Follow the discussion about "Firestorm" on the GenMed Podcast

Natalie and Jeremiah welcome special guest Sam Bradley to the show, and talk about their experience in San Francisco at the FIRESTORM Movie premiere.


I've adopted two kids ... well, not really ... and they're really not kids. They have, however, deemed me the "EMS 2.0 Mom" so I guess that mean they're the "EMS 2.0" kids. For more what EMS 2.0 is, see the previous posts.

The "kids" in questions are Jeremiah (@jeremedic) and Natalie (@msparamedic). I met them both through the "Chronicles of EMS". Actually, Jer got into this after listening to an interview I did with Greg Friese on one of his many podcasts. Now he's a very active blogger, Twitterer and podcaster.

The two of them, with a few others, started a podcast called, "GenMed" which is geared toward the newer EMT/Paramedic. I. of course, represent the EMS dinosaurs. Maybe I should start the "DinoMed" Podcast. Either way, I love these two and what they're contributing to prehospital medicine. They asked me to be on one of thier first podcasts. The discussion revolved around the premiere of a very intense film called, "Firestorm", an frank look at issues within the Los Angeles EMS system. Having spend 17 years of my career there, it had particular interest for me.

From the site:

FIRESTORM follows The Los Angeles City Fire Department undereducated population. The LAFD handles all emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles, and currently 82% of the department's work is medical, rather than fire-related. Eleven hospitals have closed in just five years in LA, and the challenge of delivering more than 500 patients per day to a shrinking number of hospitals is overwhelming to the LAFD. With resources strained, and 911 being used for everything from heart attacks to stomach aches, LAFD paramedics have become virtual "doctors in a box".


Jeremiah has Worked in Los Angeles since 2006, and Sam for the first half of her career. They bring a local prospective to the discussion, contrasted by Natalie, and her experience in Louisiana.

Please take a listen and see what you think. This is the **real** state of EMS. From there you can follow Jer and Nat, thier websites and blogs, and #CoEMS. Find it here!

"A Seat at the Table" and Frumpydumple

"Frumpydumple" is just one of the things I took away from these last two days. The other was a reinforced confirmation that I will never, ever drive in downtown San Francisco again. It was a means to an end, however, and that was the "Chronicles of EMS" premiere at the Hotel Frank. On arrival, I went looking for it's creator, Ted Setla, (@Setla) and found him wound in wires, tape and last minute tech stuff. I was also looking for Chris Kaiser (@CKEMTP) who had tweeted me about a new idea he wanted to talk about. Going out the door to get a bite, I immediately recognized Natalie Q (@msparamedic) and Jeremiah Bush (@jeramedic). Even though I hadn't seen these two in the flesh, it felt like meeting my own kids! Jeremiah comes from LA County and said he started following this group after hearing my interview on EMSEducast with Greg Friese. That was a good feeling. Natalie is a sweetheart and doing amazing things for a 23 year old farm bred paramedic in Louisiana.

That started the parade of EMS bloggers, podcasters, writers and videographers, some of whom I had met and others who were new. As the video started, I stood next to my friend Theresa Farina from the San Francisco Paramedic Association and realized I was also standing next to AJ Heightman of JEMS magazine. We all watched in awe as England's Mark Glencorse (@medic999) experienced his first taste of San Francisco EMS with SF Firefighter-Paramedic Justin Schorr (@thehappymedic). When it was over, AJ turned and asked what I thought. I was almost speechless. It was sensitive, revealing, cathartic and ... real. Even better said by a tweet today: "@mduschl: Great job by #CoEMS guys. No heroic stories, no pseudo dramatic cases, just our real life in EMS. We need more of this!"

Dr Keith Wesley, another person I was honored to meet, got a group together for dinner and we found ourselves in a private wine room of a very upscale SF restaurant: Chris Kaiser, Chris Monterra (@Geekymedic) Dr. Keith, Greg Friese, (@gfriese), Natalie, Jeremiah, my friend Dr. Jim Brasiel, spouses and others. It was a wonderful relaxed meal and sharing with some of the best in EMS.

After breakfast this morning, a number of us carpooled across the bridge to Casa de Setla which was also the set for "A Seat at the Table", a new web series that recognizes that all EMS people should have 'a seat at the table' when it comes to making prehospital care better. At the head of the table was the laptop with all the people in the chat room who were listening and interacting with us.  Three sessions were filmed, all with our stars, Justin and Mark and a mix of Chris Kaiser, Natalie, Jim Brasiel and myself. It was excellent discourse on everything from the "Chronicles" to the effect of social media on EMS to where this may all go in the future. This was just the start of what could be a never ending series of subjects with EMSers from all over. Needless to say, I was proud to be asked to be part of it.

In the last two days, thoughts were shared, ideas hatched, alliances created, and a unique community gained strength. The excitement surges. This is no longer a group of people that knows each other only by what they can say in 140 characters at a time. They read each others blogs, listen to each other's podcasts, text and Skype. EMS as we know it is about to change, so hang on and go for the ride!

Oh ... frumpydumple? You'll have to ask Chris Kaiser. You can find him at "http://lifeunderthelights.com".