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Improve Rural Healthcare in Your State with CMS Funding

By Kathy Robinson posted 10-03-2025
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program. This $50 billion initiative aims to help states transform rural healthcare. A goal of the RHT program is to spark the growth of innovative care models to improve health outcomes, coordinate care and promote flexible care arrangements. Applications are due November 5, 2025. Read more at https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/360442 .
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Best Case/Worst Case Communication Tool for Trauma Intensive Care Units

By Kathy Robinson posted 10-01-2025
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Check out the new study posted in JAMA Surgery: BC/WC-ICU is a communication tool used daily on rounds that includes team discussion of major 24-hour events and of the best- and worst-case scenarios for recovery, which are annotated on a graphic aid. Clinicians use the graphic aid to discuss prognosis with patients and families. More at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2839140 .
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New OIG report on Ventilator Reimbursement

By Kathy Robinson posted 06-12-2025
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The HHS Office of the Inspector General has issued a new report - “Medicare Improperly Paid Hospitals an Estimated $79M for Enrollees Who Had Received Mechanical Ventilation.” This is based on 2023 data (typical time discrepancies for these types of federal reports.) In the report , the Office of the Inspector General found that hospitals didn’t fully comply with Medicare requirements for claims with certain Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups that required more than 96 consecutive hours of mechanical ventilation. This resulted in $79 million in improper payments. On your claims for mechanical ventilation, use the right procedure and diagnosis codes, ...
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CMS Considers Whole Blood Transfusions for Ambulance Services

By Kathy Robinson posted 07-21-2024
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the CY 2025 PFS proposed rule that announces proposed policy changes for Medicare payments under the PFS and other Medicare Part B payment policy issues including ambulance services. CMS is proposing to modify the definition of advanced life support level two (ALS2) at 42 CFR §414.605 by adding the administration of low titer O+ whole blood transfusion (WBT) to the list of ALS2 procedures. For patients in hemorrhagic shock, the use of WBT has demonstrated a survival benefit when compared to traditional hemorrhagic resuscitative therapy. Under this proposal, a ground ambulance transport that provides ...
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SAMHSA Rural EMS Grant Applications Process Webinar - January 24, 2024

By Sue Prentiss posted 01-12-2024
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​ SAMHSA Rural EMS Grants Application Process Webinar ​ To learn more click here . ​ When: Jan 24, 2024, 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: Rural EMS Program application process No Registration needed! Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1607538731?pwd=RFZkUllVMUV0c1dycWFrYW95cEM3dz09 Passcode: 408032 Or One tap mobile : +16468287666,,1607538731#,,,,*408032# US (New York) +15512851373,,1607538731#,,,,*408032# US (New Jersey) Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): +1 646 828 7666 US (New York) +1 ...
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ATS and TPC Leaders Attend ACS Medical Summit of Firearm Injury Prevention

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-21-2022
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Click here to read the press release released by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Dr. Glen Tinkoff, ATS President-Elect and Dr. Deborah Kuhls, Chair of the Trauma Prevention Coalition attended the in-person meeting in Chicago, IL. Sue Prentiss, Executive Director of the ATS attended virtually.
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EMS - Charting the Year in Review

By Sue Prentiss posted 12-27-2021
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Reprint from EMS1.com Data has long been my professional four-letter word. And in conducting a review of 2021 and a look forward into 2022, I looked to data from the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) to help tell the EMS story. As of this writing, NEMSIS data guru, Dr. Clay Mann, informed me that the system had collected 43,327,506 activation records from 12,782 agencies in 52 states and territories in 2021. Dr. Mann reported that in 2020, 43 million records were received and this year he expects to receive north of 46 million – a new record. If the year felt busy with less people – it was! Using the informative NEMSIS TAC weekly “EMS by the Numbers” ...
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Build Back Better and Injury Prevention

By Sue Prentiss posted 11-12-2021
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https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/581031-the-reconciliation-bill-is-a-much-needed-opportunity-to-invest-in Reprint from "The Hill" American policy, foreign and domestic, is mainly about interventions. Should troops be deployed to intervene in hot zones around the world? How should police intervene in neighborhoods to restore order? Should the government use its economic powers to intervene in the markets, to break up corporate giants, to make workers whole after they are harmed by market failures, to save Wall Street from times of egregious self-indulgence? No one is arguing problems should not be fixed when they emerge. But every fix is at least ...
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Protecting Your Loved Ones From Firearm Injuries

By Sue Prentiss posted 10-29-2021
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https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/10/23/trauma-injury-prevention-coordinator-protecting-your-loved-ones-firearm-injuries/6156999001/
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Halloween Safety - 2021

By Sue Prentiss posted 10-13-2021
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That time of year is here - Below is an article from the Mayo Clinic on Halloween Safety! https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/halloween-safety/art-20044976 Halloween safety: Tips for trick-or-treaters Make Halloween safety part of your holiday fun. Start with these practical Halloween safety tips. By Mayo Clinic Staff Children love Halloween because of the costumes and treats. But the holiday also brings serious safety risks. Kids are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween as they are other nights of the year. Burns and cuts also are common on Halloween, and then there are problems caused by candy. ...
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National Fire Prevention Week October 3-9, 2021

By Sue Prentiss posted 10-04-2021
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https://www.nfpa.org/Events/Events/Fire-Prevention-Week/About In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national time of fire safety recognition. This is the longest-running public health observance in our country. During Fire Prevention Week, events are held in communities throughout the country for children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. This year’s theme. “Learn the Sounds of Safety” brings a focus on the different types of safety alarms in the home, school and at work – listen in and learn the sounds for your own safety!
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Study Links Gun Violence to ED Visits for Mental Health

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-28-2021
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Repost https://www.healio.com/news/primary-care/20210927/study-links-gun-violence-to-pediatric-ed-visits-for-mental-health Study links gun violence to pediatric ED visits for mental health ADD TOPIC TO EMAIL ALERTS A study published in JAMA Pediatrics linked exposure to gun violence to a rise in pediatric ED visits for mental health issues, especially for children who witnessed such actions. Aditi Vasan, MD, MSHP , an instructor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said it is “important” to consider the secondary effects ...
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Preventing Gun Violence in Patients with Dementia

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-24-2021
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https://www.medpagetoday.com/geriatrics/dementia/94663 Repost from MedPage Ways to reduce the risk of violence from firearms by people with dementia were described during a webinar hosted earlier this week by the BulletPoints Project , an initiative that was authorized and funded by California's state legislature in collaboration with the University of California. Five million Americans, or 1.6% of the population, have Alzheimer's dementia or related dementias. This number is projected to double by 2060, according to BulletPoints. About one in three adults over age 65 own a gun, while another 12% live with a gun owner, said gun safety ...
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Falls Prevention Week - September 22, 2021

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-17-2021
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https://www.coastalbreezenews.com/news/fall-prevention-awareness-week/article_38197cd4-166d-11ec-96d5-3fa50223461d.html Reprint from Coastal Breeze The coronavirus pandemic has changed a lot of things. One thing that’s still the same? Falling is NOT a normal part of aging. Step Smart is committed to empowering all older adults in Southwest Florida to age well and stay falls free. They are partnering with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to mark Falls Prevention Awareness Week, September 20 through September 24, 2021. This is a perfect opportunity for older adults and caregivers in our hometown to learn how to prevent falls and take steps to reduce ...
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Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-16-2021
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https://www.nbc29.com/2021/09/15/sen-kaine-urging-passage-dr-lorna-breen-health-care-provider-protection-act/ Great article highlighting work at the federal level to support and protect the mental health challenges our healthcare workers are facing - Dr. Breen took her own life due to the stress and endless despair she felt due to COVID-19.
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Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Trauma Division Launches Partnership with U.S. Navy

By Sue Prentiss posted 09-15-2021
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https://www.thedp.com/article/2021/09/penn-presbyterian-medicine-us-navy-partnership Reprint from the " he Daily Pennsylvanian" Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Trauma Division launched a three-year partnership with the United States Navy to optimize trauma care for military clinicians. Representatives from Penn Medicine and the United States Navy signed an agreement on Sept. 9 to mark the beginning of the partnership, known as the Naval Strategic Health Alliance for Readiness and Performance. The 11 Navy team members with deployments around the globe will promote new approaches to civilian and military health care. "This partnership will work ...
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