Category: All Posts

James O. Page EMS Achievement Award
A few months ago, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) held the annual Fire-Rescue Med conference. Public Consulting Group (PCG) was honored to sponsor the James O. Page EMS Achievement award which was presented at the event to an exceptional leader and individual who has made an impact in …

American Rescue Plan Act Funding Progress Updates
Originally Posted on PCG’s Health Policy News on July 28, 2022. Author: Margot Thistle Last summer, Health Policy News provided coverage of early planning at the state level to implement Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) related to Home and Community Based Services (HCBS). Section 9817 and …

Increased Competition Requires a Change in Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Originally posted on http://www.ems1.com August 16, 2022 Author: Brent Crawford, MPA, NRP Since the first COVID-19 infection showed up in the U.S. on January 20, 2020, EMS and healthcare workers as a whole have been putting up the good fight against this disease. While there were full weeks and months it felt …

Staffing Concerns – Agencies Big and Small
Author: Tim Nowak Headlines across the country in fire departments and EMS agencies big and small are shouting challenges with staffing levels. Poll call: 82% of respondents have no available units on a daily or weekly basis | EMS1 Who will be left to respond? | FireRescue1 Staffing Forcing SC …

National Opioid Settlement Funding Available to Public Safety Personnel
A substantial amount of funding is available to help public safety personnel combat the national opioid epidemic. The national settlement amounting to $26 billion will be distributed through local and state leadership. While this will not be the only opioid settlement funding available for public safety personnel, it offers a …

Explaining the Asterisk Behind Your 2020* Data
Author: Tim Nowak 2020* will forever have an asterisk behind it in terms of data management – including call volume trending, operations-finance relationships, overtime expenditures, sick time usage, disposable supply increases, (lack of) revenue generation, and just about EVERYTHING fire & EMS related. As fire & EMS chiefs, we …

Where Did We Go During the Pandemic? Using Community Mobility Data to Track Behavior During the PHE
Originally Posted on PCG’s Health Policy News on April 19, 2022. Author: Jessica Lang Recently PCG’s Health Innovation, Policy, and Information Technology team has been trying to make sense of trends in claims data during 2020-2021 in Utah, where we are conducting an independent evaluation of a Medicaid demonstration. In …

Thank you, Fire and EMS Leaders!
We appreciate all of the ways you make a difference! Living this year’s National EMS Week theme through your work every day, thank you for always “Rising to the Challenge.” With over 70 years of combined Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) field experience, our team at Public Consulting Group …

Post-pandemonium COVID-19 Pandemic Analysis
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, states across the country hustled to implement public health strategies to combat the spread of the virus with limited resources. In the aftermath of the pandemonium, our subject matter experts at PCG worked with departments, cities, towns, etc. to compile after action reports that contain …

What being “essential” means
Author: Tim Nowak Being essential is not a golden ticket. It’s also not a silver bullet. At best, it’s an unfunded mandate, but that’s the start that many EMS agencies need in order to begin getting the recognition and funding they deserve. Being classified as an “essential service” through …