Coming on-the-scene to help people who are sick, injured, or both has always been a tough – but rewarding – calling. Over the last two years, that job has become more challenging for many Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers as they worked tirelessly to help people with COVID-19 while still providing pre-hospital care in response to a host of other medical emergencies.
Every day, EMS providers demonstrate how they are essential to our nation’s health care systems through the lifesaving work they provide in our communities. They ensure patients receive high-quality, compassionate, and lifesaving care. They help people who are sick, injured, or both by taking care of them before they even get to the hospital. In many cases, EMS providers are the first health care providers that a patient encounters, setting the tone for that patient’s care.
These frontline providers show up every day despite personal risk and hardship. The extraordinary environment in which they’ve operated during the past two plus years and their willingness to take on new roles – including supporting COVID-19 testing, treatment, as well as vaccinations sites – showcases their skill, resilience, and dedication.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, EMS professionals from the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) have taken on double duty, serving in their own communities and deploying to some of the hardest-hit places in the country to provide COVID-19 care. Responding to COVID-19 has not been their only mission – far from it. NDMS’s EMS professionals have also supported response operations to help communities respond to natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, and floods. These responders make a real difference in the communities they serve, and I want to extend a special thanks to our NDMS team.
However, “being there” for patients and their loved ones during medical emergencies can be inherently stressful. EMS practitioners often work under difficult, unpredictable and rapidly changing circumstances. Understanding that you operate in a stressful environment, I encourage all EMS providers to take a moment to think about the ways that you are caring for yourselves – and places where you might be able to take a little bit better care of yourself. Burnout, stress, and compassion fatigue have hit a lot of EMS responders hard. For some ideas on coping, I recommend you check out the ASPR TRACIE self-care modules and take some time to put what you learned into action.
Thank you to every EMS provider across the country who is continuing to serve the people in your communities when they need your help the most. I encourage everyone to pause and join me in recognizing how our nation’s EMS providers have risen to the challenge time and time again, and who continue to provide outstanding service in their communities.
