Pulsara Blog

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hearts are everywhere—heart decorations, heart candies, heart cards, even heart pancakes for the more creative sweethearts. But one of the most important hearts of all too often gets overlooked: Your heart (or your heart health, to be specific)! 

February is American Heart Month: a national event to raise awareness about heart disease and what you can do to decrease your risks. Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for Americans, killing over 650,000 people annually. It is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S. each year, and one person dies every 36 seconds from cardiovascular disease (that's heart disease and stroke combined). And that's not just for older adults; heart disease is becoming more and more common in young adults, making it important to learn whether you might be at risk.

Summer blockbusters may have been cancelled, but this year, we've gotten to see what it truly means to be a superhero. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world, doctors, nurses, paramedics, and emergency responders of every kind stepped up to take care of others. They’ve chosen to be there for us in our hour of need, sacrificing their own health, safety, and even the ability to go home to be with their families at the end of long, scary, and difficult shifts. That’s the true definition of heroism. 

To celebrate these healthcare heroes, Marvel Comics partnered with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) in Pennsylvania to help tell the stories of these real-life heroes. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Bet Martin for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Real talk: COVID-19 has changed the way most of us live our lives. For my family, it has meant a lot of lifestyle changes. 

Working from home during the pandemic has been a great opportunity, but also at times a real challenge. It has been a blessing in the sense that I’ve gotten to be home with my school aged children. I get to spend more time with them, watching them grow and learn. I've been able to do more fun things with them, like go on nature walks. 

On the other hand, attempting to be productive at work with two young kids at home got really interesting, really fast.

Near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, I found myself in a conversation with a friend. We shared our concerns about the days ahead, talking about how we were going to handle the kids learning from home and discussing whether she was putting her family at risk by continuing to practice clinically. 

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.

The Passion of a Serial Entrepreneur: To-Do Lists, Coaching, and Spilled Coffee

Pulsara CMO Kris Kaull recently had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with Brett Lyle, strategist, creator, and founder/coach at Brett Lyle Coaching and the Emergent Leadership YouTube channel. Kris and Brett discuss tangible practices that define and reshape mindsets, talk daily to-do lists, and lifelong goals and accomplishments. Kris also shares the tools he has used to overcome entrepreneurial challenges and explains how he intentionally designed his clinical career to be both personally fulfilling and professionally valuable to the industry. 

Special thanks and shout out to Brett for this awesome interview and opportunity! (To see more of Brett's work, follow her on social, or to contact her, see her links at the end of this post).  

Watch the exclusive interview in the video below, or read on for the full conversation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on EMS1.com. Special thanks to our guest author, Sarah Salams of EMS1 BrandFocus.

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At the beginning of each year, many people make resolutions to either accomplish a personal goal or improve their life in one way or another. These resolutions, both large and small, include goals like eating healthier, exercising regularly, and learning a new skill.

Staying focused on a resolution year-round is difficult even under the most normal circumstances. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended first responders’ lives as they continue to serve and take care of patients.

It’s easy to place your own needs on the back burner while taking care of others who are suffering and need help. However, it is important to recognize that your health – both physically and mentally – is more important than ever right now.