The Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care (JCREC) traces its roots to early collaborations among national organizations committed to advancing rural emergency medical services. In the 1990s, both the National Association of State EMS Directors (NASEMSD) and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) established rural EMS committees that remained active into the early 2000s.

In October 2001, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) convened a meeting with NASEMSD and NOSORH to identify shared rural EMS priorities and explore strategies for advancing them. This convening focused on key priority areas and several early initiatives—including “Project Hope”—that ultimately laid the foundation for the Rural & Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future (the Agenda), a collaborative and consensus-driven publication.

Over the next two years, members of NASEMSD, NOSORH, and NRHA worked intensively to develop the Agenda, which was published in 2004. Following its release, the partnership formalized into what NRHA initially called the EMS Joint Task Force. This group evolved into the Rural/Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future Steering Committee and was later established as the Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care.

Since its formation, JCREC has played a key role in advancing rural EMS nationwide. It has sponsored national rural EMS conferences, contributed to follow-up publications building on the Agenda, and served as a representative voice in federal discussions, including engagement with the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Office of Rural Health Policy on program development and funding opportunities.

Over time, the Committee expanded to include the National Rural Health Resource Center and the National Association of EMS Physicians, further strengthening its multidisciplinary approach to rural emergency care.