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EMSWORLD.com | JANUARY 2018 15 you might imagine, that turned out to be a heavy lift. It's one of the reasons the pro- cess has taken so long and why there have been so many versions of the document. One example was state medical direc- tors: A core group of participants felt state medical directors were a key component for advancing EMS, while others felt they actu- ally impeded innovation. Through significant dialogue we arrived at recommendations focused not on whether there should be state medical directors, but rather on what both parties could agree were the types of roles a good state medical director could play to promote innovation. Tell us about the format of the document. The document is organized into what the steering committee identified as seven themes: legal and regulatory; financial sustainability; education; regional coor- dination; interdisciplinary collaboration; medical direction and oversight; and data and telecommunications. Each section has a description of the challenge, followed by strategic approach to overcome the bar- riers. Each section then ends with a list of recommendations aimed at various levels for each strategy to be applied in a specific way: local agencies or authorities, state associations and authorities, or national associations. In all there are more than 250 recommendations. What are the next steps? The document was made publicly avail- able for comment for over a year and is now closed. The core team is finalizing the document for dissemination. We plan to roll it out at national conferences and through publications to serve as a platform for action. Then it's up to the EMS community to begin implementing the recommenda- tions. NAEMT's EMS 3.0 Committee has initiated a process of cataloging all the rec- ommendations and ranking them based on value, feasibility, and alignment. The com- mittee will then select the top 3–5 recom- mendations for each section and assist with implementing them. Any closing comments? This project has been a huge undertaking, and we'd like to thank all who have and continue to participate. Special thanks to West Health, the Greater New York Hospital Association, Kaiser Family Foundation, and many others who have been instrumental. We encourage everyone to access the document, become familiar with the rec- ommendations, and work to enact those most applicable to their circumstance. To download the current version of the document visit www.EMSInnovations.org. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Zavadsky, MS-HSA, NREMT, is chief strategic integration officer at MedStar Mobile Healthcare, the exclusive emergency and nonemergency EMS/MIH provider for Fort Worth and 14 other cities in North Texas. ColumbiaSouthern.edu | 877.347.6050 Columbia Southern University offers completely online degrees for EMS professionals interested in taking the next step in their career. CSU's coursework covers relevant topics within the emergency medical services industry including community relations, EMS communications, risk management, public safety and more. Learn more about our online EMSA degrees at ColumbiaSouthern.edu/EMSA. Accredited Online EMSA Degrees | Always Forward Gainful employment information available at ColumbiaSouthern.edu/Disclosure For More Information Circle 18 on Reader Service Card