The Field EMS Quality, Innovation and Cost-Effectiveness Improvements Act (H.R. 3144) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Tim Walz (D-MN) and Sue Myrick (R-NC) to implement a cohesive strategy to strengthen the development of our nation’s field EMS at the federal, state and local levels, according to a press release from Advocates for […]
Reference to a bill in the U.S. Senate to provide first responders and public safety officials with additional wireless resources to keep America safe was included in President Barack Obama’s speech to the nation on Sept. 8. The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, known as S. 911, would provide public safety with an […]
A call to action EMS on the Hill Day, hosted by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), attracted more participants from a broader spectrum in its second year. On May 4, 145 participants from 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, representing the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association […]
Defines specific, measurable objectives In an effort to streamline the nation’s preparedness capabilities, President Barack Obama signed a policy directive March 30 that replaces Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8. According to the new policy (download), the directive is meant to strengthen the “security and resilience of the United States through systematic preparation for the threats […]
Stakeholders recommend major revision The Field EMS Bill (H.R. 6528) is heading back to Congress after a major revision. The changes were based on several stakeholder sessions in March. The first, held during the EMS summit in Baltimore on March 3, was followed by two conference calls hosted by Advocates for EMS, the primary organization […]
New incentive is expected to promote recruitment & retention By O.J. Doyle & Buck McAlpin Like many states, Minnesota depends on volunteers to staff ambulance services in remote areas. The state faces several emergency response challenges: Rural populations are decreasing; increased training demands are discouraging new recruits; and, faced with multiple challenges, young families are […]
Recent legislative action in California impacts EMS. First, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires a system of uniform claims processing, including state Medicaid programs. If a California State Assembly bill (AB 1932) becomes law, California will finally comply with this HIPAA requirement, passed in 1996. Originally, the bill also included Medi-Cal (Medicaid) […]
Public employees do have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to text messaging on government-owned devices, but only to an extent. A recent Supreme Court decision found that a public employer did not violate its employees’ Fourth Amendment rights by reading their text messages from a department-issued pager, because the city had a […]
Billed as “the biggest administrative challenge the EMS system in California has seen in the past decade,” the state’s EMT 2010 Project came to fruition on July 1 after several years in the making. In 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2917 into law, with the goal of improving EMS accountability and oversight. The […]
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