The hours of work completed in a day in the EMS industry can be long with seemingly endless shifts that can last up to 24 hours or more. Irregular sleeping patterns and sleep deprivation are common issues public safety professionals face on a day-to-day basis. With the help of Dr. Daniel Patterson, Associate Professor for Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, he is helping to change the narrative for all workers. Inspired by his family history of paramedicine, Dr. Patterson found his calling from passions stemming from his uncle who was a paramedic. His family ties to the public safety industry led him to focus on the health and safety for emergency workers. Dr. Patterson has been with the University of Pittsburgh since 2007 and is focused on improving the sleep health of EMS clinicians. In his research, Dr. Patterson strives to identify threats to different aspects of sleep

Recent 5.11 Tactical boot winners Charles and Heather have a story unlike anyone else. The realm of EMS can be harsh in dealing with the unforeseen circumstances and brutal realities of saving lives. Charles and Heather’s strong bond with each other help to advocate for mental health awareness in the field while having a love story to tell all. Determining boundaries of personal and professional lives can be difficult in the public safety sector. Charles and Heather both teach high school students close by in Norfolk, Virginia and work actively as EMS and EMT professionals in their field. As it seems true, opposites attract, even if one person is sure to not date someone in the same field. Heather says, “I adamantly did not want to date in rescue and fire. I wanted to keep my circle small because rescue is rescue and work is work.” Fortunately for the two,

Professions in the public safety realm are rigorous and tiring, and the unforeseen matters such as a person’s daily diet can greatly influence performance and outcomes according to a new study. Public safety professionals can not control the amount of calls in the daily field mines of spontaneity to the job, but they can control the awareness of a growing problem to the modern diet provided by a group of 7 seven individuals in the following order: Jamie Pospisil, Christine Gonzales, Carolyn Knowles, Thomas Krokoski, Robert McClintock, James Simmons and Christina Sockwell. According to a nationwide EMS Wellness Questionnaire sent out by the team-led study, 78% of the 457 participating applicants rated their dietary well- being at average or below with 84% revealing to consuming prepackaged or fast food on a regular basis. How does this diet affect the ability to give patients the best care possible? Knowledge is power,

Say Goodbye to Your Old Pair, #GiveThemTheBoot, and Have a Chance to Win a Pair of Brand New 5.11 Boots.                  Are you in desperate need of resuscitation for your feet? Bring your feet back to life by winning a pair of 5.11 boots. In celebration of its continued partnership with Savvik Buying Group, 5.11 Tactical is gifting the dedicated, non-stop-working public safety professionals new footwear to help them get through their shift. The chance to win is easy! Make sure to follow us on Facebook (@savvikgroup), Twitter (@SavvikBuyGroup) and Instagram (@savvikbuygroup), and show us your worst boots anytime between July 29th and August 12th.  Contestants should post a picture of the dirtiest, debilitated pair of boots, and tag us with the correct handle on each corresponding social platform listed above with the hashtag #GiveThemTheBoot. 10 winners will be announced one week after the August 12th cutoff date. We