Volume 1, Issue 1

July 17, 2012

In the Know

The mission of the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services, Inc. is to advocate for the emergency medical provider, develop educational programs, liaison activities, provider benefit programs, and improvements to the Emergency Medical Service System in Georgia. With that in mind it is important to get information to you, our members, on a regular basis about the accomplishments and activities of EMS professionals across the state. Get your updates in this issue of IN THE KNOW.

B a l d w i n

F i r e f i g h t e r s E a r n T r a i n i n g

F i r s t

R e s p o n d e r

Baldwin County Fire Rescue is proud to announce that 20 firefighters completed Emergency Medical First Responder training and are in-service and ready to respond. This course was funded by a grant from the Georgia Trauma Commission and Georgia association of EMS through the Medical Center of Central Georgia.

and a safety vest at an estimated cost of $175.00 each, along with providing pay for the instructor. We are very appreciative of these firefighters who attended this 52 hour course over a 13 week period on top of the 8

hours a month firefighters attend monthly. We have a group of dedicated volunteer firefighters through out the county that serve our community anytime the need arises. We would also like to thank Lee Oliver, Kelly Joiner and David Carver with the Medical Center of Central Georgia Ambulance Service for coordinating and conducting this course. --Submitted by Baldwin County Fire Rescue

Inside this issue:

EDITORS WELCOME GREETINGS FROM GAEMS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMS AWARDS BANQUET BANQUET CONT. NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON 2012 EDUCATOR CONFERENCE TIM PEEBLES AWARD RECIPIENT
2

The funds provided students a text book, a stocked jump kit

Baldwin County Emergency Medical First Responders

G e o r g i a E M S R u r a l L e a d e r s h i p P r o g r a m C l a s s o f 2 0 1 2

Leadership Class participants: Robert Shad, David Moore, Josh Hopson, Alan Smith, Gary Pinard, Kevin Harralson, Douglas Mathews, Tammye Atkinson, Robyn Todd, Bernie Restrepo, Rondal Robinson, Lanier Swafford, Mark Bird, Wendy Ryan, Kelly Joiner, Billy Kunkle, Bengie Cowart, Wendell Brantley, Richard Hamilton, Chris Threlkeld, Rod Kirkland, Brandon Fletcher, Jason Lewis, and Kevin Lassiter. Not pictured; Richard Lee, Alfonso Ford, and Jesse Roberts.

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IN THE KNOW

Editors Welcome
fis-cal adj. of or relating to finances Welcome to a new fiscal year. We are all involved in the fiscal health of the organization that issues our paycheck. How we treat that organization and how they treat us are eventually reflected in how we treat each other. Your emotional state is affected by your professional satisfaction with your career path. The only way to reach mutual understanding is through communication. If you arent talking to your employer or they arent talking to you, there will be problems. The same goes for your Association. We are striving to communicate with all of you through our conferences, web site, newsletters and magazine. We need your feedback to complete the communication loop. Post your comments on our web page, drop a line to the GAEMS address, or call (or email) your nearest BOD member. Fill out the evaluation forms at all events or if need be contact our Executive Director. We are here for you and we need you to be there for us. OH YEAH recruit a member.
Courtney Terwilliger Chairman
Vice-President - Directors Division

Randy Pierson
At Large #2 Educators Division

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO. David W. Moore Editor

Lee Oliver Vice Chairman

President - Directors Division

David Moore
At Large #3 Directors Division

Kelly Joiner Secretary

Vice President - Providers Division

Traci Akins
At Large #4 Educators Division

Jeff Smith - Treasurer

Becky Hill
At Large #5 Educators Division

Georgia Association of EMS, Inc. P.O. Box 4626 Macon, Georgia 31208 Phone (478) 633-7514 Fax (478) 749-9145 Website: www.ga-ems.com

President - Providers Division

Nita Ham
President Educators Division

Dr. Robert Cox

President Medical Directors Division

Amy Norton
Vice President Educators Division

Kim LittletonExecutive Director kimberly0630@gmail.com

James Turk
At Large #1 Directors Division

Greetings from Kim LittletonExecutive Director What an exciting time to be a part of GAEMS! With so many changes occurring in our profession it is more important than ever to stay "In the Know". Your Association is working harder than ever to provide timely and relevant coverage of EMS news and events, But we need your help also... Tell us about your employee that went "above and beyond", or a community event that your service was involved in. We want to share your good news with all of our members. As you can see from this edition we have a lot to be proud of in Georgia EMS. The Rural EMS Director Leadership class is at the midpoint of their training. We will be telling you a lot more about this program's success over the next few months. Don't forget to register for the upcoming Educator's Conference in beautiful Savannah, September 22nd25th and mark your calendars now for the CHANGES conference in _ _G_ _ _A, March 25th-28th, 2013.

Volume 1, Issue 1

2012 Emergency Medical Ser vices Awards

The 2012 Emergency Medical Services Awards Banquet was held May 17th in Forsyth , Georgia.

Snapshots of Success

Dont aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. -David Frost

Continued on p.4

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IN THE KNOW

Awards Banquet Continued

Check out the new GAEMS website platform scheduled to launch on July 20th, 2012. Visit the site and update your profile information at:

www.ga-ems.com

Ne w W Co eb m sit in e gs oo n!

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Page 5

The GAEMS EMS & Educator Conference 2012 is only a couple months away! We are excited to, once again, offer this conference at one of our favorite locations in Savannah, Georgia. Pre-conference classes are scheduled for Saturday, September 22 nd, and Sunday morning, September 23rd, 2012. The conference begins Sunday afternoon and will conclude Tuesday, September 25th, 2012. We are very excited to showcase a lot of local talent during this conference. We had a terrific response to our Call for Presentations, and have a wonderful and diverse schedule of speakers planned. Please join us for the conference. We look forward to seeing you there! Nita Ham President, Educators Division

GAEMS EMS & Educator Conference 2012

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IN THE KNOW

C A L L F O R C A N D I D A T E S 2 0 1 2 D I V I S I O N P R E S I D E N T S , V I C E - P R E S I D E N T M E D I C A L D I R E C T O R S D I V I S I O N
The Georgia Association of EMS is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors. Below is the portion of the bylaws related to the Board of Directors and eligibility requirements to hold office.

Any member who would be willing to serve as an officer of a Division or a member of the board at large shall notify the Chairman, in writing, within thirty (30) days after this call for candidates. The officer candidate may, at his/her discretion provide a one page document of his/her qualifications and goals for the Association. This document will be included in the ballot that will be mailed out to the membership for election of board members; the Association shall provide ballots and there shall be no mark or marking on the ballot that could indicate the person who cast such ballot. These ballots shall allow each member to vote for the president and vice president of the Division they have qualified affiliation with and to vote for two (2) members of the board of directors at large. During this election year the Association will be electing the following positions: President for each Division Term of Service 2013-2014 Providers Division President Educators Division President Directors Division President Medical Director Division President Medical Director Division Vice President (vacant) Term of Service 2012-2013 Two (2) at large Board Members, Positions #2 and #4 - Term of Service 2013-2014 Anyone wishing to run for one of these positions should submit their name, current address, current contact numbers, email address, and a brief work related history to include why you want to be a board member (200 words or less) in writing or electronically to: GAEMS P.O. Box 4626 Macon, Ga. 31208 Nominations must be received no later than noon on July 23, 2012. For more information please visit the Association website at www.ga-ems.com or joiner.kelly@mccg.org

Volume 1, Issue 1

Page 7

Region II EMS-C Excellence and Advocacy Award

Assuring Georgias Future, One Child at a Time This might seem like a lofty goal, but it was one that Region 2 EMS -C adopted as a slogan for their first EMS-C Conference ten years ago. Since 2002 a small group of dedicated child safety advocates, pre-hospital care providers, and public safety professionals has help this annual conference in Gainesville. To mark this years milestone the slogan was added A Decade of Excellence to mark ten years of quality pediatric education. Over 100 individuals attended this years conference held at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Participants come from all over Georgia and surrounding states to attend this pediatric education opportunity. Opening the session this year was State EMS Director Keith Wages. Some of this years presentations then included diabetes management, pain management, respiratory management, non-accidental trauma, and cardiac managementall presented for the pre-hospital provider dealing with these types of emergencies in pediatric patients. Speakers from Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Childrens Healthcare, Erlanger Medical Center, and others did a phenomenal job n describing the latest trends and treatment in pediatric care. For the past three years, Air Like Georgia has presented a very special award at the close of the conference. The Tim Peebles Champion for Children award is presented to an individual, who like Capt. Peebles, displays tireless efforts in education, child safety, and pediatric care. Capt. Peebles was the EMS Coordinator with Hall County Fire Services and a driving force behind this conference for many years. Unfortunately he was taken away from us too soon in 2010 following a long period of declining health. Air Life Georgia continues to keep his memory alive through the presentation of this award. This years recipient was Tania Diaz with Gwinnett County Fire Services. Her tireless work with Safe Kids Gwinnett and pediatric programs across Gwinnett County were listed as just a few of her accomplishments in the nomination. In some ways ten years seems like a long time, but in others just a flash. Ten years from now what we have learned and how we treat patients will change dramatically. Region 2 EMS-C will continue to be there, providing the highest quality education at a reasonable price and striving to Protect Georgias Future, One Child at a Time. Mark your calendars now for the 2013 EMS -C Conference to be held on June 4th, 5th, and 6th in Gainesville, Georgia. Make plans to join us as we begin our next decade of excellence. Submitted by Lanier Swafford

2012 Tim Peebles Award Recipient Tania Diaz

Since 2002 a small group of dedicated child safety advocates, prehospital care providers, and public safety professionals has help this annual conference in Gainesville. To mark this years milestone the slogan was added A Decade of Excellence to mark ten years of quality pediatric education.

GAEMS SPONSORS

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IMPORTANT: BED BUG PREVENTION

When a team of paramedics or medical technicians respond to a call requesting emergency assistance at someones home, their focus is on the patients safety and survival. They are not thinking about bed bugs. However, as bed bug infestations continue to spread throughout the country, emergency response teams are becoming more at risk of encountering bed bugs while in the process of caring for and transporting patients to the hospital. The following are just a few tips to keep you and other medical facilities from having a bed bug infestation.

You must be educated about bed bugs to avoid them. Contact your local extension agent and ask them who can provide you with the very best bed bug identification training. Make sure that your uniform is as simple as possible. Avoid shirts with buttons and pockets. Avoid pants with cuffs, cargo pockets and multiple zippers. Wear paper shoe covers when entering a home and place them into a sealed plastic bag before you enter your transport vehicle.

These are just a few of the many precautions you can take.

For more information visit http://

www.cdc.gov/parasites/bedbugs/

March 25-28, 2013