Susquehanna Township EMS

**Promotion Announcement** STEMS is pleased to announce that AEMT Sarver has been promoted to Field Training Officer (FTO) of A-Platoon.

STEMS is please to announce that our 2020 BLS provider of the year, as voted on by our employees, was awarded to EMT Genesse. EMT Genesse is know for his compassionate, caring, and positive attitude. EMT Genesse was recently hired by Fredrick County Maryland Fire & Rescue Services where we know he will continue his passion for public safety.

STEMS is please to announce that our 2020 ALS provider of the year, as voted on by our employees, was awarded to Field Training Officer AEMT Komar. FTO Komar was promoted to Field Training Officer this past year. She works as an AEMT full time at STEMS as well as other EMS agencies. Additionally she is an instructor at HACC Public Safety Center where she provides instruction to future EMTs and AEMTs.

Last week STEMS was able to award 11 of our EMS professionals with CLINICAL SAVE Commendations. A Clinical Save Commendation is approved when EMS treats a patient in cardiac arrest and through knowledge and skill are able achieve Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC). Treatment is continued in the hospital and the patient is ultimately discharge without neurological deficits. Here are a few of those hard working individuals!

Cold Temperatures and Snow expected this weekend into next week. -Bundle Up -Prepare now -Limit travel... -Stay safe See more

Shoutout to Service1st Restoration & Remodeling, 717 Armory and MISSION BBQ for providing lunch and goodies for our crews today! Thank you for the support!#onefamily

Dense fog is expected for most of Central PA this morning. Drive with caution. Maintain safe driving distance and have your headlights on. #fog #drivesafe

As we near the end of National Preparedness Month, take time to talk to your kids and inform them about the various scenarios they may be faced with. Teach them how and why emergency preparedness is important. #DisastersWontWait #makeyourplantoday #ReadyPA #PreparedInPA #PreparednessMonth

Are you prepared for a variety of disasters? Take a look at the PA Emergency Preparedness Guide. https://www.ready.pa.gov//Documents/PAEmergencyPreparednes #DisastersWontWait #PreparedInPA #makeyourplantoday #ReadyPA #PreparednessMonth

September is National Preparedness Month! What's in your emergency preparedness kit? Do you have one for home, work, your vehicle? Emergency Preparedness Kits can be easy and affordable to put together. #DisastersWontWait #makeyourplantoday #PreparedInPA #ReadyPA #PreparednessMonth

September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. Have you discussed with your family, friends, and loved ones what your plan is during a disaster? If you don't have a plan, make one today. #DisastersWontWait #makeyourplantoday #PreparedInPA #PreparednessMonth #ReadyPA

If you are looking for a moderate sized, community based, independent EMS agency that will challenge you to provide the best possible care for your patients, and where the leadership team knows and respects you, come visit Susquehanna Township EMS!

We continue to raise awareness of the crisis in EMS through another press release. The following press release/Op Ed was sent to all media outlets this morning... and you can feel free to use this piece when talking with your local press. Continually Responding and Constantly Forgotten Hazard Pay Snub Aside, Funding Crisis in EMS Remains Imagine running a business where you are mandated by law to provide service to everyone who calls, whether you are paid for the service or not. Then consider that people who do pay, pay you a non-negotiable amount, determined by them, that is often well below what it costs you to provide the service. Lastly, any attempt to recoup a balance owed is government restricted. How does your business survive when the non-negotiated payment has only increased 20% in 18 years, but your costs have risen 67% or more in the same time period? This is the reality faced by the Commonwealth’s EMS agencies. A few weeks ago, EMS agencies and their providers Paramedics, EMTs, Prehospital RNs, EMRs - were snubbed by the Governor’s Hazard Pay Grant for frontline workers. For nearly a decade the EMS community has been overlooked by the Administration and the General Assembly despite being statutorily defined as an essential service. Numerous remedies have been presented none acted upon. The prevalent crisis facing EMS is FUNDING. Inadequate funding from government and commercial insurance reimbursement for life-saving services delivered; inadequate or non-existent funding for the costs of readiness from state, county or municipal entities whose constituents expect demand - EMS respond at a moment’s notice. Access to critical, life-saving treatment and transportation should be a guaranteed right for all. Yet for decades, EMS agencies barely tread water due to below cost reimbursement and a lack of state, county or municipal support, all while operational costs and regulatory mandates increased. Regrettably, the majority of proposals to correct reimbursement rates to allow for adequate compensation, to update archaic EMS payment policies and to increase Medical Assistance payments, have received little to no legislative or administrative action. The bloom that was the promise of the Senate Resolution 6 Commission Report recommendations is rapidly fading. EMS agencies in this Commonwealth were in dire financial straits prior to COVID-19 and since the pandemic, the meter is pegged toward total system failure. Response times are increasing and ambulances are failing to respond to the public’s 911 calls and to urgent requests to move critically ill patients from community hospitals to specialty care resource hospitals. As our hour glass drains, EMS agencies continue to respond with fewer ambulances and personnel. Until such time these issues are effectively addressed, EMS remains continually responding and constantly forgotten - those sands are rapidly draining. So may be the life of the next caller to 911. Dean A. Bollendorf, President Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania

Not a single EMS agency received any funds from the Hazard Pay Grant Program! COVID-19 has taken a serious toll on EMS agencies, small and large, across Pennsylvania. EMS is a critical infrastructure that must be made available and supported. Every minute. Of every day. Where is the support for EMS? https://dced.pa.gov//COVID-19-PA-Hazard-Pay-Grant-Program_

Tropical Storm Isaias is expected to bring significant rainfall today. A Flash Flood Watch as been issued for most of Central PA. Follow your local news and weather for updates. #TropicalStormIsaias #TurnAroundDontDrown #prepare #EMS

Today STEMS personnel staged along the Crooked Hill Overpass of I-81 with Progress Fire and Penbrook Fire companies to show our respect for a fallen firefighter and tow truck operator. STEMS extends our condolences to Halifax Fire Dept, H&S Towing, and the many friends and family of Tyler.

Please move over and steer clear of emergency vehicles when they are operating on or next to roads and highways.