ELEVATING COMMUNITIES, TRANSFORMING CARE. Fall 2023

Dear friends,

Earlier this fall, I had the opportunity to drive up to Lake Tahoe to attend the annual conference of the California Ambulance Association (CAA). During the journey, I became engrossed in two podcasts, "Legacy of Speed" and "Reclaimed," each unraveling the intricate narratives behind iconic civil rights photos. "Legacy of Speed" chronicles the backstory of the image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists at the 1968 Olympics, while "Reclaimed" details the story of Mamie Till-Mobley and her courageous journey in publishing the photo of her murdered son Emmett, a pivotal moment that "changed the civil rights movement."

Upon arriving at Lake Tahoe, the resonance of these stories lingered as I engaged with the members of the CAA in discussions on racial equity in EMS.

Although I am not entirely sure how the stories I heard on my drive came to prepare me for the conference, I did sense an increased feeling of awe and humility about the enduring, intricate, and challenging nature of important journeys.

As we conclude another full and busy year at CARESTAR, our recent annual grantees gathering stands out as a highlight. Witnessing peers come together, connecting over our shared vision of equity in EMS, was truly inspiring. The Partner Summit injected renewed inspiration and energy into our collective efforts, serving as a catalyst for us to return to our respective offices with a strengthened resolve for our transformative journey ahead. I invite you to check out some of the photos from the event below to see the positivity and smiles for yourself. 

While we navigate the complexities and challenges of our work, let us draw inspiration from stories of resilience and determination.

On behalf of the entire board and staff here at CARESTAR, I extend our heartfelt thanks for your unwavering dedication and contributions throughout 2023 to helping us achieve our mission. Your partnership is invaluable.

Tanir Ami

CEO, CARESTAR Foundation

NEWS FROM CARESTAR

Our latest investments in bringing greater racial equity to emergency and prehospital care in California totaled $3.5 million. Grant recipients awarded in the past few months include:

Community Crisis Response Collaborative (CCRC) - Disrupting and transforming Del Norte County's crisis response system with the launch of a multi-disciplinary, multicultural mobile community response team.

Community Response Works - Supporting community crisis response teams through training for dispatchers and responders on request processing and de-escalation techniques.

Crisis Alternative Response of Eureka (CARE) - Transforming the local emergency response system by providing community-based, high-quality, low-barrier mental health and substance use crisis services in the community.

Hope & Heal Fund - Providing general operating support to educate Californians and first responders about gun violence restraining orders (GVRO) and to train community members in GIS-mapping as a policy advocacy tool.

Tri-County EMS Buprenorphine Collaborative - Jointly expanding their prehospital program in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties to offer and administer buprenorphine to eligible patients, linking them with Substance Abuse Navigators (SUNs) and hospital treatment programs for long-term follow-up.

San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) - Supporting the development of an EMS Data Equity Conference and community of learning, in partnership with San Jose State University (SJSU), to address data-related challenges in EMS, including inconsistencies in capturing data points, effective patient interviews, and cataloging information about EMS providers.

San Francisco Fire Youth Academy - Backing student stipends, classroom and staffing enhancements, and the expansion of Healing Circles providing group therapy and emotional support to students pursuing careers in Fire and Emergency Medical Services.

South LA CPR Initiative - Introducing an innovative community-based approach to improving cardiac arrest survival in Southern California by addressing barriers to bystander CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use in Compton and Gardena.

TabiMOMs - Supporting educational and community-building initiatives as the organization advocates for improvements in mental and behavioral health care, particularly for marginalized communities in Solano County.

UCLA Center for Prehospital Care - Funding the redesign of behavioral health educational curricula for EMS professionals to better equip them to respond to the increasing number of 911 behavioral and psychiatric calls.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the CARESTAR Foundation's new online Research Library.

This curated collection brings together a wealth of published research at the intersection of racial equity and emergency and prehospital care, within the past 10 years, looking at health and outcome disparities in a range of categories including EMS Access, Pre-Arrival Care, and EMS Workforce.

We hope you will explore the library today, and let us know what you think. Learn more

Photo credit: Brooke Anderson Photography

Black people are more likely to be physically restrained in emergency rooms, study finds

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, highlights how restraint use can both arise from, and further contribute to, racial bias against patients. According to the paper, a systematic review that performed a meta-analysis of six studies and looked at over 1.6 million patient encounters, restraints were used in ERs in less than 1% of clinical encounters. But Black patients were 31% more likely to be placed in restraints than white patients. STAT

Legacy of Speed

When two Black sprinters raised their fists in protest at the 1968 Olympic Games, it shook the world. More than 50 years later, the ripple effects of their activism are still felt. In this new series from Pushkin Industries, get to know the runners who took a stand, and the coaches and mentors who helped make them fast enough — and brave enough — to change the world. Hosted by Malcolm Gladwell. Pushkin

Reclaimed

Before the March on Washington, before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, before the Mothers of the Movement — there was Mamie Till-Mobley. Her son, Emmett, was only 14 years old when he was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. By sharing the haunting image of Emmett’s body, Mamie Till-Mobley sparked what would become the civil rights movement. Through first-person narratives from her family members — and her own words — Season 2 of Reclaimed explores who Mamie Till-Mobley was before the death of her son, and who she would ultimately become. ABC News