Emergency Medical Services (EMS): A Look at Disparities in Funding and Outcomes

Access the Full Article Here!

Key Points:

• Substantial geographic disparities in emergency medical services (EMS) exist based on urbanicity—for example, in rural areas more staff volunteer or work part time, response times are longer, paramedics typically have lower levels of certification, and EMS relies heavily on fee for service funding.
• EMS response times for patients with cardiac arrest are 10% longer in low-income neighborhoods than in high-income neighborhoods.
• Studies find substantial disparities in the provision of EMS based on race and sex.
• In a case study of eleven counties in California, local EMS agencies that served rural counties had lower per capita EMS funding and lower percentages of cases that met established quality standards.

Dartmouth College EMS Research Study Survey

EMS researchers at Dartmouth College are conducting a brief survey examining how EMS clinicians cope with work-related stress. The team will use your opinions to inform the development of a future smartphone app for EMS clinicians that provides specific resources for healthy stress management.

The goal is to design an app for EMS clinicians by EMS clinicians. Through the survey conducted by Dartmouth College, they are collecting data specific to the high-stress situations you handle as an EMS Practitioner on a daily basis and how these situations can contribute to burnout and impact your health. This survey will allow Dartmouth to learn more about these experiences and help support retention and wellness of the EMS profession through a future EMS stress management app.

If you have not already participated in this brief survey study, please follow this link to the survey to determine if you are eligible:

Click here to start the survey or scan the QR code below:

Letter to Health Care Leaders and Stakeholders on Impacts of Hurricane Helene from Secretary Becerra

Dear Partner:

Thank you for your work on behalf of individuals and communities around this country every day. As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues responding to the impacts of Hurricane Helene, I want to first acknowledge the loss of life and continued search and rescue mission underway in the Southeast. HHS has over 400 personnel on the ground, and that number continues to grow. In addition to our responders supporting the impacted communities, I want to assure you that the Department is working tirelessly to mitigate the sterile solutions supply chain disruptions you may already be experiencing as a result of the storm. The U.S. Government (USG) has been working with Baxter at the highest level from the day the storm hit North Carolina, first to ensure Baxter employees and their families are safe. Since then, we have been in constant communication with Baxter and other solutions manufacturers to address gaps in supplies. My Department commits to mitigating the impact of Hurricane Helene and doing all we can to prevent further disruption as a result of Hurricane Milton. Not only do we commit to doing all we can during this supply chain disruption, but we also commit to doing all we can to diversify and build resilience in this supply chain going forward.

This is the status of the current supply chain disruption.

The impacts of Hurricane Helene have led to the temporary supply disruption at the Baxter facility in Marion, North Carolina. The Baxter facility provides a significant portion of IV solutions, irrigation fluids, and peritoneal solutions to the U.S. medical system. There are currently shortages of normal saline IV fluids, normal saline irrigation fluid, sterile water irrigation, and dextrose 5% IV fluids that pre-date Hurricane Helene. The hurricane-related supply disruption at the Baxter facility will likely lead to further constraints for IV fluids. However, compounding of drugs on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) shortage list can be done in accordance with current requirements to help alleviate shortages [see Compounding when Drugs are on FDA’s Drug Shortages List | FDA]. In the coming weeks, supply may continue to be constrained, and we understand that certain products are on allocation; however, Baxter reported that they have resumed shipments to hospitals and dialysis providers and patients after the temporary hold last week, based on allocations as previously communicated. The inventory will be used to support current allocations in the short term, and they note that several of their global plants are scaling and ramping production to help meet U.S. needs.  Other producers are expected to be able to continue to fulfill domestic orders within their allocation.

Click here for the full article 

ARHP Launches the Arkansas Rural Health Academy

The Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) launches the Arkansas Rural Health Academy (ARHA)to meet the critical, in-demand training needs of rural health member organizations across the state.

The Arkansas Rural Health Partnership (ARHP) is a non-profit healthcare organization headquartered in Lake Village, Arkansas. ARHP members currently include 19 rural hospitals, 2 federally qualified health centers, and 3 medical teaching institutions. Initiatives aim to improve the health and wellness of rural residents, build a health workforce pipeline, sustain rural hospitals, and strengthen rural economies. The organization serves as a hub for economic growth and development across the region and a voice for rural health entities across the state of Arkansas and beyond.

Access full article here

National Registry's Recertification Window Opens October 1, 2024 For EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics

Key Improvements to the Recertification Application Process

• Streamlined Application: The application process has been simplified by removing unnecessary steps, allowing clinicians to complete their submissions faster than ever before. 

• Reduced ConED Questions: The number of questions related to continuing education (ConED) has been reduced, making the process more straightforward and expediting the time needed to submit applications. 

• Automatic Course Assignment: The CAPCE Import tool will now automatically assign courses to the National Continued Competency Program (NCCP) topics, minimizing manual input for clinicians and increasing accuracy. 

• Submission Assurance: Application submission has been improved to alleviate concerns about incomplete applications. In most cases, applications will be automatically submitted as long as a clinician has completed the recertification requirements and the payment process. 

Learn more here: National Registry's Recertification Window Opens Today For EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics | National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (nremt.org)

NEMSAC Seeking New Members to Join in the National Conversation

Applications for a two-year term are due November 1, 2024

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking applications for appointment to the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC). By joining NEMSAC, EMS professionals can be a part of the national conversation on issues impacting the EMS community. NEMSAC is a council of EMS sector representatives (which includes consumers of EMS) that provides information, advice, and recommendations regarding EMS to NHTSA and the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS).

Applications for membership must be received on or before 5 p.m. ET, November 1, 2024.

About NEMSAC

NEMSAC was initially established by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to guide the development and implementation of EMS and 911 systems. In 2012, Congress passed legislation that re-established NEMSAC as a 25 members statutory advisory council whose membership shall collectively be representative of selected sectors of the EMS community.

Qualifications

Members are selected for their ability to reflect a balanced representation of interests from across the spectrum EMS systems across the nation. NEMSAC’s membership shall be broad-based to comprise both sufficient EMS system expertise and the geographic/demographic diversity that accurately reflects the composition of the whole EMS community. Representatives will be selected on the basis of materials submitted and in a manner that ensured equal opportunity for all people—especially those in underrepresented and underserved communities—and in a manner that avoids discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age. Qualified individuals interested in serving on the NEMSAC are invited to apply by submitting the required materials outlined in the Federal Register Notice.

NEMSAC is currently seeking to fill the following vacancies:

• Hospital-based EMS Agencies
• Tribal EMS Agencies
• Air Medical EMS Agencies
• Local EMS Officials
• Trauma Surgeons
• EMS Data Management Officials
• EMS Researchers
• Emergency Nurses
• Hospital Administration
• Public Health Officials
• Emergency Management Practitioners
• EMS Clinicians
• Consumers (not directly affiliated with an EMS or healthcare organization)
• State or local legislative bodies (e.g., city/county councils; state legislatures)

Membership applications should be submitted by the deadline to:

Email: NEMSAC@dot.gov

For further details about the application process or committee-related questions, contact Clary Mole, EMS Specialist, NHTSA, DOT, Clary.Mole@dot.gov or 202-868-3275.

The Health Care Landscape in Arkansas & the 2024 Election

A new KFF tool generates data-driven fact sheets that lay out the health care landscape in every state against the backdrop of the 2024 election.  The Arkansas specific fact sheet can be found here: [KFF%20Releases%20Election%20Fact%20Sheets%20About%20the%20Health%20Care%20Landscape%20in%20Every%20State]. 

These state “snapshots” provide information on a variety of health care topics that may be the focus of campaign and policy debates. Topics include health costs; medical debt; women’s health policy, including state abortion, contraception and maternity laws and policies; health coverage, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and prescription drug coverage, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored insurance; gender affirming care; and basic information on health status, population and income. 

The new tool is part of KFF’s broader collection of Election 2024-related resources, including our side-by-side comparison of the candidates’ positions and records on health policy issues.

The EMS Voluntary Notification Tool (E.V.E.N.T.) is a tool designed to improve the safety, quality and consistent delivery of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). It collects data submitted anonymously by EMS practitioners. The data collected will be used to develop policies, procedures and training programs to improve the safe delivery of EMS. A similar system used by airline pilots has led to important airline system improvements based upon pilot reported "near miss" situations and errors. Any individual who encounters or recognizes a situation in which an EMS safety event occurred, or could have occurred, is strongly encouraged to submit a report by completing the appropriate EMS Voluntary Notification Tool. The confidentiality and anonymity of this reporting tool is designed to encourage EMS practitioners to readily report EMS safety events without fear of repercussion.

File a confidential and anonymous report:

• Report a Near Miss Event
• Report a Patient Safety Event
• Report a Violence Event

On September 17, the House of Representatives passed S. 265, the SIREN Reauthorization Act. This legislation will reauthorize funding for a grant program to support rural EMS.

Located at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Rural EMS Training and Equipment Assistance (REMSTEA; also known as the SIREN grant program) provides grants directly to rural fire and non-profit EMS organizations. Specifically, the program funds training and certifications for EMS personnel and the purchase of medical equipment for rural EMS agencies.  The link to the full article is available here.

The Rural & Underserved Health Research Center's policy brief Do Hospital Closures Affect Patient Time in an Ambulance? notes that although hospital closures in urban and suburban areas do not result in longer transport times for patients needing emergency care, rural patients do experience longer ambulance transportation time if a hospital in their zip code stopped providing general in-patient care during the previous year. According to this report, rural patients over 64 years of age are likely to experience the greatest increase in time spent in an ambulance following a 911 call.