News & EventsNewsNASEMSO Releases 2020 National EMS AssessmentApril 9, 2020In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and applause for first responders in the United States, the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO) has released the 2020 National EMS Assessment updating the 2011 assessment. The 2020 assessment provides a comprehensive accounting by state/territory of the numbers and types of all 911 ambulance services and emergency medical services (EMS) professionals. Read MoreIndiana joins EMS CompactMarch 17, 2020On Friday March 13, 2020, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed legislation making that state the 20th to join the EMS Compact. The statute is effective 90 days from signing.Dr. Michael Kaufmann, State EMS Medical Director said; This EMS Compact just makes sense for Indiana. We have borders with four other states and are hopeful that our entry into the Compact gives an incentive for our neighbors to join. My thanks to our legislature, our Governor and all the groups that supported this legislation. Read MoreInterstate Compact Operational to Help Response to COVID-19March 13, 2020At the regular meeting of the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice (EMS Compact Commission) on Tuesday March 10, 2020, the EMS Compact Commission approved use of the EMS Compact process effective Monday March 16, 2020 in response to personnel needs associated with COVID-19. This decision enables EMS personnel licensed in Compact member states (home states) to cross state borders using a privilege to practice and work in other Compact states (remote state) without getting an EMS license in the remote state.EMS Compact Commission Chair, Joe Schmider (Texas) said; “We already know of EMS personnel in states around the country who are in quarantine from occupational contacts with suspected ill patients. For many EMS agencies, the loss of a few key personnel for two weeks, even if they don’t become ill, can stress daily operations. The EMS Compact was built in part for this exact scenario. We want the EMS Compact to be one more tool in the toolbox that states can use in responding to this evolving public health event.” Read MoreWest Virginia Joins EMS CompactMarch 13, 2020The Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice welcomes West Virginia as the 19th state to join the EMS Compact. Governor James Justice signed the legislation on March 5th which becomes effective on June 3, 2020. Formal entry to the EMS Compact requires a vote of the Commission which is scheduled for June 16, 2020 in Reno, NV at the Commission’s annual meeting.The EMS Compact enables licensed EMS personnel to cross state borders using a privilege to practice in other EMS Compact member states without obtaining a separate license. Other provisions of the EMS Compact legislation include a coordinated personnel licensing data system for member states to share information on their licensed personnel. The Compact also supports expedited licensing in member states for military personnel and their spouses upon discharge from service. In addition to West Virginia, several other states are considering EMS Compact legislation this year. Read MoreEMS Week Planning Kits now availableJanuary 2, 2020EMS Week is presented annually in a partnership between the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT).This year, EMS Week will be May 17 – 23 and the theme is EMS Strong: Ready Today, Preparing for TomorrowACEP began collecting and distributing ideas and information for EMS Week in the early 1980’s. Professionally printed and prepared EMS Week Planning kits were developed starting in the late 1980’s. Today 25,000 EMS Week Planning Guides are distributed free of charge to EMS services, fire departments, rescue squads, volunteer groups, and emergency departments across the country. The 48-page guide contains ideas for local EMS Week activities and highlights EMS Week programs held by EMS services during the previous year.To order one copy of the Planning Kit, click here. For bulk orders, please use this form.Additional information is available from ACEP and NAEMT.Maine Partners with BiospatialNovember 14, 2019(Falls Church, Va.) – Maine EMS, a bureau within the Department of Public Safety, has completed Data Use and Analytic agreements to become the twenty-third state to partner with Biospatial, Inc. Biospatial uses emergency medical services and health-related data sources to provide timely, national-scale syndromic detection, monitor real-time trends, and alert to syndromic anomalies critical to the nation’s health and safety. Maine EMS will submit de-identified National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) data elements to the Biospatial platform to assist in national preparedness and enhance Maine’s ability to visualize their data with other data layers of relevance. Read MoreFCC Proposes Order on 911 Location Accuracy Long Sought by Public SafetyNovember 6, 2019The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a Draft Order and Draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) consistent with requirements it suggested in 2015 and which NASEMSO and other public safety associations have supported prior to that. The Order would establish requirements for being able to locate a caller in a multistory building within approximately nine vertical (known as the “z-axis”) feet of their location (a building story is generally ten feet). There is currently no requirement in this regard. The NPRM would seek to refine this requirement further and establish a tighter horizontal (“x axis and y axis”) location accuracy than now exists. Read MoreThe Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Partners with BiospatialOctober 28, 2019(Falls Church, Va.) – The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has completed Data Use and Analytic agreements to become the twenty-second state to partner with Biospatial, Inc. Biospatial uses emergency medical services and health-related data sources to provide timely, national-scale syndromic detection, monitor real-time trends, and alert to syndromic anomalies critical to the nation’s health and safety. The CDPHE will submit National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) data elements to the Biospatial platform to assist in national preparedness and enhance Colorado’s ability to visualize their data with other data layers of relevance. Read MoreCalifornia Partners with BiospatialOctober 14, 2019(Falls Church, Va.) – The California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) went live in the fall of 2019 as the 21st state to use the Biospatial platform. EMSA now will be able to use existing EMS data to deliver more timely actionable information analyses, at no cost to the state. Read MoreDHHS Funding Opportunity for First Responder Vaccine InitiativeJuly 29, 2019The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) has posted a Notice of Funding Opportunity (DHS-19-CWMD-077-001) for the First Responder Vaccine Initiative (FRVI) Pilot. The notice can be viewed at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=318260.The FRVI Pilot will provide the opportunity for selected State and Local jurisdictions to administer voluntary pre-event anthrax vaccine to first responders and evaluate the feasibility of the program, in collaboration with DHS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For more information, please refer to the attached fact sheet and the funding announcement. Questions can be directed to: frvi@hq.dhs.govDownload the fact sheet here.DHS is encouraging jurisdictions to apply for this opportunity. The closing date for applications is 15 August 2019. Previous 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 9 Next
