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From the President:
Happy Holidays! Hoping that everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving and is beginning to untangle their Christmas lights. Just a reminder (probably just for the guys), there are only 25 days left to get your Christmas shopping done. Good luck!
During this season of busyness there are a lot of statewide events happening at the ND EMS Association. ND's Senators and Representatives will be heading back to Bismarck to begin a new session. We will be working with our legislators to address a variety of EMS needs. Our EMS Day at the Capital will be on Tuesday January 31st. EMS Providers will gather at the capital in Bismarck to meet with state leaders. Please take a moment to contact your state representatives, county commissioners, and city leaders to share your story and remind them of the importance of EMS here in North Dakota. It is vitally important that they are aware of the issues affecting your service and members. Contact information for your state leaders can be found on the NDEMSA website at http://ndemsa.org.
The North Dakota EMS Association also wants to recognize the best from across our state. The Stars of Life awards will be presented in Bismarck on January 31, 2017. Please consider nominating a member or members from your organization who epitomize the positive mission of EMS. Good candidates for the Stars of Life are individuals who show a strong commitment and enthusiasm for EMS in North Dakota and genuinely embody the spirit of our industry. It is also an opportunity to educate the public and our legislators of the role EMS plays in providing first-class healthcare. Candidates can be Paramedics, EMTs, First Responders, Drivers, Dispatchers, Rescue Personnel and other operations personnel who continually go above and beyond the call of duty. Nominations need to be submitted before January 4, 2017. Do not miss your chance to create a Star! You will not have this opportunity again until 2019!
NDEMSA is also looking for individuals interested in helping addressing statewide EMS issues as an association Director or Officer. Currently, we are seeking nominations for a Secretary / Treasurer who will be elected to fill an open term on January 31st. A Vice-President and regional Directors will be elected by association members via on-line election in the spring. Information on all of the open positions and nominations can be found here or by calling the office at 701-221-0567.
Here in North Dakota we are fortunate to have a tremendous number of examples of outstanding service to others where individuals step-forward to help their neighbor. When we see that it is important to say Thank You. I want to extend my appreciation to Jim DeMell. Jim has served the North Dakota EMS Association as a Regional Adviser. He will be retiring from that position soon. Jim DeMell has truly embodied the philosophy of In Service to Others. We will strive to continue the good work being done by your EMS Association into the new year and beyond. Thank you Jim!
As temps become colder and the snow begins to fly we wish you and your family a very safe and Merry Christmas. Thank you for everything you do for your community and beyond!
The Final Lap
On November 30th, 2016 I will be crossing the finishing line with NDEMS Association as Regional Director. It has been for me a longer than expected race, a challenging race with numerous hurdles, more stumbles and falls than I care to remember. However, I have learned how to avoid some of those obstacles. The best part of this race has been meeting so many other EMS runners, all running their own race and facing their own challenges and hurdles, both in EMS and in their personal lives.
The most successful ambulance services I have seen in North Dakota are those with positive leaders, leaders who are personable, leaders who have high standards, leaders who value their members, and leaders who set obtainable goals.
The biggest key of these successful leaders is one who is constantly learning, leaning forward, so to speak, by using new techniques, new systems and adding new tools for their toolbox, by taking advantage of affordable training from organizations like our own NDEMSA and ND Department of Health, EMS Division, and SafeTech Solutions. These same leaders also join and support an organizational system that is bigger than themselves, and able to reach into governmental avenues to find and provide funding and grants to enhance their own long term presence in their own communities.
I am reminded of the Apostle Paul who wrote in 62 AD about a church having three issues that effected their lives; Discouragement, Disunity and Disloyalty. In the past years I have observed these same three things can affect rural and urban ambulance services, our association, or any governmental organization and even our own families.
Discouragement can come from only a few members doing the majority of the work. Some members are not invited to participate, and yet, others choose to let the few members do the majority of the work.
Disunity can come when member’s suggestions and their input have no value. It comes when leaders attend seminars and do not share information learned, when leaders do not have regular training sessions or fail to conduct regular meetings. This discourages participation.
Disloyalty can come from lack of leadership, internal conflicts, unresolved issues, favoritism, and members not supporting leadership or leadership not supporting their own staff.
The good news is that leaders who recognize any signs of Discouragement, Disunity and Disloyalty and are willing to change and humble themselves can jump this hurdle. It is almost never too late to learn. A true leader knows how to leave a legacy by teaching “Transition”. One of my favorite sayings (too many a service leader) has been, “People will support that which they help to create”.
As I finish this particular race in my life, I look around at all the people across North Dakota in the field of EMS who are still running their race and performing outstanding care in their communities, developing their QRU’s and ambulance services I want to yell at them as they pass me by, “keep running, don’t look back. If you stumble (So what? Everyone does!), get up, get up again and keep running”.
I would like to especially thank those who made this race worthwhile, first and foremost my wife, Jenny and our family, the NDEMS Association, President - Jim Restemayer, Past President - Curt Halmrast, Vice President - Pat Tracy, Admin. - Corrie Geurts, the entire Board of Directors, my Regional Advisors partners in crime Lynn Hartman and past - Mona Thompson, the Cavalier Ambulance Service Team, CAS/PC EMS Education Training Institute, the entire Department of Health – EMS Division, Tom Nehring, Kelli Sears and the SafeTech Solutions partners, John and Aarron.
Blessings - Run On;
Jim DeMell
NDEMSA-RA
From the Education Coordinator:
Greetings fellow EMS providers,
If you are reading this then you have survived the election, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Congratulations. Now let the Christmas Holiday spirit begin.
On Thursday November 10th, the planning committee for the annual EMS Rendezvous met in Bismarck to plan the annual State and pre-conference and select National speakers and topics. As of November 26th, all eight of the National speakers that were contacted and invited to be a part of the Rendezvous have accepted the invite. With most states now involved in the transition into the National Continued Competency Program (NCCP), national speakers are now incorporating more NCCP topics into their presentations. This, along with the abundance of highly qualified and experienced local presenters will make for a fun and educational Rendezvous conference in April.
Phase II education materials is about ready to be distributed to the instructors. Once the instructors have the material they will be contacting the ambulance services to schedule a training date. Phase II topics and agenda will be Sepsis, High Quality CPR and documentation. This 2-hour course will be an enlightening, educational and fun experience.
The NDEMSA is considering offering an online Statewide EMR class this winter. Service Leaders/Training Officers, I will be sending out information and a questionnaire via email about this course. Hopefully there is enough interest to pursue this adventure.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the upcoming winter Regional conferences, the Rendezvous in April and the Management conference in June.
Until next time, have a very safe and happy Christmas Holiday season.
Randal Severson
NDEMSA Education Coordinator
NDEMSA
rseverson@ndemsa.org
Silent Auction Items needed
The annual EMS Rendezvous is still several months away but we are already working on the silent auction. This year the money raised will help pay for the 3rd Annual Managers Conference that will benefit EMS personnel across our state.
We are looking for ambulance services or individuals willing to donate items for the auction. We are hoping that services will put together a “Theme Basket” that is filled with items donated from their community.
If you are interested in donating you can contact:
Jeri Warrenburg
701-208-1186 or 701-694-6204
emtpjeri@gmail.com
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NDEMSA 
