SALT LAKE CITY—The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) is pleased to announce that Brett Patterson, IAED Chair of the Medical Council of Standards and Academics & Standards Associate, received the Journal of Emergency Medical Services’ EMS10: Innovators in EMS Award Feb. 22 at JEMS annual EMS Today Conference & Exposition, held this year for the first time in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The JEMS accolade recognizes 10 recipients who demonstrate their innovation in moving the level of EMS care forward during 2016.
“Brett becomes one of an elite group of people with only 10 being selected each year for this prestigious award,” said A.J. Heightman, JEMS Editor-in-Chief. “It's not only a prestigious award but it also gives a window into the world of EMS. And because of his work and the other nine selectees’ contributions, we're able to progress and move EMS to the next level. Being an innovator means developing ways that are more efficient and better for patient care, and Brett exemplifies that.”
Patterson directed the Academy’s construction and debut of the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) version 13.0 with which he was personally involved in
reviewing of all Proposals for Change (PFCs), directing protocol research, and leading the Council through months of evaluation and protocol development. His numerous Academy roles include protocol standards and evolution, cultural and language development, research, curriculum, training, and quality improvement. A member of the IAED College of Fellows and Rules Committee, Patterson became a paramedic in 1981 and began his EMS communications career in 1987. Prior to joining the Academy, Patterson served for 10 years as an EMS professional for Pinellas County, Florida, USA.
“The recent scientific realization that basic life support quality is perhaps the most important link in the sudden cardiac arrest chain of survival has put a spotlight on the critical role dispatchers play in resuscitation,” Patterson said. “I have been honored to play a small part in helping dispatchers to understand and appreciate this role by helping to evolve the clinical standard of dispatch care via protocol.”
The IAED is the world’s foremost standard-setting, certification-granting organization for emergency communications with over 62,000 members in 45 countries. More than 3,000 communication centers in 21 languages and dialects employ IAED’s protocols and training in medical, fire, police, and emergency nurse triage dispatching. Of those, nearly 200 comm. centers have become Accredited Centers of Excellence (ACEs).
