Injuries are the leading cause of death for Arizonans from age 1 to 44. That means for the majority of the young and the middle-aged injury is more lethal than cancer, heart disease, hypertension and influenza combined. The effectiveness of a State’s pre-hospital and Trauma System makes the difference when it comes to saving lives [...]
The effectiveness of a State’s EMS and Pre-Hospital & Trauma System makes the difference when it comes to saving lives (and quality of life) from injuries. Injuries are the leading cause of death for Arizonans from age 1 to 44- so you can see how important it is for states to have an effective EMS & [...]
We just found out that AZ had 3 oral abstracts accepted (including the #1 scored abstract) for this year’s National Association of EMS Physicians meeting. Of the 208 abstracts submitted, only 15 were selected for oral presentations. We get to do 3 because AZ submitted 3 of the top 15 scored abstracts. Our Statewide Cardiac Receiving Center abstract was the [...]
Imagine your son or daughter is riding their bicycle in rural Arizona when a car swerves and crashes into them, causing a severe head injury. They are clinging to life. Until several years ago, if this injury had happened anywhere other than Flagstaff, Tucson or Phoenix, your child’s chance of receiving specialized trauma care within [...]
About 500,000 times a year in Arizona a call goes out from someone that finds themselves in a medical crisis. Our pre-hospital and hospital providers step up to the plate to answer that call. All Arizonans are proud and appreciative of what you do for our citizens, friends, co-workers and families. You make a difference! [...]
A quick and effective response is critical when you have a brain injury. That’s why our Excellence in Pre-hospital Injury Care Project is so critical. It’s a unique NIH funded collaboration between the ADHS and the U of A College of Medicine’s Emergency Medicine Research Center. More than 150 EMS agencies in AZ are now participating- which aims [...]
Last January 8th, the world was horrified by the events in Tucson Arizona. A mass shooting in a supermarket parking lot on a Saturday morning – 19 people shot, 6 died. As tragic as this event was, it could have been worse had the emergency medical care providers and trauma team not been prepared. It [...]
Kudos to our EMS and Trauma System team for forging some new tools to improve trauma care in AZ. Our Data and Quality Assurance team developed an innovative benchmarking tool that’s shared with each of AZ’s trauma centers. The tool shows each facility their injury specific survival rates and compares those rates to the (blinded) other [...]
Many people don’t realize one of the critical functions the Department performs is certifying Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s), including Paramedics. Our Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System currently certifies hundreds of new EMT’s and Paramedics each year, helping ensure that Arizona’s Fire Departments and ambulance companies have sufficient staff that are properly trained [...]
Our Emergency Medical Services team created a new guidance document last week to inform interested parties about the criteria we use when reviewing contracts between EMS providers and local jurisdictions. The document provides an overview of our goals relating to political subdivision contracts; our statutory and regulatory authority related to political subdivision contracts; the process and methods used by the Department for [...]
