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The relationship between EMS and hospitals doesn’t begin at the doors of the emergency department—it’s tested there.

In this episode of In-Service, Jason sits down with Brandon Carey and Eric Eberly, two professionals who have worked extensively on both the street and inside the hospital system, to unpack one of the most critical—and misunderstood—areas in emergency medicine: the EMS–hospital handoff.

Drawing from decades of combined experience in EMS leadership, fire service, and hospital consulting at Emory Healthcare, this conversation explores where trust is built, where it breaks down, and why relationships—not protocols—often determine outcomes for patients and providers alike.

Together, they discuss:

•Why the handoff zone is where EMS and hospital systems “live or die”

•The real causes of wall times and throughput delays

•What EMS crews misunderstand about hospital pressures—and vice versa

•How trust, professionalism, and simple human decency shape reputation and patient care

•Why leadership, humility, and communication matter more than ever in today’s system

This is not a complaint session. It’s a candid, experience-driven discussion about bridging the gap between two systems that depend on each other every single day.

If you work in EMS, the ER, hospital leadership, or any role where handoffs matter, this episode will change how you see the space between the stretcher and the bed.

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