GRANTEE HIGHLIGHTS
We are committed to partnering with our grantees to enable strong and meaningful work that transforms and enhances the field of emergency and prehospital care. To that end, we award unrestricted, multi-year grants as much as possible.
We primarily support local community organizations and/or collaboratives engaging residents who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color, whose voices add much-needed perspectives to the conversations and decisions that shape emergency and prehospital care response and delivery.
THE CALIFORNIA PAN-ETHNIC HEALTH NETWORK
The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) is a statewide multicultural health advocacy organization. Co-funded with the California Health Care Foundation, this grant supports a statewide analysis of community needs and experiences, and local and state spending on law enforcement, public health, and mental health services. These components will provide local advocates and decision-makers the information necessary to develop community-driven, data-informed policy recommendations for reimagining first response and workforce reforms.
EMS CORPS
EMS Corps is a highly selective, rigorous training academy that recruits young men and women of color between the ages of 18 and 26, specifically from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, and trains them to be skilled EMS professionals, using a unique combination of technical training, life skills coaching, case management and mentoring all while providing a monthly living stipend to participants. After graduation, alumni continue to receive education and professional development support. Since its launch in 2011, EMS Corps has successfully graduated 279 students many of whom have become firefighters, paramedics, nurses, doctors, police officers, x-ray technicians, community health workers, and researchers with the Alameda County Health Systems.
LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Loma Linda University Health Department of Emergency Medicine is working as a collaborative with Riverside County Emergency Management Systems Agency (REMSA), and Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA) (Riverside and San Bernardino counties) to create a comprehensive, community-centered program to provide emergent and sustained opioid treatment and service to individuals at risk for overdose in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Emergency Management Strategies to Decrease Opioid Deaths (EMSDOD) project will incorporate community voices in the design and implementation of the project to address racial inequities in treatment for addiction and help EMS providers better understand the local and cultural needs related to emergency services’ response to drug overdoses.
NATIONAL INDIAN JUSTICE CENTER
National Indian Justice Center is an Indian-owned and operated non-profit corporation designing and delivering legal education, research, and technical assistance programs to improve the quality of life for Native communities and the administration of justice in Indian country. The grant brings together a network of key partners from tribal health organizations, local emergency services, tribal youth programs, and the Santa Rosa Junior College to share experiences, discuss challenges, and build trust toward improved local emergency and prehospital care. The project will result in a comprehensive plan for a Climate Ready Tribal Community Health Representatives (TCHR) training program in Sonoma County that will liaise with the Coastal Valleys Emergency Medical Services Agency (CVEMSA) and the local hospital.
NUESTRA COMUNIDAD
Nuestra Comunidad is a local organization dedicated to building more resilient communities through community-focused disaster preparedness, 911 awareness, health and wellness, mental health, and youth leadership. The grant supports Project Lifeline, an initiative focused on creating systemic change in the Sonoma County 911 system to better serve all community members including immigrants, low-income residents, and people of color. Project Lifeline includes collaborating with local EMS responders to address the barriers that prevent residents from engaging with the 911 system, and inform and support underrepresented community members in navigating and engaging the system promptly and effectively during an emergency. With its focus on building long-term trust and mutual respect between the community and EMS providers, a mentorship program for high school-aged students to support first responders in developing Spanish language skills will also be integrated into the project.
JANET COFFMAN, MA, MPP, PH.D. AT THE HEALTHFORCE CENTER AT UCSF
Janet Coffman, MA, MPP, Ph.D. at the Healthforce Center at UCSF is overseeing a research project with a grant to develop a comprehensive summary of the supply, distribution, and demographic characteristics of the emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic workforce in California, specifically documenting race/ethnicity, languages spoken, and career trajectories. The project includes an assessment of the scale and scope of EMTs and paramedics from underrepresented backgrounds leaving these professions.
NICOLAUS GLOMB, MD, MPH AT UCSF
Nicolaus Glomb, MD, MPH at UCSF was awarded a research grant to understand the prehospital presentation of pediatric behavioral health emergencies (BHEs); measure factors that may influence the decisions of EMS personnel and police officers to utilize restraints; and, systematically assess implicit bias and its role in these decisions. There is a growing body of evidence documenting racial disparities in the treatment of adult BHEs, especially related to the use of physical and chemical restraints, placing some patients at risk for differential treatment. There is a need to determine if similar disparities exist in the pediatric behavioral health population and what role such disparities play in the delivery of equitable and safe care for children.