What’s Going On at the Office of EMS

There’s a lot of activity at the Office of EMS, so here are a few reminders and repeats, in case you missed a recent event or announcement:

If you aren’t doing so already, be sure to submit your EMS activation v.3.5 data to the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS). At publication time, all but six states and five territories have transitioned to NEMSIS v.3.5. States have until the end of 2024 to make the transition, and nearly every state is on track to do so. NEMSIS v.3.5 introduces the NEMSIS Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), which is created automatically with every v3.5 ePCR. This will make it easier to exchange data across disparate systems, allowing for the direct linkage of EMS, crash and trauma data nationally without requiring any personally identifiable information.
Improving the national EMS data standard has myriad benefits. The data your agency generates and shares improves evidence-based guidelines and post-crash care and helps EMS better understand risks in your communities as well as the mental and physical risks your clinicians experience in their work. You can also use this data to start or further a conversation with your state highway safety office to secure Section 402 and Section 405 grant funding that helps meet shared goals of safer streets and fewer deaths and serious injuries from motor vehicle crashes.

This year’s meeting will be held again in beautiful Park City, Utah, from October 22 to 25. This “work meeting” includes robust discussion and consensus-building across a range of topics related to EMS data collection and the use of data to inform issues such as EMS workforce challenges, system response, performance, and alternative EMS funding models. To learn more about the meeting, see a draft agenda and register, visit the NEMSIS site.

The EMS for Children (EMSC) program recently opened a first-ever national assessment of prehospital pediatric care readiness. Part of the National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (PPRP), the assessment is open through July 31, 2024, and all EMS and fire-rescue agencies across the country are asked to participate. The confidential online assessment takes about 30 minutes to complete; when finished, you’ll immediately receive a score for your agency, including a gap report and benchmarking against a national average of other EMS agencies and those with a similar volume of pediatric patients. The PPRP also provides a toolkit with a wide variety of resources to guide improvement across seven domains, as well as a checklist. If you’ve already completed the assessment, be sure to reach out to your fellow EMS agencies to make sure they’ve contributed their information as well. You can learn more about the assessment by watching the “EMS Focus” webinar, first aired in April 2024, “How Ready Is Your Agency to Provide Pediatric Care? Build Your Clinicians’ Confidence When Treating Children.”

Have you seen the OEMS’ post-crash care infographic? Recently updated with the latest data, this visual helps to quickly explain the problem of death and disability from motor vehicle crashes across the U.S., as well as the critical role EMS and your colleagues in 911 play in providing life-saving care. It also includes recommended countermeasures to reduce those numbers and specific ways you can start a conversation with your state highway safety office to identify and implement cooperative projects with available funding. By working together to share data, coordinate post-crash care and integrate programs that make roads safer into your state’s highway safety plan, we all move closer to the goal of zero preventable deaths on our streets and highways.