# EMS at the edge: Inside a year of reckoning and redesign

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901/ems-at-the-edge-inside-a-year-of-reckoning-and-redesign
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901/ems-at-the-edge-inside-a-year-of-reckoning-and-redesign.md
Podcast: [EMS One-Stop](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901)
Published: 2025-12-26T17:22:42+00:00
Episode link: https://emsonestop.podbean.com/e/ems-at-the-edge-inside-a-year-of-reckoning-and-redesign/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/cy4z2qr2cqvbjkvp/Intel_2025_Final_1_8qeo3.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ems-one-stop-5691901/episodes/ems-at-the-edge-inside-a-year-of-reckoning-and-redesign
Duration seconds: 2161

## Resource

As EMS closes out 2025, host Rob Lawrence is joined by Matt Zavadsky (PWWAG) and Rodney Dyche (Patient Care EMS Solutions) for their second annual EMSIntel.org “year in review” conversation — a fast-moving tour through the biggest stories shaping the EMS profession. Drawing from the EMSIntel news log (now 3,849 stories as of the morning of recording), the trio connects what’s making headlines to what EMS leaders are experiencing on the ground: unstable economics, governance pressure, system redesign and rising operational risk. The discussion lands on several recurring themes: economic sustainability as the dominant issue; the real-world politics of tax levies and “essential service” designations; the ongoing obsession with response times (and what they cost); preventable ambulance thefts escalating in severity; and the importance of measuring and publishing clinical outcomes and meaningful performance metrics. The through-line: communities are being forced into more honest conversations about what they can afford — and what EMS should look like going into 2026. | SHARE YOUR STORY: A call for real stories from the EMS field, station and beyond Memorable quotes “Having a thoughtful conversation about what your system needs to look like on the go forward is paramount.” — Rodney Dyche “If you don’t talk about yourself, somebody else will, and then you don’t control the narrative.” — Rob Lawrence “Our No. 1 focus really needs to be on the economic sustainability of these systems because we are past the breaking point.” — Matt Zavadsky “Response times equals speed; speed equals crashes.” — Rob Lawrence “These theft incidents are … in almost all cases, 100% preventable by an aftermarket device … probably for 100 or $150.” — Rodney Dyche “Response times are expensive. The sho…

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## Transcript

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