Category: Uncategorized

2023 National EMS Week Recap
Author: Lauren Cantley This year, we celebrated the 49th anniversary of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. EMS Week was originally authorized by President Gerald Ford on November 4, 1974, for the week of November 3rd–10th. Starting in 1992, EMS Week moved to the third week of May. This week of …

The Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule Increased, But Will It Help?
Author: Kyrstyn Paulat On October 14, 2022, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Transmittal 11642 (Change Request 12948), which announced the Medicare Ambulance Inflation Factor (AIF) for the calendar year 2023. The AIF is calculated by measuring the increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers …

The Growing EMS Retention and Recruitment Gap
Author: Lauren Cantley When thinking of what EMTs or paramedics do for a living and knowing their national average salaries are $36,000 and $46,000 per year respectively, it comes as no surprise that income was the leading factor for EMS agency turnover in 2022 . In the article “Flattening the Turnover …

How to Honor First Responder Heroes During the Season of Giving
The holidays are a time of giving and that means not only giving a gift but giving back to the community. Public Consulting Group (PCG) is passionate about making a difference across the public sector and is committed to helping those in the Fire and Emergency Medical Service’s (EMS) community …

Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection…From Collection to Submission
PCG is proud to offer the ambulance community with support services for the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection survey. Thank you to all of those who were able to attend the webinar event live on December 13th. We feel that the information presented in the webinar was well received and …

Crash Responders Safety Week
First responders are the first to arrive and provide aid when there is an emergency. These highly trained individuals put themselves at risk every day to support the public during a disaster, medical emergency, or accident and every year first responders are killed while working to save lives during a …

Are we communicating better after 9/11?
Originally Posted on EMS1 on September 8th, 2022. Author: Tim Nowak Starting out in my fire and EMS career – shortly after the events of 9/11 – I was able to see the increase in federal funding geared toward unified command and incident management training, interoperability and radio communications, and specialty …

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 …

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 …

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 …