Kate Leatherby

Kate has a master's degree in Public Policy and has years of experience as a paramedic. She currently serves as Pulsara's Regional Vice President for the Western Region.

Kate Leatherby

Kate Leatherby

Kate has a master's degree in Public Policy and has years of experience as a paramedic. She currently serves as Pulsara's Regional Vice President for the Western Region.

Recent posts by Kate Leatherby

4 min read

Why Is Change So Hard? The Start to Successful Change Management

By Kate Leatherby on Sep 17, 2021

Change management is something I learned about during the course of my academic adventures, and at the time, it made a lot of sense. I could think of numerous examples of both failures and successes in change management that I had observed or been directly involved in during the span of my professional career. My studies had armed me with some valuable knowledge of different change management frameworks and ways to overcome and navigate process and people challenges. But I had never had a chance to apply my acquired skills in such a dramatic way until I started working at Pulsara.  

One of the first things I remember hearing about when I started at Pulsara was: “We have a saying here: change is 5% the technology, 15% process, and 80% about people.”

Topics: Change Management
2 min read

Root Cause Analysis: Communication Errors

By Kate Leatherby on Feb 24, 2021

Ever since I started working for Pulsara, self-reflection about communication has become an almost daily ritual. Reflecting on my career, it’s very apparent that when things haven’t gone right with projects, patient care, presentations, etc., a miscommunication of some sort has been the likely culprit.   

Topics: Communication Medical Error
3 min read

Take Care of Your Star Player: Health and Wellness in EMS

By Kate Leatherby on Nov 02, 2020

As healthcare professionals, we spend so much time caring for the health and well being of others that we often overlook the importance of caring for ourselves. I can think back to the days when I was full time on the ambulance, working very busy 24 hour shifts. For many years, I put my health and well being on the back burner. Sleep during 24 hour shifts was scarce, especially at busy stations, and eating healthy always seemed to take more effort than grabbing something heavily processed from the gas station or fries from a fast food joint. Coffee was my best friend and caffeine became a way for me to suppress my body’s natural cues that I needed time to rest and repair. During the 7 year period I was full-time on the ambulance, I also responded to some of the most mentally draining calls of my 18-year career in EMS.

Topics: Wellness Health
4 min read

The 5 Most Important Factors of Healthcare Emergency Preparedness

By Kate Leatherby on Aug 10, 2020

Early on in my career, I remember hearing the old military adage: “Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.” Those 5 P’s made a deep impression on me and have had a dramatic impact on how I’ve approached and shaped my career.

Emergency preparedness is a vital part of emergency response. As paramedics, we constantly enter situations where we can’t always anticipate what’s going to happen. And there’s always the chance that tomorrow, we could walk into a major emergency we’ve never had to face before. Having a plan in place for the worst-case scenario can make a huge difference in the case that you have to use it.

Topics: EMS Preparedness
4 min read

Face the Music: Thinking Outside the Pill Bottle for Dementia Patients

By Kate Leatherby on Apr 08, 2019

There are several clinical studies of elderly populations that suffer from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia which show that familiar and pleasant music can decrease agitation, reduce depression, increase movement and sociability, as well as improve cognitive ability and decrease problem behaviors BETTER than medicine.  Recently, I was privileged to encounter this phenomenon up close and in person.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of music. I spent many years playing my own music, and I’ve spent thousands of hours at music festivals and live shows, connecting with the energy in each note. As a kid, I remember sitting in the backseat of my mom’s car and singing along to all of her favorite artists she’d play over and over on cassette tapes.

Anytime I hear those songs now, I remember what it felt like to sing them with my mom as we cruised along the roadways of southwestern Pennsylvania. I can vividly recall the carefree feeling, the happiness, the smiles, and most of all how the music would flow through us, deepening our mother-daughter bond with each note.

Topics: EMS
2 min read

The Role of Mindful Communication in Patient Care

By Kate Leatherby on Mar 06, 2019

 You are probably aware that some of the most important forms of communication are non-verbal. Shared cues between people, facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, and even our posture communicate important information to those around us.  Recent research shows that mindfulness and compassion-based communication strategies can improve communication between patients and healthcare practitioners, which is one of the most important components to enhancing the patient experience.