{"id":1145,"date":"2023-02-16T07:18:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T14:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.julota.com\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2023-02-27T23:46:31","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T06:46:31","slug":"overcoming-economic-hardships-steps-for-community-paramedicine-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.julota.com\/news\/overcoming-economic-hardships-steps-for-community-paramedicine-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"EMS and Community Paramedicine Programs: The Steps to Overcome Economic Hardships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Economic difficulties come in waves, hitting some businesses harder than others. For several years, EMS and mobile integrated healthcare-community paramedicine (MIH-CP) have dealt with their fair share of trials. There have been crippling EMS labor shortages<\/a>, rising fuel costs, and supply deficits. So what should community paramedic programs do to weather these storms? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a boat is rolling in the waves with no oars, it wouldn\u2019t be reasonable for anyone to predict they know where the boat is headed. Sometimes, during tough times, we have to be ready for anything. However, despite turmoil and unpredictability, there are ways to protect your community paramedic program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, we acknowledge the current struggle of EMS and community paramedicine and discuss some commonsense steps to protect your service during these difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Steps to Protect a EMS and Community Paramedicine Program During Tough Times <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When hard times come, it’s easy to become flustered. However, making decisions from a place of fear and worry instead of well-reasoned thought is dangerous. Use this guide as a framework to make good decisions for your MIH-CP paramedic program during hard times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many EMS programs might attempt to cut off their MIH-CP program at the first sign of danger. This isn’t necessary. There are ways to maintain a community paramedic program during hard times or keep your head above water long enough to get by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are ways to protect a community paramedic program during hard times: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Perform a self-assessment<\/strong>. Look for any weak points or issues that are festering in your program.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Make common sense rollbacks.<\/strong> Don’t impulsively hack salaries or cut employees – start with other logical rollbacks first. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Keep going<\/strong>. This sounds cliche, but there’s much truth to it. Stay calm and keep pushing and fighting. Panic causes paralysis. When programs don’t allow fear to paralyze them, they have an advantage. And knowing the difference between patience and complacency is essential. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s look at these in more depth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    MIH-CP Self-Assessment <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Times of economic hardship will prove which areas of your program are strong and which areas need improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, it\u2019s easy to believe a house is strong under sunny skies, but when the rain comes, will the roof leak? Will the basement flood? During these hard times, a structure\u2019s true integrity is made known. The same is true for community paramedicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The key is to shore up your home before<\/em> the rain. You must know the weak areas of your program before you can make it strong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When inspecting your EMS community paramedic service, here are three things to look for: <\/p>\n\n\n\n