P. Daniel Patterson, PhD, MPH, EMT-B

Phone: 412.647.3183
Fax: 412.647.6999
Email: pattersond@upmc.edu

Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
230 McKee Place, Suite 500
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Completed Projects - (1)

Turnover Costs in Rural Emergency Medical Services
Costs associated with providing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) transportation in rural areas are much higher than in urban communities. This study will measure the annual rate of turnover among rural EMS systems, identify costs associated with turnover, and create a budgeting tool for calculating the costs of turnover.
Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Transportation, Workforce

Challenges for Rural Emergency Medical Services: Medical Oversight
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 05/2008
This findings brief examines the challenges faced by local rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in obtaining medical directors and ensuring medical oversight for EMS personnel and also describes how the challenges faced in rural areas differ from those in urban ones.
Issues in Staffing Emergency Medical Services: A National Survey of Local Rural and Urban EMS Directors
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 05/2008
This report explores rural-urban differences in medical oversight and the recruitment and retention of emergency medical technicians and paramedics as reported by a survey of 1,425 local emergency medical services directors.
Rural-Urban Differences in Characteristics of Local EMS Agencies
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 05/2008
This findings brief describes the general characteristics of local rural emergency medical services agencies and important ways they differ from agencies in urban areas.

Becoming an Emergency Medical Technician: Urban-Rural Differences in Motivation and Job Satisfaction
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 03/2007
This study uses cross-sectional data from the 2003 national Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Attributes and Demographic Study Project to explore urban-rural differences in why emergency medical technicians enter the field, what is important in their jobs, and whether they are satisfied with their profession.

Expected Annual Emergency Miles per Ambulance: An Indicator for Measuring Availability of Emergency Medical Services Resources
Journal Article
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 04/2006
Proposes a county-level indicator of emergency medical services (EMS) resource availability that takes into consideration existing EMS resources, population health and demographics, and geographic factors. The indicator, the expected annual emergency miles per ambulance, provides a basis for comparing ambulance availability across counties.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Activities Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 02/2006
This paper describes the emergency medical services-related activities that the 45 states receiving funding from the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program proposed to conduct in fiscal year 2004-05.
Emergency Medical Services and the Federal Government's Evolving Role: What Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services Advocates Should Know
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 2006
Examines the debate around recent recommendations for an expanded federal role in supporting Emergency Medical Services (EMS). If federal expansion were to occur, the author recommends that responsibility for EMS be placed in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trends in Uninsurance Among Rural Minority Children
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 10/2005
Using 21 years of data from the National Health Interview Survey to explore trends in health insurance and health services utilization for children between 1980 and 2001, the authors found that rural children have been consistently less likely to have insurance than urban children, and minority status adds to the disparity.
Recruitment and Retention of EMTs: A Qualitative Study
Journal Article
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 2005
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are critical to out-of-hospital care, but maintaining staff can be difficult. The study objective was to identify factors that contribute to recruitment and retention of EMTs and paramedics.

Investigating Rural EMS Infrastructure: A Developmental Methodology for Measuring the Availability of EMS Resources
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 08/2004
This report explores a potential indicator of emergency medical services availability, the Expected Annual Emergency Miles per Ambulance (EXAMB). The EXAMB measure calculates expected annual emergency miles per ambulance beginning with the number of ambulances, the land area of a county as a proxy for distance, and county population.

Prevalence of Health Related Behavioral Risk Factors Among Non-Metro Minority Adults
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 08/2003
Data is shared on tobacco use, seat belt use, and alcohol consumption among rural minority adults. It includes recommendations and detailed data tables.

Hypertension, Diabetes, Cholesterol, Weight, and Weight Control Activities Among Non-Metro Minority Adults
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Date: 12/2002
This report uses data from the 1998 National Health Interview Survey to examine the prevalence of selected problems among rural populations, with an emphasis on rural minorities.