The Dispatch: Vol.2 No.2

VOL. 2, NO. 2 AN EMERGENCY SERVICES NEWSLETTER CREATED BY

Weber treasures the EMS gems at Galveston Area Ambulance Authority SEE MORE INSIDE:

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

EMS crew assesses stroke case quickly Page 09

Disaster Day offers ‘worst case’ scenario Page 06

Don’t burn out too soon! Learn some self-compassion Page 10

Got 5 minutes? Get stronger with these exercise tips Page 18

Two people you might know or should know Pages 8 and 13

Crossword Puzzle Page 02

Amy Weber, director of EMS for Galveston County Health District, talked to The Dispatch about her agency.

Amy Weber was 23 when she arrived in Galveston from Michigan. The warm weather lured her to the island. Then a new friend invited her on a ride-along with Galveston EMS. See more on page 03

EMS WEEK

Who do you recognize in these photos?

See more on page 14

THE DISPATCH

CONTINUING EDUCATION

About

THE DISPATCH Earn 7 CEUs with ABLS hands-on course Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) Provider Course

The Dispatch is a publication of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) and is produced by UTMB’s Office of Marketing and Communications for our EMS partners. The purpose of this publication is to celebrate the incredible work of the EMS agencies in our communities while sharing news about the services available at UTMB Health’s Emergency Rooms.

This newsletter is focused on telling your stories, answering your questions and sharing your successes. Send us your questions, your story ideas, your photos or any EMS-related news you’d like to brag about to ems@utmb.edu.

EMS Dispatch

Crossword Puzzle The Advanced Burn Life Support Provider Course is an eight-hour course for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, therapists and paramedics.

This live, hands-on course provides the how-to of emergency care of the burn patient during the first critical 24 hours.

Following a series of lectures, groups will discuss case studies. Participants will also work with a simulated burn patient to reinforce the assessment, stabilization and American Burn Association transfer criteria to a Burn Center.

Testing consists of a written exam and a practical assessment. The course offers 7.0 CEUs or 7.25 CMEs. Course fees are $150. East Texas Gulf Coast Regional Trauma Advisory Council (RAC-R) will cover the cost for its members. The member must submit the appropriate documentation prior to the course along with proof of payment. Once the member has completed the course and submitted proof of completion, the member will be reimbursed.

Email Monica Hutson at mnhernan@utmb.edu for available course dates.

Down:

[1] UTMB exercise physiologist [3] Equipment for exercising [4] Stroke scale exam [6] Technique to help reduce burnout [8] Disaster Day mock ER building Solution is on the back page*

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Across:

[2] Disaster Day chief commander [4] UTMB director of nursing research [5] Emiley’s favorite food [7] Minutes in microdose exercise [9] UTMB stroke program manager

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Webertreasures GAAA’s gems: medics,research, outcomes

Amy Weber was 23 when she arrived in Galveston from Michigan. The warm weather lured her to the island. She took a CPR class and met new friends, and one of them invited her on a ride-along with Galveston EMS. “They let us do ride-alongs 20-something years ago,” she said.

“I wanted to see if it was for me. Then we ran a cardiac arrest. The crew was really impressive. They were calm and collected and showed great scene management.

They allowed me to do CPR, and that was the start that hooked me. I was like, ‘Oh, this is it.

If I can make a difference in somebody’s life, this is it.’”

Weber joined the agency in 1997 and never left.

She is now the EMS chief for the Galveston County Health District. In this role, she oversees the health district’s Galveston County Area Ambulance Authority, which has 90 employees and covers 156 square miles, including rural and urban areas, beaches and waterways surrounding Galveston County.

Weber oversees stations in Bacliff, Kemah, Galveston and Hitchcock.

Weber became director of EMS for the health district in 2018 and has been with the agency for more than 25 years. She started

as an EMT, then she went back to school to become a paramedic. She moved up to supervisor, then to operations manager and then to interim director for a few months before becoming chief.

“It’s like a beautiful dance between medicine, politics, budgets and taking care of the crews,” Weber said. “You do the best you can. I would like to be out there with the crews more.”

Finding and hiring more emergency medics is a challenge for Weber.

“There’s a shortage, and they can make more money working in different medical areas outside of the pre-hospital setting,” she said.

The health district offers sign-on bonuses for the Galveston Area Ambulance Authority—

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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

also often referred to as Galveston EMS or GEMS. It’s just one of many ongoing challenges she has. Others include pushing for more training and research studies, reducing burnout in crews, and continuing a pattern of improving care.

“I have an amazing team, period,” she said. “They are a great group of people who are very family-oriented in their EMS community. From in the office to in the field, every one of these employees are unique, and they’re all amazing. That’s always a nice thing to have. They all have unique skills, and we are working together as a team.”

“It’s like a beautiful dance between medicine, politics, budgets and taking care of the crews.”

- Amy Weber

Director, GCHD EMS, Galveston Area Ambulance Authority

A less-experienced medical staff member can work with and learn from an experienced medical member to adapt to the fast pace of EMS. Weber also keeps her employees’ well-being a priority.

“I’m always looking for ways to reduce injuries or help save preventable injuries,” Weber said.

“The physical aspects wear you down pretty good. We do live where everywhere is upstairs.”

To reduce burnout, the agency tries to schedule a medic to work on Galveston Island one day and then put that person at a slower station in the county the next day. That’s because island crews run between 15 to 20 calls a day.

Education Galveston Area Ambulance Authority emphasizes education for its crews, as does Weber.

“We’re looking for evidencebased medicine to improve services to the county and make a difference in the lives of everybody who lives in our area,” she said.

The EMS agency offers several continuing-education classes every month. It has

also implemented certificate training for Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and CPR along with other programs.

The agency covers the cost for employees with the in-house training. And their ongoing education goes beyond what’s required to include specific needs of the crews and the agency.

“We look at those calls that we don’t run that often and talk about how we can educate the crews and get them more comfortable with the continuing changes within the EMS

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industry,” Weber said.

To do that takes muscle memory, not just brain knowledge. Online training plus hands-on practice helps the crews get both.

Much of the training at the Galveston Area Ambulance Authority is quality-assurance driven. When the team assesses quality assurance, they can see what training the crews might lack. Then the training officer builds a program to improve that knowledge and skills.

LUCAS devices This year, the agency improved

its rate of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) numbers.

Part of that might be about the pandemic ending, but the introduction of epinephrine drip IVs in the field paired with the help of a new mechanical CPR device has drastically shown a vast improvement, Weber said.

Those devices are called Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System devices, or as most medical staff refers to them: LUCAS devices. Earlier this year, the health district acquired 11 LUCAS devices.

“With the introduction of the epinephrine drip and the LUCAS

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

devices, we are seeing what a difference we are making,” Weber said. “We’re looking at an 81.2% ROSC grade, which is phenomenal.”

Researchers at UTMB Health are studying the ROSC numbers on the agency’s cases using epinephrine drip IVs. Weber gets feedback about the patients.

“If we can make a difference and have them walking and talking and taking care of themselves, that’s the best option,” Weber said. “We need to do more studies and push emergency medicine to the forefront instead of it being seen as agencies that just pick up people.”

She’s also gathering data on results from the LUCAS devices.

“It’s something in the medical field to be recognized for what you’re doing in EMS, but I don’t want to be published just for some numbers,” Weber said. “I want to make a difference in somebody’s life in our community. If somebody reaches out to us and says, ‘Hey, I love what you’re doing.

Can you share your protocol,’ we would.”

The agency also receives continuous feedback for the use of antibiotics in the field for trauma emergencies. Other EMS agencies have reached out to Weber to learn more about their protocols for improvements.

“We administer it for open fractures, but we’ve even expanded it to any break in the skin from a traumatic event because we’re seeing infections there, too,” she said.

“This is the encouraging information that I would like to leave behind for the next group of excited and curious medical providers to push farther to grow this industry higher to finally gain the recognition that is deserved with EMS,” Weber said.

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LOOKING FORWARD

Disaster Day offers May 6 was a beautiful day for a mock disaster.

“The sky was blue, and a cool breeze kept the spring heat at bay while a volunteer playing the part of a perpetrator was preparing to lay siege to the building that houses the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on UTMB Health’s Galveston Campus.

Scores of health care students, EMS personnel and other emergency responders prepared to care for the “wounded” and calm the “worried well” who were congregating at the nearby Health Education Center.

Just after 10 a.m., the mock active-shooter event led to “victims” spilling out of the OLLI building and into the parking lot. Medical personnel responded, while a police chase ended in a car wreck and more injuries.

Inside the Health Education Center, the mock ER filled up fast. Those victims whose faked injuries allowed them to walk and wait did so, as others were hurried by on gurneys.

Inside, students from the School of Nursing, John Sealy School of Medicine and School of Health Professions pretended to lift the human actors onto beds then proceeded to administer emergency care to the mannequin patients that took their place. Once attention turned to their simulated counterparts, the bloodied volunteers shuffled down the hall to the moulage room where their “injuries” were first created.

A few hours later, all the “wounded” had cleared out, the makeup used to create their wounds was cleaned off and everyone walked away with as real a feel for a true large-scale disaster as possible.

Funded by the UTMB Health President’s Cabinet Award, “Learn Together to Work Together: Saving Lives Through

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Interprofessional Education,” Disaster Day 2023 combined a multiagency disaster response scenario with a UTMB Health police active-shooter drill. It involved law enforcement, the fire department, emergency response teams and medical students and staff and tested not only their individual efficiency but also the working relationships among the groups.

Entities involved included the UTMB Health Police Department, Galveston Police Department, Galveston Area Ambulance Authority, Galveston Fire Department, Galveston College EMS Professions Students, UTMB Health faculty and UTMB Health students.

“Our overarching goal with Disaster Day is to take everyone out of their comfort zone and

LOOKING FORWARD

‘worst day’ scenario shooter event but any kind of multi-casualty incident, or MCI. “The more practice we get in, the better prepared we are if the real thing comes to our door,” Connolly said.

“However, getting students exposed to an MCI also prepares them for some of the everyday realities in health care. Working in an interprofessional team is a core part of health care— we’re a group of professionals with different backgrounds, different training and different priorities working toward the same goal.”

to better understand what role they play in response to a multicasualty incident,” said Chris Connolly, the third-year medical student who acted as chief commander of the event.

“These events are inherently interprofessional, and we wanted to put students and first responders in a situation where they could practice working together,” he said. “We worked very hard to make this event valuable for everyone involved, and their support and enthusiasm for interprofessional collaboration enabled us to be successful.”

UTMB Health Police outlined the active shooter scenario and how that would play out, while medical students wrote the case scenario for each victim.

Action in the ER was guided and overseen by UTMB Health

medical staff and faculty.

First-year Respiratory Care School of Health Professions student Devin Dallas was one of two incident commanders for the day, working to pull the event together and get community partners involved.

She was the only respiratory care student involved and said it was interesting to work with nursing students to see how they would respond in a similar emergency.

To that end, organizers were deliberate in their efforts to recruit students from all five UTMB schools and EMS students from Galveston College’s EMS program. The idea was to create a collection of health care students with different career paths—similar to what they’ll see in their future careers and put them in a position to learn from each other.

“Adding in the stressful environments of field triage and emergency care was likely a

challenge for many, but it was also very important as it mimics what can happen in a real health care environment,” Connolly said. “Large influxes of patients can happen at any time, for any reason. Having a faculty-guided experience like this one gives them repetitions that will help them better see their strengths and weaknesses working in interprofessional teams.”

Student leaders worked on planning for the event for six months—an intense effort that paid off.

“Both event staff and participants adapted well to the planned and unplanned challenges we experienced during the exercise,” Connolly said. “We received great feedback from our participants, and we’re confident that the next group of student leaders can continue to develop this concept to make Disaster Day even better.”

This story first appeared in Health System Heartbeat, a newsletter for UTMB Health System employees.

“It definitely feels like it’s preparing me to see these situations in real life,” Dallas said during the event. “Obviously, these things are happening more and more, so it’s really good to see this before it’s actually real.”

Disaster Day was intended to prepare students not only for the extreme situation of an activeTHE DISPATCH AN EMERGENCY SERVICE NEWSLETTER CREATED BY UTMB HEALTH | 07

CLEAR LAKE

Q

01 Why did you choose your medical field?

A

I have always been excited by emergency situations and science since I was kid.

When I was in high school, I decided to enroll in an EMT course and realized that I loved it. I loved it so much, I decided to become a paramedic. Then I eventually got my nursing degree.

A

6 questions with Victor Martinez Franco Emergency Nurse

UTMB Health Clear Lake Campus

02 How do you get through a tough shift?

Before every shift, I make sure that I have everything in place and stocked so that if I need something, it is within my reach. Then throughout the day, I eat snacks and maintain a calm and positive mindset.

I like working out during my days off along with hanging out with friends.

A

I cannot recall any specific event, but EMS has grown tremendously in the past few years with many services incorporating new tools such as fast exams, blood products, airway management, STEMImanagement medications and antibiotics. Many patients benefit from these progressive practices, which ultimately benefit the community.

What’s your favorite food?

A

I don’t have a special type of food that I like the most.

Overall, I love food and like trying out different types of food.

03 A

What can you tell us about a recent EMS-related case that was a success? Was there a medic who made a difference?

05

A

What do you do to relax when you are not at work?

04

“I decided to enroll in an EMT course and realized I loved it.

I loved it so much, I decided to become a paramedic.”

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06 What’s something you want people to know about you?

A

I enjoy listening to music, going to national parks, beaches, hiking, running and going outside of my comfort zone.

STROKE

EMS crew assesses stroke case quickly, leading to better outcome

Medics determined a Hitchcock man might be having a stroke and called in a stroke alert.

Galveston Area Ambulance Authority crew assessed a patient’s neurologic status quickly.

A 49-year-old man woke up at 5 a.m. April 4 at his home in Hitchcock and got up. While sitting in the bathroom, he felt weakness in his left arm and leg. He was unable to get out of the bathroom, so he called his roommates to help. They tried to get him up but couldn’t. That’s when they called 911.

The Galveston Area Ambulance Authority responded to the call. When they arrived at the residence, paramedics and EMTs performed a Cincinnati Stroke Scale exam noting that the man

had left-sided weakness, left facial droop and slurred speech. They noted he was leaning to his left side as well.

Based on their assessment, the medics determined that the man might be having a stroke. A stroke alert was called to UTMB Health’s Galveston Emergency Department during transport by ambulance.

UTMB Health Galveston staff took him immediately to get a CT scan. The results showed he was having an acute ischemic infarction in the right hemisphere of his brain, specifically a large vessel occlusion that was impeding blood flow to that area.

After reviewing the images, the neurology stroke team activated the neuroendvascular care (NEC) team. Then staff took the patient to the Interventional Radiology suite for mechanical thrombectomy of the clot.

During the procedure, emergency room personnel placed the patient on a ventilator and prepared him for intervention.

Dr. Muhammad Zeeshan Memon, along with UTMB Health neuro-interventionalists and stroke care providers, removed the clot and restored blood flow to the infarcted brain tissue. The patient tolerated the procedure well, and he went to the neuro critical care unit for close monitoring.

The patient was able to tolerate solid foods and start physical and occupational therapy the next day. He was in the hospital for eight days. At that time, he was strong enough to go home and ready to start outpatient therapy.

The Galveston Area Ambulance Authority’s ability to assess the patient’s neurologic status quickly and alert the hospital of an incoming stroke activation improved his overall outcome.

Without the quick action and neuro assessment skills that this crew of paramedics and EMTs provided, this patient’s outcomes may not have been the same, Memon said.

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LIFESTYLE

How to prevent

Half of paramedics and EMTs have some degree of burnout. That’s not just a random statement. It’s a research-based observation. The good news is research also points to specific ways to prevent burnout for EMS workers.

“I have such an appreciation for the work they do,” said Dr. Tammy Cupit, director of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice at UTMB Health System.

“They are prone to burnout, and they are already experiencing it. It’s a no-brainer—this is a high-stress job.”

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Paramedic Practice found that more than 50 percent of ambulance workers experienced various levels of burnout.

Dr. Tammy Cupit

“They also had very high levels of depersonalization,” Cupit said about medics in the study.

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EMTs and paramedics are at risk for being overly cynical, for detaching from their patients or for just going through the motions and having some decreased levels of empathy—and not just at work.

“Sometimes it bleeds over into the home,” she said.

Exhaustion, a lack of communication and a poor work-life balance contribute to burnout for EMS workers.

Cupit offered insight on how to prevent burnout and still get a paycheck. Start by adding some of these concepts to your future career plans as well as your daily life.

Variety A change of pace can help.

Paramedics and EMTs are more satisfied with

LIFESTYLE

burnout, find joy “It’s a no-brainer—this is a high-stress job.”

- Dr. Tammy Cupit, Director of Nursing Research and

Evidence-Based Practice at UTMB Health.

Are you too hard on yourself? their jobs when they have more variety, Cupit said. She’s familiar with the work. She was an emergency room nurse before becoming a psychiatric nurse and a researcher.

“One year on the job is equivalent to three years, in my opinion,” Cupit said about emergency medicine.

Rotating tasks, responsibilities or locations can possibly slow down the burn.

Debriefings “If you are ruminating about an outcome of a patient, you need to talk about it rather than just sweep it under the rug,” Cupit said.

“We want you to maintain your empathy and feel safe to talk about how things are unfair.”

A debriefing after an incident is a way managers can encourage open conversation.

“Learn how to talk with each other and connect,” she said.

“Because the work is so hard, you really need a good team connection. If you see somebody extremely depersonalized on your team, have the courage to say, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you about this’ rather than just ignoring it.”

And it’s a good time to check your own levels of connections or depersonalization as you listen to teammates.

It’s also an opportunity to point out what coworkers did well and to express gratitude, she said.

Take a free, online test to check your self-compassion How self-compassionate are you? Dr. Kristin Neff of University of Texas at Austin created a test to measure your level.

You can find the 24-question test at https://self-compassion.org/ self-compassion-test/. The site will score your self-compassion at low, moderate or high.

The website also has guided practices and exercises to help increase self-compassion.

Be positive If you have a negative thought, find a positive thought to pair with it. Better yet, come up with more than one positive thought.

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LIFESTYLE

Slow down the burn with talk, relaxation and self-compassion.

“What some of my psychotherapy colleagues have said is that you probably need more like five positive things for one negative,” Cupit said.

Focus on positive emotions, positive relationships, positive meaning in the work that you do and your positive accomplishments.

Little steps Be kind to yourself and slow down any moments that make you feel overwhelmed.

“You have little things that you can do every day,” Cupit said.

“It doesn’t have to be big. It can be, ‘Today, I’m going to make sure that I take a break for five minutes’ or ‘I’m going to talk to my colleague about an issue’ or ‘I don’t want to work late again this week.’ Focusing on it consciously is important.”

She calls this a workout for your brain, similar to a physical workout for your body to stay flexible.

Write Keep a journal to track your gratitude. It doesn’t have to be long.

“You could say, ‘I’m going to focus on just one thing that I was grateful for today’ or one positive thing that happened,” Cupit said.

“If you write it down in a journal, later you can look back.”

Be mindful If you don’t know how to meditate, don’t worry about it. You already know how to breathe.

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“Just taking a moment in your day to breathe in and out four times works for your brain,” Cupit said. “Your brain starts to think you are not stressed.”

And if you want to learn how to meditate, plenty of websites and podcasts can help you learn more about the practice.

Self-compassion Don’t beat yourself up. Get some sleep, eat right, drink your water and move your body.

Cupit also encourages EMS workers to find joy in life and realize how grateful people are for their work.

“Health care workers are focused on caring for others,” Cupit said. “It’s such a trite analogy, but you can’t forget you must put your oxygen mask on first before you’re going to help other people.”

ANGLETON DANBURY

01 Why did you choose your medical field?

A

From my first high school health science class, I knew I was going to end up in the Emergency Department. I was drawn to it because of the fastpaced, challenging environment.

I love the unpredictability, which allows me to learn something new every day. I most enjoy working with trauma cases and getting to help stabilize patients.

Q

A

04

6 questions with Emiley Goodrich Emergency Nurse

UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus

02

What can you tell us about a recent EMS-related case that was a success? Was there a medic who made a difference?

A

Every decision is important. EMS starts this process with every case and, almost always, these decisions yield positive outcomes for the patient. Administering vital medications, getting IV access, performing good-quality chest compressions, getting an airway for CPR in progress—no matter what it is, these everyday initial choices put patients in a positive direction toward stabilization.

How do you get through a tough shift?

A

05

The first year of my new career was a major adjustment.

Finding ways to deal with the difficult days was imperative.

I have found that surrounding myself with great people, inside and outside of work, has helped immensely. Also, not taking life so seriously and finding joy in the little things has made my job so much easier.

What’s your favorite food?

A

My favorite food is sashimi! There’s nothing like fresh wahoo or tuna, especially when you can get it as fresh as we do. Add some good sauce, and you are set.

06

03 What do you do to relax when you are not at work?

A

On my off days, if the weather permits, you can almost always find my family and me on a boat somewhere fishing. Our family runs a charter business out of Surfside Beach. We love to go offshore, flounder gigging and bay fishing. I also love to travel, ride our dirt bikes, hunt, catch stone crabs and do projects around my house.

Anything to keep my mind busy.

“Every decision is important. EMS starts this process with every case, and almost always, these decisions yield positive outcomes for the patient.”

What’s something you want people to know about you?

A

I love learning different ways to do things and little tricks and tips that everyone has. I have picked up many things from EMS as well,. Also, I can’t thank everyone enough for where I am today. I was not only blessed with an incredible preceptor, but everyone has been very supportive, and I have learned so much from every person I work with.

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BRAG BOARD

EMS WEEK 2023

EMS Week 2023 All four UTMB Health campuses celebrated the EMS agencies of Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties in May. EMTs and paramedics got some food and some swag from UTMB Health, but most of all they received well-deserved attention for the essential importance of their work.

UTMB Health works with EMS agencies all year long to improve health care in Texas.

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BRAG BOARD

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BRAG BOARD

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BRAG BOARD

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WELLNESS

Just take 5 minutes

Physcially demanding work often results in injury patterns that need prevention and attention.

By improving your physical strength and conditioning, you can perform your job better and reduce the likelihood of work-related injuries.

So why aren’t more of us doing that?

“Not having enough time is a standard excuse for not exercising,” said C. Tyler Morrison, an exercise physiologist with UTMB Health Rehabilitation Services.

“If you can’t do 60 minutes of exercise, you can do five,” he said.

Dedicating at least five focused minutes can condition and add resilience while mitigating the physical toll on your body.

And if you can find five minutes once 18 | THE DISPATCH AN EMERGENCY SERVICE NEWSLETTER CREATED BY UTMB HEALTH

a day, then maybe you can also find another five minutes during your day.

Morrison suggests finding three times a day to work in a fiveminute microdose exercise session.

Microdosing exercise Getting in a good workout that does your body the most good in five minutes is science. Tyler calls is mircodosing, and he creates five-minute routines for his clients.

Morrison said.

Start with five minutes, then build on it when you’re able, he advises.

“Knowing what you’re doing in that five minutes and why you’re doing it will make a big difference,” Morrison said.

“And it gets you into the habitdevelopment mindset you need,” he added.

Choosing moves

Just because you are doing a quick microdosing of exercise, the goal is to build your stamina.

It makes sense to strengthen and condition the parts of your body you are most likely to hurt on the job.

“Although we are microdosing, the idea is to slowly increase your total duration over the day,”

Three common musculoskeletal ailments often interfere with EMS work. You may have felt all

WELLNESS

and get stronger Try this: Kettlebell Swing

01

Create a triangle with your feet and the kettlebell. This is performed only once at the beginning when picking the bell up off the floor.

02

Pull to the back swing. of these: • Shoulder pain • Low-back pain • Patella or femoral pain

resistance bands or kettlebells.

(See the sidebar for instructions on how to do a kettlebell swing the right way.)

You can’t prevent everything, but you can customize a workout to help you be stronger, healthier and more flexible. You also can prevent some future pain and prolong your career.

“Whether it is doing a sun salutation pose or resistance training, whatever exercise you choose you should do it correctly,” Morrison said.

Do it right Choosing the right exercises for a microdosing session is key, Morrison said. These exercises should include your basic daily movements—squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling and carrying.

Add some core work and conditioning to that, he said.

Work to strengthen the body’s ability to protect itself using

03

Drive to hip extension.

“Intensity is relative. Focusing mindfully on the quality of the movement is just as important as the number of reps.”

Want to know more?

If you want help creating your own five-minute exercise routine or if you want your EMS crew to experience an in-service session on microdosing exercises, contact Morrison at chmorris@ utmb.edu.

It is important to create tension throughout the movement within your abdominals and core musculature.

Some common errors are using too much back with the swing and using the shoulders too much.

The hips don’t lie with the kettlebell swing. Use them.

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Have every edition of in your hands.

Keep up with the news from other EMS agencies. Get tips from UTMB Health experts. Sign up today and learn more about UTMB Health emergency services.

Scan the QR code to sign-up, or visit:

utmbhealth.com/partners/EMS

CONTINUING EDUCATION

EMS Dispatch

Crossword Puzzle Answers

Earn credit at EMS Lecture Series events

Medics can earn continuing education credits at upcoming EMS Lecture Series events on UTMB Health campuses.

• Sept. 15 at UTMB Health Galveston • Nov. 17 at UTMB Health Angleton Danbury The UTMB Health Stroke Program and Trauma Program staff will discuss EMS outcomes, facility capabilities and treatment updates.

Participants can earn 4 CEUs for attending in person and taking part in the skills portion, and 3 CEUs for attending the virtual meeting. To register or to get details, contact Richard Arocho at riarocho@utmb.edu.

Down:

[1] UTMB exercise physiologist [3] Equipment for exercising [4] Stroke scale exam [6] Technique to help reduce burnout [8] Disaster Day mock ER building Puzzle located on page 02

Across:

[2] Disaster Day chief commander [4] UTMB director of nursing research [5] Emiley’s favorite food [7] Minutes in microdose exercise [9] UTMB stroke program manager