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A strong and effective working relationship between emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and hospital emergency department staff is fundamental for delivering efficient and effective emergency medical care to critically ill or injured patients.

Seamless communication and collaboration between EMS specialists and hospital staff is pivotal for providing a continuity of high-quality emergency medical care to patients on the scene, en route to the hospital and in the emergency room, which results in improved clinical outcomes and significantly enhanced survival and overall recovery rates, according to the National Library of Medicine.

In 2023, the South Texas Health System Trauma & Critical Care Institute – the largest network of integrated trauma and critical care in the Rio Grande Valley – registered 231,112 emergency visits across its 10 facilities, including STHS McAllen’s Level I Trauma Center, STHS Edinburg and STHS Heart’s Level IV Trauma Centers, the dedicated pediatric emergency room at STHS Children’s and the system’s six freestanding emergency departments.

In many instances, patients arrived to STHS facilities by ambulance, with EMS providers working closely with ER staff to triage patients and transport them to the nearest STHS facility for the administration of life-saving treatments.

“Emergency care begins well before a patient arrives at one of our emergency rooms; it all starts on the scene with the important care our EMS partners deliver,” says Tony De Luna, RN, Emergency Department Director and Interim Trauma Department Director, STHS McAllen. “As the first to assess and triage patients, the care they provide is crucial to patient health and safety.”

EMS personnel must take part in continuing education and clinical development to make better informed choices, especially when quick decisions are required, to help improve patient outcomes and ultimately save lives. So, the STHS Trauma & Critical Care Institute, in partnership with the STHS Graduate Medical Education (GME) Consortium’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program and STHS McAllen’s Level I Trauma Center, has launched the STHS EMS Community Outreach Program, an initiative aimed at providing important education to emergency medical services members, including updates on best practices and the latest medical technology.

“It’s all about improving the care provided to our community,” says Michael Menowsky, MD, FACEP, an emergency medicine and critical care specialist with South Texas Health System and the Associate Program Director of the STHS GME Consortium’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program. “By providing the most up-to-date education on health conditions EMS personnel may encounter in the field, they’ll be able to help us improve the care we deliver to our community.”

Healthcare is an ever-evolving field, so the training provided through the STHS EMS Community Outreach Program will allow EMS providers to perform their duties with the confidence and commitment required to make the best decisions for patients in life-altering situations.

“Minutes can make all the difference in providing appropriate treatment and improving patient outcomes,” adds Dr. Menowsky, a former U.S. Air Force paramedic who worked as an EMT-paramedic at the Baltimore County Fire & EMS before pursuing his career in medicine. “This initiative will offer EMS providers the important education necessary to stay up to date on the latest medical knowledge, including how to recognize and treat cases that are rarer than others, and advancements in medical technology, which will allow them to treat their patients more effectively and efficiently.”

Since launching the STHS EMS Community Outreach Program, Dr. Menowsky has conducted continuing education for more than 150 local EMS providers, including members of Lone Star Ambulance Service, Med-Care EMS and the Mission Fire Department’s EMS team, as well as first responders with the Edinburg Fire Department. Recent topics have included management of thoracic trauma, emergent airway management and thermal injuries.

“The important education we’re providing doesn’t just feed the minds of our local EMS providers, it helps build trust in our healthcare system,” says Dr. Menowsky. “The emergency medical services personnel bringing patients to South Texas Health System’s emergency departments throughout the community can trust that we’ll take the best care of their patients, because as educators we’ve demonstrated our commitment to quality, compassionate care at the highest level through the knowledge we’ve shared with them.”