Mobile integrated healthcare is changing what it means to work in EMS. In this episode of Validated, Mike Verkest and John Clark sit down with Sabrina Ballew, Mobile Integrated Healthcare Manager at Mercy Flights, Inc in Medford, Oregon, and the 2026 NAEMT EMS Advocate of the Year.

Sabrina shares how Mercy Flights grew its MIH program from two providers focused on high utilizers into a 17-person multidisciplinary team offering transitions of care, mobile crisis response, in-home emergency care, post-overdose buprenorphine, and other community-based services.

The conversation also explores the development of the IBSC’s CP-C certification, the challenge of establishing national standards for widely different programs, opportunities for EMTs and community health workers, and the ongoing fight for sustainable reimbursement.

It is a look at how EMS can move beyond “you call, we haul” and deliver the right care where patients actually need it—often in their own homes.

Check out ibsc.org and mercyflights.com

How did a handful of flight paramedics turn an idea—and questions written on the backs of napkins—into the FP-C credential?

Mike Verkest and John Clark welcome Jonathan Gryniuk for a look at the early days of flight paramedic certification.

From defining what a flight paramedic should know to building the first exam, they share the challenges, personalities, and determination that helped shape the profession.

The conversation also explores how the exam evolves, why critical thinking matters more than memorizing local protocols, and what certification means beyond the patch. Along the way: low certification numbers, friendly rivalries, and a little controversy over who really got number one.

In Episode 3 of Validated, Mike Verkest and John Clark are joined by IBSC CEO Graham Pierce and Hanna Thompson, a paramedic and educator with Life Link III, to explore the growing role of microcredentials in critical care transport.

The conversation focuses on the IBSC Maternal-Fetal Transport Microcredential, why it was developed, and how focused credentials can help clinicians strengthen their knowledge in high-risk, highly specialized areas of patient care. The group discusses the rigorous process behind creating a psychometrically sound exam, the growing need for maternal transport expertise, and how third-party validation can improve clinician confidence, team readiness, professional recognition, and potentially patient outcomes.

Hanna also shares how earning the credential has directly influenced her clinical practice, helped her support transport partners, and strengthened her ability to care for critically ill maternal patients.

We also looks ahead at other potential microcredentials, including blood administration, ultrasound, 12-lead ECG interpretation, and other emerging areas of paramedic practice.

To learn more about the Maternal-Fetal Transport Microcredential, visit:
https://www.ibscertifications.org/roles/maternal-fetal-transport