In this episode of the EMS One-Stop podcast, host Rob Lawrence sits down with returning guest Chief Robbie MacCue of Colonie EMS (New York) to explore the transformative potential of the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) federal grant program.

Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, SS4A aims to prevent roadway fatalities and enhance post-crash care. With $5 billion available nationwide and $900 million still on the table for FY25, this conversation is a call to action for EMS agencies across the country.

Chief MacCue shares the story of how his department, in collaboration with neighboring EMS and police agencies, secured $2.4 million in SS4A funding for a project focused on innovative vehicle alert systems, prehospital health information exchange and groundwork for whole blood deployment.

From demystifying the grant application to defining success metrics and compliance reporting, this episode breaks it all down — turning policy into practice, and complexity into impact.

Memorable quotes

• “I was pretty taken back by the statistic that 40% of these patients were alive when EMS arrived and later died. Those are patients that are talking to us that are no longer living after a crash.” — Robbie MacCue
• “This isn’t free money. It comes with reporting requirements, match funding and responsibility — but there’s help out there, and it’s absolutely worth it.” — Robbie MacCue
• “Our goal is to go upstream to the source of the problem. How do we stop the bleeding? How do we stop some of these accidents from actually happening?” — Robbie MacCue
• “We put a two-page narrative together that generated a $3,000,000 regional application … based on simple principles about statistics.” — Robbie MacCue
• “Post-crash care is definitely a missing element in the Safe System Approach … and EMS needs to be part of the solution, not just the response.” — Robbie MacCue
• “You don’t have to have all the solutions right away. You just have to have the initiative to get with other like-minded people.” — Robbie MacCue
• “This project isn’t just for crashes. It will also help us with high-utilizer patients and improve reimbursement accuracy by connecting data silos.” — Robbie MacCue
• “Somebody emailed me in the week to say that the EMS One-Stop podcast is the podcast that’s able to turn a very complex EMS topic into a car bumper sticker. So there you go. If we’re doing that and we can achieve that, then we’re getting somewhere.” — Rob Lawrence

Episode timeline* 00:00-02:00 – Intro to SS4A and the scale of available funding ($5B) * 02:00-04:00 – Why post-crash care matters: 42% of patients alive at EMS arrival die later * 04:00-07:00 – How Colonie EMS discovered and approached the SS4A opportunity * 07:00-10:00 – Building a regional grant application and tripling the funding * 10:00-13:30 – Overview of the proposed project – transponder tech, health information exchange and whole blood * 13:30-17:00 – Specific technology being explored and integration challenges * 17:00-20:00 – Working with MPOs, consultants and navigating acronyms * 20:00-25:00 – Finding the 20% match, leveraging in-kind contributions and funding timelines * 25:00-30:00 – Federal reporting requirements and budgeting with SF-424A * 30:00-35:00 – The big goal: Closing the outcome data loop and EMS-hospital data sharing * 35:00-40:00 – Measuring success, from whole blood to vehicle alerts * 40:00-42:30 – Robbie’s final advice: “Don’t be intimidated — reach out and apply.”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• SS4A Application Portal & Resources: Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program | US Department of Transportation
• NHTSA’s Office of Emergency Medical Services | EMS.gov
• Lexipol Grants Support
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) database