Data coordinator and senior staff paramedic for Sac County Ambulance service in Sac City, IA; EMS educator for area community colleges and lecturing at state and national EMS conferences, EMS textbook author and past Iowa Rural AED Grant Coordinator. I have represented EMS on numerous state committees including development of system standards
for EMS in Iowa. I am Past Secretary and route coordinator of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride, a Founder and Past Secretary of the National EMS Museum and a Founder and Past-President of the Iowa CPR Education Foundation.

 

As your At-Large Director, I will continue represent you, the provider in the street, through advocacy and development of programs addressing health and safety with common sense, honesty, open communication and a tireless passion to find solutions to the critical challenges facing EMS. I ask for your vote for NAEMT At-Large Director. Thank you for your support!

Chris Cebollero, NAEMT Region III Director:

My name is Chris Cebollero and would like you to consider me for the open Region III Director position. The reason why I am considering this position is, just like being in EMS we all feel we can make a difference to the citizens we serve. As the host of the EMS Leadership podcast it is our goal to bring some great leadership discussion and hopefully bring a different perspective to how we lead our career field. By joining the NAEMT Board of Directors this is such a great avenue to ensure our voice continues to be heard as we lead our career field into the future.

There are some key challenges that NAEMT and EMS are facing. One of the foremost on the radar is the identity for our career field. The Field EMS Bill needs to be supported by all of us. In this legislation, our career field has the opportunity to substantially improve field EMS. The Bill recognizes that advancements must be made in several essential areas which include: readiness, innovation, preparedness, education and workforce development, safety, financing, quality, standards, and research. This Bill also acknowledges that EMS plays an important, yet often unrecognized role essential in our nation’s security.

Let’s not forget health care reform. Where does EMS fit into this topic? EMS is often overlooked in getting reimbursed for the job we do. It is paramount that as we move forward we have to have a seat at the table to discuss how we are compensated.

How do we do this? It will take our whole career field coming together bringing your voice and allowing the Board of Directors that represent our organization to secure our future by addressing these and other important topics.

Having been in EMS since the Reagan administration, there has been some great opportunities to gain education on the good and bad within our career field. Having started my career as a paramedic on the truck, and remembering what it was like not having the equipment needed to do the job, or having poor leadership, or not having ideas listened to. This has given me some great perspective and now as an EMS leader, I remember those feelings and strive to ensure employees have a voice, can give their opinions and have the tools necessary to deliver the highest quality of care possible.

By allowing me the opportunity to represent our region, once again my role will be to ensure our voice is heard, we have so much to do in EMS. As a career field we are not even 50 years old and there is so much we can do. We can join together and make our career field stronger as we march into the future ensuring we get the much needed recognition that we not only need but deserve. My promise is to work hard to ensure the vision, goals, and objectives for our organization and career field are met.

Thank you very much for your support.

Worthy candidates, all three. If you're a member of NAEMT, you could certainly do worse than give them your vote. If you were a member of NAEMT but tired of the same old association politics, now is the time to renew your membership and vote for a breath of fresh air.

If you were never a member of NAEMT or any other EMS professional association, you don't have much right to bitch about EMS politics. Politics is inescapable in EMS. You can either learn to play politics, or get used to having your profession shaped by the politicians. Voting at least gives you a shot at choosing the latter.

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