Emergency Health Sciences faculty participate in summer EMS conferences

By Kate Hunger

Faculty from the Department of Emergency Health Sciences participated in several leading EMS conferences this summer.

Emergency Health Sciences Professor David Wampler, PhD, LP, FAEMS, participated in a panel that defended a paper on whole blood donation at Pinnacle, a national conference for EMS leaders held in Phoenix in August. Dr. Wampler and fellow panelists defended the paper titled “Prehospital whole blood reduces early mortality in patients with hemorrhagic shock.” The paper's co-authors include several faculty from the Department of Surgery in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, C.J. Winckler, MD, deputy medical director for the San Antonio Fire Department and associate clinical professor in the departments of Emergency Health Sciences and Emergency Medicine, the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC), Trauma Services at University Hospital and South Texas Blood & Tissue Center.

A roundtable discussion followed the presentation at the conference, which is intended to foster collaboration and open dialogue among attendees, sponsors and faculty.

Dr. Wampler also presented a paper at Pinnacle on therapeutic hypothermia titled, “Association of Initial Illness Severity and Outcomes After Cardiac Arrest With Targeted Temperature Management at 36 °C or 33 °C.” The paper described clinical trials in which researchers found that targeted temperature management (TTM) of patients between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius resulted in increased survival and functional recovery compared to non-regulated temperature in patients following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

The impact of the department’s research has gained attention, said EHS Department Chair and Professor Lance Villers, PhD, LP.

"EMS and emergency medicine providers around the country are recognizing that the research findings of EHS faculty are improving the outcomes for victims of cardiac arrest or traumatic injury. We are demonstrating the critical role EMS has in providing innovative care in out-of-hospital medicine,’ Dr. Villers said.

Earlier this summer, Dr. Wampler moderated a pair of plenary sessions and the research forum at the 2021 Regional Emergency Healthcare Systems Conference, which was held in San Antonio. Two other faculty in the Department of Emergency Health Sciences also participated as session panelists for the conference:

Dr. Winckler participated in the cardiac panel which discussed urban and rural EMS response to cardiac calls in COVID-19, medical directors’ view of field termination of cardiac arrest in COVID-19 and AMI with clean coronaries.

David Miramontes, MD, associate professor/clinical in the Department of Emergency Health Sciences and medical director for the San Antonio Fire Department, participated in the stroke panel, which discussed LVO/ICH stroke bypass, wide neck aneurysm treatment, and stroke thrombectomy devices and trials

Dr. Miramontes and Dr. Winckler also served as faculty and made multiple presentations at the Gathering of Eagles Conference, held in June in Hollywood, Florida. The Metropolitan Municipalities EMS Medical Directors Alliance, called the “Eagles Coalition,” is comprised of leading EMS medical directors for the 911 systems in most of the nations’ 60 to 70 largest cities and chief medical officers for federal agencies such as the FBI, Secret Service, White House Medical Unit and numerous international counterparts.