On January 17, 2018 representatives from the California Paramedic Foundation attended the EMS Agenda 2050 event in Los Angeles, California, an important gathering of EMS-focused professionals & participants that are shaping the agenda for the future of EMS. The EMS2050 project is incredibly important to its many federal sponsors including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Homeland Security and the Department of Health.  The goal of this large undertaking is to create a united vision for the next thirty years of EMS system advancement.  The mandate given to participants was “dream big and think deep” on ideas that are fundamental to facilitating change to the next generation of prehospital delivery of care.

EMS 2050 has proven to be a very successful forum in productively bringing together a wide variety of clinicians, administrators, educators, providers and community members on an even playing field. Participants of the recent Los Angeles event enjoyed expressing their views with an equally-valued voice.  Creativity was free to flow in the venue allowing the removal of often hindering boundaries due to the politics, economics or liability issues that tend to pervade our current systems.  The discussion centered on a primary driver for newly-envisioned systems through the simple yet profound idea of “people-centered” processes & practices.  “Patients” are not the only “people” to be considered in our practice of paramedicine.  A broader circle of engagement is proposed that includes family members, community members and practitioners.  Six essential characteristics form the structural framework supporting this “people-centered” principle. Paramedicine for the future intends to be:

• Safe & Effective
• Reliable & Prepared
• Sustainable & Efficient
• Integrated & Seamless
• Socially Equitable
• Adaptable & Innovative

Our CPF representatives, alongside other practicing paramedics, shared our unique, impactful perspectives from the field and received invaluable input from other stakeholders.  Together, all attendees made meaningful contributions in this very important process.  The insights and ideas will be compiled by the RedFlash group, host of the EMS Agenda 2050 event, and will be carried forward to several more gatherings in 2018 planned across the United States.  Ultimately, the consesus gathered will be distilled into solid practices helping drive the future of Paramedicine.

The fundamental vision of the CPF is to foster opportunities for paramedics to be active and integral in the process of advancing our industry– Paramedicine.  We believe that the paramedics who engaged in the latest EMS2050 event along-side medical directors, nurses, fire chiefs and others is a great example of turning that vision in to action.  We look forward to the exciting next steps that EMS2050 will take as it  enhances patient care and our profession. 

 Check out their plans and share your ideas at emsagenda2050.org.