Webster Launches New Era of Emergency Medical Care
Quarterly lecture series events offer chance for education, engagement
Page 06
On the road with Richard Page 08
UTMB Health partners with local first responders to support international youth baseball event Page 10
UTMB Angleton
Danbury Campus redesignated as a Level IV Trauma Center Page 11
The City of Webster now has its own Emergency Medical Services division led by EMS Battalion Chief Brad Starkey. The team, comprised of 12 EMS personnel, serves the same approximately 6.4 squaremile area formerly covered by Acadian, a third-party ambulance service.
This year, EMS Week is designated from May 18-24; however, all of us at The University of Texas Medical Branch are grateful for each of you, our partners in the field, every day.
Your dedication to the communities you serve is unwavering and admirable.
Without you, we can’t do what we do every day here at UTMB Health.
Happy EMS Week 2025.
About THE DISPATCH
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.
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
Down:
[2] bridge builder of sorts
[3] ADC trauma level
[4] month for EMS week
[5] animal Amanda Blair loves
[7] new section on UTMB EMS Partners page
[8] month for next lecture series event
Solution is on the back page*
Across:
[1] ADC nurse manager who attended pediatric readiness training
[6] Medical Director for Webster EMS
[7] month when international youth baseball event took place
[9] podiatry expert
Webster launches new era of Emergency Medical Care
The year 2025 will be safer, healthier, and people in need of emergency medical services will be stabilized and transported to hospitals quicker and more efficiently. Since the City of Webster launched the first Emergency Medical Services division in its history, EMS Battalion Chief Brad Starkey has gotten immediately to work making those goals a reality.
Starkey, who left his role as deputy chief of Administration at the Galveston Ambulance Authority after over five years of service, stepped into his new position on Jan. 27 as EMS battalion chief and now leads 12 EMS personnel, including six basic and advanced EMTs, and six paramedics. They are housed in Webster’s fire station and continue to serve the same approximately 6.4 squaremile area formerly covered by Acadian, a third-party ambulance service which departed in early April, as Webster’s own inhouse EMS division took over in March.
He added that Acadian remains in Webster but now operates as a transfer ambulance service.
“Historically, the Webster Fire Department
was made up of volunteers or paid, part-time employees. In 2016, it became a full-time paid service,” Starkey said. “It was always covered by a third-party private service. Having our own was always a ‘want,’ but it stayed on the back burner. It was a four-year project, interrupted by COVID, trying to get this done. To add to the challenge, there’s a shortage of ambulances. There is often up to a three-year wait just for the ambulances.”
Starkey said the decision to implement an in-house EMS department was the result of a full feasibility study conducted by Webster Fire Chief Dean Spencer and Assistant Fire Chief Shane Martin. The study included a cost-benefit analysis, licensing requirements, and operational and planning considerations.
“Based on that study, the city council agreed to invest in the implementation of three ambulances—two available around the clock, and one in reserve, for the city of Webster,” he said. “We can help cover the surrounding cities, as long as we keep one ambulance here in Webster.”
Now, Starkey said, EMS is networking with neighboring communities and can deliver faster care than ever before.
“We are fortunate that UTMB Health Clear Lake Campus Hospital and other hospitals are so close,” he said. “We transport patients to the hospital nearest to the location of the call.”
City of Webster EMS Battallion Chief Brad Starkey
The city of Webster, along with the fire department, place the highest priority on training.
“It’s been spectacular to have that,” Starkey said. “We can train independently with EMS as well as with the fire department, and we now have a seamless transition when working together.”
At the top of Starkey’s list of goals for the new department is to ensure all employees are on track to complete all
recertification requirements.
“Recertification for paramedics is 144 hours, and we are working to make it possible for everyone to take the courses they need inhouse,” he explained. “I can teach, and we have UTMB staff available to us to teach as well. We want every person to have access to the continuing education courses they need and get them done easily. The city has been extremely supportive of this effort.”
An initiative targeting increasing the survival
“We are setting standards for everyone coming behind us, and we are embracing that.”
- Brad Starkey, City of Webster EMS Battalion Chief
rate of sudden cardiac arrest victims is also among Starkey’s top priorities.
“I’d like everyone who enters or resides in Webster to know it’s becoming a Heart Safe Community,” he said. “This is an outreach, in partnership with local medical facilities, to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) within four minutes’ walking distance of almost anywhere in Webster.”
Heart Safe is a citywide collaboration with restaurants, schools, and city buildings
to place AEDs strategically to make them more accessible, and to offer citizens the critical training needed to use them. The fire department continues to teach CPR, and Starkey said he intends to keep expanding that outreach.
With everyone’s collaboration, he continued, anyone who is near someone experiencing a heart-related emergency can call 911 and be directed to the closest AED.
“The number one way to save someone who is having a heart attack is early CPR and quick defibrillation,” Starkey said. “Surviving can be increased by up to 80% through these efforts. We want to educate people enough so they can do the CPR and locate the AED. My goal is to have people enter the city, see a sign that says ‘Webster,’ and ‘This is a Heart Safe City.’”
Overall, Starkey said he is working to create a more proactive EMS.
“This is a great working environment,” he said. “We have all the resources from the city, and great partnerships. Everyone is trying to be better and use evidence-based
information to keep improving.” Starkey added that Webster EMS’s medical director and UTMB League City’s Emergency Room Director Dr. Kent Harkey has been setting the highest standards of care for the new Webster EMS.
“We are a dream team,” he said.
“Because we are new, we know we are in a legacy position. I’ve hired people, and they’ve trained very quickly, and they’re doing phenomenally well. We are setting standards for everyone coming behind us, and we are embracing that. With the help of Dr. Harkey and the support of the city, we are working to be the best.”
events offer chance for education, engagement Quarterly lecture series
Scan the QR code to hear what attendees are saying about the lecture series.
Scan the QR code for images from these events, as well as other encounters with our frontline partners in care. Have photos you’d like to share? Email ems@utmb.edu.
Established in late 2022 and hosted by The University of Texas Medical Branch, the quarterly EMS Lecture Series events continue to grow in scope, as the team behind the gatherings continue to expand the programming to make it a more fulfilling and engaging experience for attendees.
“We kicked off this year’s events in Angleton with a bit of a twist,” said Richard Arocho, marketing associate and physician liaison with UTMB. “We had a space for teams and individuals to take photos and even had the opportunity to capture some video interviews with first responders to hear why they take time out of their days to attend.
On the road
Most people in the realm of Emergency Medical Services across Southeast Texas know Richard Arocho, physician liaison and marketing associate with The University of Texas Medical Branch.
A bridge-builder of sorts, Arocho fills his days driving across the region meeting with representatives from area agencies to not just familiarize them with all UTMB Health can do to care for patients brought in from EMS calls, but to also support first responders in their careers and development.
Up until Feb. 14 of this year, Arocho made all these trips in his personal vehicle; however,
he’s now sporting a new ride—one bearing the UTMB Health logo, making it hard to miss who he’s affiliated with when he makes one of his numerous stops throughout the day.
As of Tuesday, April 8, Richard has clocked 2,629 miles in the UTMB-branded white SUV and he shows no signs of slowing down yet!
with Richard
local first responders to support UTMB Health partners with international youth baseball event
From Thursday, March 13 through Sunday, March 16, representatives from The University of Texas Medical Branch and area first responders were on hand at the Ballpark at League City providing first aid and security support for the Texas Youth World Baseball Classic.
The tournament featured 8- to 14- year old children from over 15 countries.
Local agencies on-site supporting efforts throughout the weekend included League City Police, League City EMS and the League City Fire Department
Lori Blackwell, growth specialist with UTMB and Richard Arocho, UTMB marketing associate and physician liaison, took the lead on coordinating UTMB’s presence at the event, with individuals from the UTMB Clear Lake, League City and Galveston campuses supporting the cause.
“Participating in events like these are so important because it reiterates the commitment we have to this wonderful community we serve,” said Blackwell.
Arocho, who regularly works to build bridges between UTMB and EMS agencies, was thrilled with the turnout.
“Working with our partners in the field to support this effort was great,” said Arocho. “We work hard together every day caring for the collective communities we serve, so this initiative was just another example of that great, collaborative relationship.”
Campus re-designated as a UTMB Angleton Danbury Level IV Trauma Center
The University of Texas Medical Branch Angleton Danbury Campus was recently redesignated as a Level IV Trauma Center by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
With an Emergency Department that recorded over 25,000 patient visits throughout FY24, the location is an integral part of the community it serves.
“As a level IV trauma facility, the UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus emergency physicians and highly qualified registered nurses are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet your emergency medical needs,” said Stephanie Hurt, trauma
nurse manager for the campus.
“Our team is great at providing initial evaluation and assessment of patients, and we coordinate transfers to higher-level trauma centers in Galveston or Houston when more complex care is needed.”
The re-designation became official on March 10 and will be valid for three years.
Foot health for first responders: Part I –
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a common foot condition that causes heel pain. It involves inflammation of the plantar fascia—a tough, fibrous band of tissue that runs along the sole of the foot—which attaches to the heel bone (calcaneus) and to the base of the toes.
Plantar fasciitis injuries and pain can be improved greatly with exercise, stretching and massage tools
and techniques. While these all take intentional time and effort, it’s a proactive way to help ward off potential foot ailments.
Taking a few moments to stretch and massage your feet daily is recommended, and while there are massage tools available, lacrosse or golf balls can also help do the trick by following the steps below:
For first responders whose lower extremities are truly their foundation, aching, blistered, just-plain-hurting feet make working a tough job even tougher.
According to the International Sports Sciences Association, foot injuries are the most common injuries among all first responders. These include a range of painful or unpleasant problems, including plantar fasciitis, shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, foot odor, and foot fungus. These complaints often stem from the high impact, repetitive nature of the job.
University of Texas Medical Branch
Physicians Dr. Namita Bhardwaj, associate professor and clinician with the Departments of Family Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, and Dr. Christine Nguyen, assistant professor and podiatrist with the Orthopedics Department, recently lent their expertise on the matters to advise on best practices and common treatment plans. With no shortage of knowledge on the subjects, the content has been broken into various parts, to make it easier to absorb.
Up first in part one are plantar fasciitis and shin splints.
Step on the ball and move your foot around, focusing especially on the sorest spots. 01 Take a hold of each toe and carefully rotate it in circles. For a good, deep stretch, take a towel and pull it toward you while pushing your foot in the opposite direction. 02 03
Your goal is to stretch, and to activate the muscles in your foot for better overall mobility. You can apply ice to the areas that hurt the most and be sure to wear
shoes or inserts with good arch support. If the pain is persistent or severe, it’s time to see a podiatrist or other medical professional.
Plantar Fasciitis and Shin Splints
Dr. Christine Nguyen is a podiatric medicine expert and surgeon with extensive training in elective and reconstructive surgeries of the foot. She practices at UTMB Health in locations across League City, Sugar Land, and Galveston.
Shin Splints
If you’ve felt a dull ache, or even a sharp throb along the inner side of your lower leg, you know what a shin splint feels like. They’re generally caused by overuse, a sudden increase in activity, or running on a hard surface—all scenarios well known to first responders.
Stretching, applying ice packs, and taking ibuprofen to manage pain and inflammation can help. Wearing properly fitted footwear is
key, and although it might be difficult for a first responder to simply stop and rest, it’s the kind of injury that can nag all the harder if you do not stop.
Increased or intensified activity can overwork muscles and tendons, resulting in shin splints. Compression socks can be helpful in promoting blood flow, reducing swelling, and supporting quicker recovery.
Dr. Namita Bhardwaj uses her expertise in Family Medicine and Orthopedics to care for patients at UTMB Health locations in Galveston and League City.
Tough shifts demand feet that are equal to the task. Most foot complaints are preventable, so as you serve and protect others, make sure you do the same for yourself. Symptoms that go unchecked can become a major problem, so prioritize finding a health care provider who can help make sure you can stay on your feet.
We’ll be sharing more insights from Drs. Bhardwaj and Nguyen as we cover signs, symptoms and treatments related to other foot issues, such as Achilles Tendinitis, stinky feet and Athlete’s foot, in future editions of The Dispatch.
Dr. Christine Nguyen
Dr. Namita Bhardwaj
UTMB hosts pediatric readiness training for regional nurses, EMS partners
On Sept. 1, requirements for all designated trauma facilities, including those designated as a Level III or IV facility by the Texas Department of State Health Services, will expand to require organizations to meet national pediatric readiness standards.
On Sept. 1, requirements for all designated trauma facilities, including those designated as a Level III or IV facility by the Texas Department of State Health Services, will expand to require organizations to meet national pediatric readiness standards.
To help trauma centers in the area prepare for the change, Santana Olvera and Ronnie Hamilton, regional pediatric readiness improvement and simulation mentors (PRISM) from the Texas Pediatric Readiness Improvement Project (TPRIP) and the East
Texas Gulf Coast Pediatric Trauma Council, a regional advisory council (RAC-R), partnered with The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) to host a “train-the-trainer” simulation facilitator workshop on April 16 at the UTMB Health Education Center in Galveston.
Absorbing the day’s curriculum, which covered quality improvement, simulation trainings and tips to efficiently and effectively inform hospital teams about the coming changes, were more than two dozen
participants—each of whom may ultimately be a hospital pediatric education care coordinator (H-PECC) for their respective employers.
“The goal is to support these individuals in championing emergency pediatric care in their facilities,” said Hamilton. “We want them to leave feeling empowered, informed and energized around this cause.” Networking was another aim of the event.
The Texas Pediatric Readiness Improvement project website notes that nearly 20% of children across the state need emergency care each year; however, 80% present at general emergency departments that are not designed specifically for children.
“This initiative is part of a much larger collaborative effort to help ensure emergency department clinicians are actively working toward being equipped with the right tools, training and resources for these vulnerable patients,” said Olvera. “It’s a big goal but it’s an important one since sustained pediatric readiness is linked to increased survival in critically ill and injured children.”
To ensure UTMB trauma centers are prepared for the coming changes, representatives from the UTMB Trauma team attended including:
• Amanda Blair, trauma program manager and trauma-certified registered nurse at UTMB League City Hospital
• Miranda Culligan, trauma program manager and nurse at UTMB Galveston Campus
• Jason Garner, nurse manager with the UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus
• Sara Hayes, clinical educator with the UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus Emergency Room
• Stephanie Hurt, trauma program manager and nurse at UTMB Angleton Danbury Campus
According to nationwide surveys, data has proven that emergency departments that have a sustained pediatric readiness program have shown a 76% lower mortality rate in ill children, 60% lower mortality rate in injured children, and 2,143 children’s lives saved across the U.S. each year.
“While we’ll ultimately have to call on people across various departments and teams including Emergency Medicine, Trauma, and more, to make pediatric readiness initiatives a reality, it’s up to individuals like us to usher these efforts along and be informed on best practices,” said Culligan, who added that while facilities designated as Level III and IV are most directly impacted, institutions designated as Levels I and II will also have
some changes to implement, as well.
While these new requirements were not part of the recent re-designation of the UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus as a Level IV Trauma Center, which will be good until 2028, the team there is working to stay abreast of these standards; as well as, be PedsReady for the 2028 recertification cycle when these requirements will be in effect.
“Everyone here is in varying stages of surveying,” said Hurt. “It’s important to stay proactive regardless of if you’ve just kicked off a survey or wrapped one up.”
Scan the QR code for more about the National Pediatric Readiness Improvement project.
Ruler of the roost: Meet UTMB’s
‘crazy chicken lady’
Amanda Blair has always had a heart for birds. Like many people, she’s got bird feeders and watches them through a camera feed.
But in 2021, Blair, who is a Trauma Program manager and trauma-certified registered nurse at UTMB in League City, decided to take her love for fowl one step further. She bought a few chickens when she purchased a home on five acres and an old chicken coop in Santa Fe.
Now, the “mother” of 24 chickens, Blair says she doesn’t mind being known as the “crazy chicken lady.”
“I had always wanted farm animals,” Blair said. “My new place in Santa Fe came with a chicken coop but no chickens. I thought chickens would be easy since I already had the coop. It just needed some work, so I redid the coop and started out with a few chickens.”
After doing a lot of research about raising chickens and speaking to others who were raising free-range chickens on their properties as well, she learned plenty of new things about how it all was going to work.
“If you talk to anyone with chickens, they’ll tell you about ‘chicken math,’” Blair said. “You don’t ever just buy one or two chickens. You can tell yourself that you will, but that will not happen. No one only has a couple of chickens.
“It’s kind of like going to Target and you think you’re going to buy one thing but you buy 20 things,” she added. “I started at the end of 2022 with five, and by mid-2024, I had 25. Anyone with chickens will tell you about it.”
Blair bought her first chickens at a place in San Leon, but the remainder are from all over. She had a friend whose chickens
needed care, so she adopted them and got three more from another friend’s children who were no longer interested in raising chickens.
“Yes, I’m a chicken adopter,” she said.
Raising chickens comes with its share of funny stories. One of Blair’s adopted hens laid eggs on a trampoline, for example.
The chickens are free to roam about on an acre of land, not confined in a coop. Blair had a trampoline that had been damaged in a storm, which she put it in her carport so her daughter wouldn’t try to jump on it.
“One night, one of my hens was missing,” she said. “I had no idea she was laying eggs on that trampoline. But for people who own chickens, especially free-range chickens, this is not weird. Free range chickens hide their eggs, especially if they’re ‘broody.’”
A broody hen, Blair explained, is one who’s ready to hatch her eggs. Their body temperatures rise, and they pluck out the feathers on their abdomens so they can sit on their eggs for about 21 days. She added that they can get a little mean, protecting their eggs by growling or hissing.
“I thought a hawk had taken this hen,” she
continued. “I finally took a flashlight and found her outside on the trampoline. She knew I would take her eggs, so she bit me.”
Blair thought it best to leave the egg with the mama, so she didn’t know how many there were until they hatched.
“Little did I know that hen was sitting on 15 eggs,” she said. “Three weeks later, I didn’t think they’d all hatch. There’s only about a 70% hatch rate. But this hen shot for gold and hatched all 15 them.”
Blair brought the chicks indoors into her home office for eight weeks, feeding and watering them, keeping them warm and making sure they had bedding and perches.
There was plenty of poop, lots of cleaning and lots of noise. Thankfully, Blair said, chicks do sleep at night because they cannot see in the dark—so they stay where they are and go to sleep.
“I had to take them from her because they were on that trampoline,” she said. “I had 10 other chickens, and I was worried they’d
Amanda Blair
attack the babies. Having to separate them worried me, so I decided to raise them myself.”
Blair kept almost all the baby chicks, but she gave away the roosters because the recommendation is to have one rooster to 10 hens—and she already had five roosters. “The chicks are almost a year old now, and when they go broody, I take their eggs from them,” she said. “I get about a dozen and a half eggs a day. I give them away.
“People think that it’s cheaper to have chickens and have your own eggs, but that’s not true,” she cautioned. “Chickens are expensive, and they do require a lot of care.”
But since her job is stressful, Blair enjoys coming home to her feathered brood, who run up to her like dogs meeting her at the door when she pulls up in the evenings. She finds them peaceful and very funny, and she is continually entertained by their noises and antics.
“They always make me laugh on a bad day,” she said. “I could have picked a lot of other animals, but I love chickens because they
don’t care and they have no judgement. “One of my roosters is actually special needs—he’s got neurological problems, but I’m giving him his best life. He does not walk well, but he can eat and drink and live, so I’m there for him. He can do what he needs to do with the hens but not very well. But if another rooster messes with the hens, he’ll blow up and be very protective.”
Blair’s nursing skills have come into play more than once with her brood of chickens. She’s doctored chickens with heatstroke and hurt legs and administered antibiotics. Some have died, despite trying everything possible to save them.
“So, I guess I’m also a chicken vet now,” she said. “I had one chicken with heatstroke, and I sat with her for hours in my bathtub filled with cool water, feeding her watermelon juice and electrolytes from a syringe,” she said. “I had a chicken ICU there for a while. Hurt chickens need to be separated from the others because they’ll harm each other.” She saved the chicken, who is now clucking and pecking away with the others in her yard.
But despite the never-ending daily care and
work— often in triple-digit heat—Blair said it’s completely worth it. “They are my babies. My daughter has given all the roosters names,” she went on. “One rooster fooled me into thinking he was a hen. I named her Ava at first, and then later found out he was a rooster, but I couldn’t call him anything else. He is still Ava. Then, there’s Rufus, Robbie and my special needs rooster, Beau.”
There’s a sign over her chicken coop that says, “This Area is Monitored by a Crazy Chicken Lady.” She bought the sign herself.
“I’m fine with it. My friends laugh at me, but they are not surprised I would sit in the bathtub with a chicken,” she said. “I’m also an ER nurse. We’re all a little crazy!
“But for anyone else thinking about getting chickens, I’d say, it’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding,” she said.
“They are a lot of fun, and don’t be discouraged about the roosters. They’re fierce protectors. And always prepare for chicken math. You’ll definitely enjoy them, but you’ll always start out thinking you’ll have just a few. You won’t.”
“You don’t ever just buy one or two chickens. You can tell yourself that you will, but that will not happen. No one only has a couple of chickens.”
- Amanda Blair, Trauma Program Manager and Registered Nurse at UTMB Health League City Campus
