In an effort to keep other healthcare providers updated on the local response efforts of those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Heart Association released a follow-up “Insights from the Front Lines” podcast featuring Dr. Thomas Rea, Medical Program Director for King County EMS, and Dr. Michael Sayre, Medical Director for the Seattle Fire Department and Program Director for the EMS Fellowship at the University of Washington.

Dr. Michael Sayre, Medical Director for the Seattle Fire Department and Program Director for the EMS Fellowship at the University of Washington shared how this team has “continued to build our policies and procedures to keep the workforce safe and try our best to avoid exposures when taking care of patients. However, one thing that’s starting to occur is our workers are getting exposed off duty or potentially on duty maybe to some of their co-workers. So there’s these other means of spread that could impact our workforce and its ability to serve that need. So that’s a challenge and I think we’re continuing to work through that and we’re expanding our first responder testing sites.”

Hear more of the update on the local response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic by Kings County/Seattle EMS and other healthcare providers as they discuss steps EMS and other healthcare providers can take now to prepare for increasing numbers of patients with COVID-19. Listen to the full podcast here.

Stay tuned to this page in the coming days for additional “Insights from the Front Lines.”