Albany Med EMS Outreach

12/30/2025

Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected two major EMS support measures, prompting providers to caution that funding limits and rising costs could worsen coverage gaps

12/30/2025

Broselow Pediatric Emergency Rainbow Tape Recall: AirLife Removes Certain Broselow Pediatric Emergency Rainbow Tapes due to Misprinted Information | FDA

Certain Broselow Pediatric Emergency Rainbow Tapes were manufactured with incorrect information on the tape.

12/26/2025

Pushing an "Amp of Bicarb" should no longer be standard practice.

A new systematic review and meta-analysis looked at 126,013 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients and asked a simple question: Does sodium bicarbonate improve outcomes when used during cardiac arrest?

The answer: not routinely.

Across 11 studies, there was no improvement in ROSC, survival to admission, survival to discharge, or neurological outcomes when sodium bicarbonate was given as part of standard resuscitation efforts.

That doesn’t mean it has no place in EMS. It remains appropriate for hyperkalemia, tricyclic antidepressant toxicity, or profound metabolic acidosis, but routine use for undifferentiated cardiac arrest isn’t supported by current evidence.

This study reinforces something critical in prehospital medicine:
🔍 If we want to improve survival, we need high-performance CPR, early defibrillation, airway and ventilation management, and timely access to definitive care. Medications alone are not the magic bullet.

Check out the study here:https://www.handtevy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Effectiveness-of-Sodium-Bicarbonate-Administration-in-Out-of-Hospital-Cardiac-Arrests-An-Updated-Systematic-Review-and-Meta-Analysis.pdf

With better reporting on timing, dosing, ETCO₂, and airway strategy, we may learn more about when sodium bicarbonate could help, but for routine use, the science isn’t there.
Evidence matters. Protocols should evolve with it. 💙

12/26/2025

Greene County is seeking 20 new paramedics - We'll even pay up to $14,500 to get you certified! Download an application today.

https://greenecountyny.gov/greene-county-paramedic-training-awards/

12/25/2025

We wish everyone, especially our team working to care for members of our communities this season, happy holidays.

12/23/2025

A wrongful death lawsuit claims Hayward police and Falck paramedics repeatedly failed during the restraint and chemical sedation of a suspect, intensifying scrutiny of use of midazolam

12/23/2025

12/22/2025

The 2025 NEMSQA Annual Report continues its focus on prehospital trauma quality, emphasizing the fundamentals of system development, patient safety, and integration with hospital-based trauma care. Two measures—Trauma-04 and Trauma-14—highlight critical aspects of EMS system performance: ensuring patients meeting ACS Field Triage criteria are transported to trauma centers, and activating trauma alerts prior to arrival. Together, these measures provide insight into how well EMS systems connect field care with hospital readiness.

Yet when hospital capabilities are examined directly, more than 70% of patients were in fact taken to Level 1–3 trauma centers. This discrepancy underscores a critical limitation: the measure’s reliance on eDisposition.23, which requires providers to manually select hospital capabilities. Documentation errors or inconsistencies in this field mean that Trauma-04 often reflects documentation behavior rather than actual transport outcomes. State-level data reinforce this gap.

Trauma-04: Right Patient, Right Hospital

https://www.nemsqa.org/assets/AnnualMeasureReports/2025%20NEMSQA%20Annual%20Measures%20Report-%20Measuring%20What%20Matters%20in%20Prehospital%20Trauma.pdf

12/20/2025

We would like to announce the newly appointed Medical Control Physician for the Ulster County EMS Council. Dr. Abraham “AJ” Halstein has been appointed to the position of Medical Control Physician for the council effective December 11,2025. Dr. Halstein will oversee all educational opportunities being offered by the EMS Council as well as assure all educational opportunities being offered will be medical control approved. Dr. Halstein will also be an alternate appointed to the Hudson Valley Regional EMS Council representing Ulster County effective in the February 2026 Meeting.

Dr. Halstein brings a wealth of knowledge to us. He was a previous EMT-I for Mobile Life Support Services before attending medical school and is also a life member of Town of Esopus Volunteer Ambulance Squad. Dr. Halstein has already taken on a few agencies as their medical director and he looks forward to working with the council.

Welcome to the Ulster County EMS Council Dr. Halstein and Thank you for what you have done so far!! 🚑👨🏼‍⚕️

12/20/2025

VETOED by the Governor

Removes expenditures for emergency medical services from the limit on real property tax levies by local governments.

12/20/2025

SIGNED by the Governor

Directs counties, in coordination with their regional emergency medical services councils, to develop and maintain comprehensive county emergency medical system plans that provide for coordinated emergency medical systems within such counties.