373 Consulting was born in October 2012 when Jason Mahoney decided to make one of his hobbies something more formal. “Why 373?” many have asked. 373 was the first of many “numbers” assigned to Jason over his twenty-one years in emergency services. Emergency responders – whether Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, or other services – tend to identify strongly with their “number,” and Jason is no different. 235, 357 and others have come and gone, but 373 has held strong since his first day as an EMT with American Medical Response -Billings…September 15, 1999. But, since all good things must come to an end, Jason had to resign from AMR on January 15, 2021 after moving to Anaconda.
Over more than two decades, Jason has gathered a remarkable and varied base of experience. He has worked as an EMT then a Paramedic, and he received a Star of Life Award from the American Ambulance Association in 2001 for his dedication to emergency medical care. He advanced from a Field Training Officer to a Field Supervisor and Field Preceptor for one of the best Paramedic programs in the nation. As a Deputy Sheriff for the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Jason was recognized as the top of his class in 2003 at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy when he received both the Jack Wiseman Award and the Alex F. Mavity Memorial Award. As a Deputy Sheriff and Deputy Coroner, Jason was recognized by LifeCenter Northwest for his work in promoting organ donation, and by Sheriff Chuck Maxwell for developing electronic report writing forms to increase deputies’ efficiency. In his spare time, Jason expanded his knowledge as an autopsy assistant for Dr. Thomas Bennett and Dr. Ken Mueller.
In 2008, Jason moved into the hospital arena as a trauma educator and injury prevention advocate. He traveled the region educating rural healthcare providers on pediatric emergency care, and he worked closely with Dr. Jim Broselow to help test his Color Coding Kids system in the frontier medicine environment of Montana. Jason greatly expanded his teaching experience in this position, and he added a number of instructorships along the way. He became the only member of the hospital’s teaching team holding instructorships and Training Center Faculty status in all three American Heart Association disciplines (BLS, ACLS and PALS). Jason was also one of the first Instructors and Course Coordinators in the state of Montana for the Advanced Assessment and Treatment of Trauma (ATT) course.
Despite a shift towards classroom time, Jason maintained his responder status as a part-time Paramedic for AMR as well as Team Leader of St. Vincent Healthcare’s Hospital Emergency Response Team (HERT) throughout his time there. In furtherance of his passion for expanded emergency response, he has attended FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness for numerous courses on emergency preparedness and response. He has earned FEMA instructorships for both the HERT and Incident Command System courses (ICS 100-400). In April 2010, Jason was honored to present at the Montana State Emergency Nurses’ Association conference where he spoke on Organophosphates and Nerve Agents – one of his favorite topics.
As he began to meld his interests in EMS, emergency preparedness and terrorism topics, Jason was able to expand his palate of courses available for the numerous EMS refreshers he teaches each year. In addition, Jason began to teach for Montana State University-Billings’ EMT and Paramedic programs on subjects ranging from pediatric advanced life support care to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) response and mass casualty triage.
When the opportunity to take over the Emergency Preparedness program for St. Vincent Healthcare, a Level II Trauma Center, presented itself, Jason eagerly accepted the challenge. He oversaw all facets of a very active program for the main hospital campus and nearly fifty off-site facilities throughout the region. Jason also assisted with emergency preparedness at two sister facilities in Montana, and he learned the vast world of healthcare life safety and construction safety along the way. As part of his program, Jason designed and ran nearly one hundred forty exercises utilizing the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). These exercises tested preparedness and response capabilities ranging from armed hostage takers to severe winter storms to a hard landing of the facility’s helicopter.
The storied winds of change began to blow in September 2017, and Jason decided to leave St. Vincent Healthcare to devote more time to the ever-expanding slate of work 373 Consulting was building. In December 2017, 373 Consulting signed a contract with the Montana Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program to work as the Pediatric Liaison between the program, hospitals and EMS agencies across the state. Between February and April 2018, 373 Consulting completed an EMT course in Crow Agency for local Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) wildland firefighters as well as numerous mock code site visits and a variety of exercises.
In order to broaden his background and experience, Jason accepted a contracted position as Carbon County, Montana’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Coordinator in August 2018. In this role, he works closely with partners throughout the region to ensure that Carbon County is prepared for all types of public health emergencies. In addition to the PHEP responsibilities for Carbon County, Jason also represents the jurisdiction alongside Yellowstone County as part of the Cities Ready Initiative (CRI) for the Billings, MT Metropolitan Area.
The Montana EMSC program was one of nine state programs chosen in September 2018 to become part of the Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC) Learning Collaborative, a short-term, grant-funded collaborative focusing on best practices in designation of PECC’s in EMS organizations. Jason functions as the Montana team leader on this project which will not only increase the number of PECC’s throughout the state, but also result in publication of a best practice document to be shared with other states that choose to work towards bolstering their PECC programs.
Jason continues to study and work towards new achievements and experiences. In 2012, he was lucky enough to be chosen to provide medical care to the likes of Bruce Dern, Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk as a Set Medic during the filming of Alexander Paine’s movie Nebraska throughout Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. In the fall of 2020, he worked as the Set Medic for a series of Geico television commercials filmed around Billings – but he was quite disappointed when he was unable to get the Geico Gecko’s autograph!
Over the past few years, Jason has earned multiple professional certifications from the International Board for Certification of Safety Managers (IBFCSM), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and Augusta University including:
- National Healthcare Disaster Professional – Board Certified (NHDP-BC)
- Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP)
- Certified Emergency Disaster Professional (CEDP)
- Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP)
- Certified Hazard Control Manager (CHCM)
- Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator III (CHEC III).
In addition, Jason was named to the IBFCSM’s Certification Advisory Panel for the CHEP certification. He also instructs the review course for the CHEP certification and can proctor the exam for the IBFCSM.
2019 was a big year for Jason on the national level. He became an instructor for the Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator course through Augusta University as well as an instructor for TEEX’s MGT-439 Pediatric Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness course. Thanks to his work on the PECC Learning Collaborative grant, Jason has been fortunate enough to present his findings at multiple national conferences including the 2019 EMSC All Grantee Meeting in Washington, DC; the 2019 National Healthcare Coalition Preparedness Conference in Houston, TX; and the 2020 Preparedness Summit which was moved from Dallas, TX to a virtual format thanks to COVID-19!
2020 was an even bigger year thanks to COVID-19. Jason served as one of two Unified Incident Commanders for the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team for five months and then continued to support the county’s response to the pandemic as the county’s Complaint Investigator. He continues to support the Carbon County Public Health response through his work as PHEP Coordinator.
In recognition of his work for the children of Montana, Jason was recognized as the Montana Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Supporter of the year in May 2023.
In addition to all of his day-to-day job roles, Jason shares his experience and expertise through the following memberships:
- Appointed Member of the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Board of Health
- Appointed Member of the Montana EMS Advisory Committee
- Co-Chair of the Montana Southern Regional Health Care Coalition Executive Committee
- Member of the Montana Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Advisory Committee
- Member of the Montana Healthcare Mutual Aid System (MHMAS)
In his “spare time,” Jason is a musician. His one man show is popular all over southwest Montana, and he enjoys playing guitar and singing for audiences at venues from local bars to The Ranch at Rock Creek outside Philipsburg. He is also a photographer – which pairs well with his love of Jeep-borne ghost town exploration. His photographs of ghost towns across the region fill his house, and he has been known to photograph high school seniors, engaged couples, wedding parties and new babies as well. His latest show was the fourth quarter show for 2024 at The Revolver in Anaconda.