EMS One-Stop

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence speaks with Wesley Brookshear, critical care paramedic and FTO program supervisor with AMR in Knoxville, Tennessee, about a community-led effort that is changing how EMS responds to the city’s Mission District. What began as an attempt to understand unusually high 911 utilization has evolved into a multidisciplinary outreach program bringing EMS, public health, addiction services,...

Finding grant funding can feel overwhelming, particularly for smaller EMS and fire agencies where one person often wears multiple hats.

In this episode of the EMS One-Stop podcast, host Rob Lawrence is joined by Lexipol Grant Writer and Colorado Firefighter-Paramedic Anya Otterson to demystify the grant-writing process.

From identifying funding priorities and locating grant opportunities, to building a compelling case backed by dat...

Matt Zavadsky explains how a commercial insurer’s reimbursement proposal — and looming Medicaid changes — could reshape EMS funding

In this week’s episode of EMS One-Stop, we examine two major financial threats facing EMS reimbursement.

Host Rob Lawrence is joined by Matt Zavadsky to analyze the recent Elevance (Anthem) Health Public Policy Institute paper, which argues that commercial insurers should r...

The 2026 AIMHI Excellence in Public Information or Education Award recognizes organizations that create innovative programs which improve health, educate communities and demonstrate measurable outcomes. This year’s recipient, the Medic Keep the Beat Foundation, earned national recognition for a groundbreaking fall-prevention initiative that is helping older adults remain independent, reducing repeat 911 calls and prevent...

This week on the EMS One-Stop podcast, Rob Lawrence sits down with emergency management and large-scale exercise expert Mike Marsh to explore what really goes into preparing agencies, communities and public safety partners for major events.

With the FIFA World Cup underway, America 250 upon us, and countless local events happening every weekend, the conversation focuses on the practical realities of planning, exercising and pressur...

The countdown to Pinnacle is on. Returning this year to San Diego from July 13-16, Pinnacle remains one of the most influential leadership and management conferences in EMS. Now entering its 22nd year, the event continues to attract executives, clinical leaders, innovators, educators and industry partners who gather not simply to learn, but to debate, challenge assumptions and shape the future direction of EMS. EMS1 is proud to be ...

At a time when EMS reimbursement faces unprecedented scrutiny and pressure, Shawn Baird joins the EMS One-Stop podcast to explain what is happening in Washington, D.C., why it matters to every ambulance service in America and what EMS leaders can do about it.

| MORE: When the spreadsheet meets the siren: How CMS’s Proposed GEMT Rule could reshape EMS funding

A former Paramedic, ambulance service owner, CEO, American Ambulance...

What happens when the stars of the television series that introduced America to paramedicine decide it's time to tell the real story?

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence is joined by EMS pioneer Dr. Baxter Larmon and award-winning filmmaker Tom Putnam to discuss Into the Unknown: The Paramedics' Journey.

| MORE: ‘Emergency!’ stars launch Kickstarter campaign to expand reach of paramedic documentary, “Int...

In Episode 4 of the EMS One-Stop Blood on Board Series, host Rob Lawrence brings together two powerful perspectives on prehospital blood transfusion.

First, retired Army trauma nurse and national blood advocate Randi Schaefer discusses the work of the Prehospital Blood Transfusion Initiative Coalition and the ongoing effort to remove barriers to blood product availability across the United States.

Drawing on lessons learned from mi...

Texas is taking prehospital whole blood to scale. In this second installment of the Blood on Board series, the conversation moves from pioneering local programs to a statewide initiative backed by legislation, trauma system collaboration and a $10 million investment in EMS blood capability.

Host Rob Lawrence welcomes Dr. Jeff Jarvis, chief medical officer and system medical director, Fort Worth Office of the Medical Director; Dr. C...

The EMS One-Stop Blood on Board series moves to the federal level in Episode 3, exploring how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program is opening new funding pathways for prehospital blood programs.

Host Rob Lawrence is joined by three leaders directly involved in building regional blood capability through federal funding.

• Julie Stilley, PhD, is an EMS researcher at...

EMS systems can safely deliver blood in the field, and when they do, patients who would otherwise die are surviving

Whole blood in the field is no longer theoretical; it is operational, measurable and increasingly expected. In this EMS One-Stop episode, host Rob Lawrence brings together two of California’s leading medical directors — Drs. Clayton Kazan and Kevin Mackey — to compare and contrast their prehospital b...

In this special EMS One-Stop update, Rob Lawrence is joined by returning guest Dr. Alex Isakov to break down the rapidly developing Andes Hantavirus outbreak linked to the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius. What began as a handful of unexplained respiratory illnesses aboard a South Atlantic voyage has evolved into an internationally monitored infectious disease event involving multiple countries, quarantine operations, public healt...

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence sits down with Tanir Ami of the CARESTAR Foundation to explore a subject that is increasingly central to the future of EMS: equity, data and system design.

Born from the legacy of CalSTAR, CARESTAR has evolved into a philanthropic engine focused on improving EMS through research, convening and targeted investment.

Ami brings a 25-year background in community health, grounded in service ...

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence sits down with Kevin Hazzard to explore No One’s Coming, a gripping account of the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the extraordinary effort to rescue infected American aid workers from West Africa.

|WATCH NOW: FDNY’s future: AI, BWCs and pay parity with Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore 

What begins as a seemingly impossible mission evolved into a high-stakes, time-critical ...

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence sits down with Dr. Maria Koeppel to explore a topic that has long existed in the shadows of EMS culture — alcohol use among providers.

| MORE: First responders and alcohol – how much is too much?

Drawing on NIH and FEMA supported research, Koeppel outlines how EMS clinicians may be engaging in higher-risk drinking behaviors than the general population, with patterns influenc...

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence travels to New York City to sit down with Lillian Bonsignore, the 37th Commissioner of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). A 30-plus year veteran who rose through the ranks of EMS — from EMT in the South Bronx to Chief of EMS and now Commissioner — Bonsignore brings a ground-up understanding of the largest fire-EMS system in the United States.

She reflects on...

This week on EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence sits down with Sarah McEntee, executive director of the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), to unpack what accreditation really means for modern EMS systems.

Moving beyond the “sticker on the truck,” Sarah reframes CAAS as a living, breathing process — one that drives internal improvement, organizational alignment and long-term sustainability. From its ...

This edition of EMS One-Stop, recorded at the inaugural National EMS Management Association conference in Arlington, Virginia, pairs two complementary conversations about leadership and the future of EMS.

In the first half, General Robert Neller brings a military leader’s lens to universal leadership truths: lead yourself first, remember that everyone is watching, stay humble, listen better and understand that decisiveness m...