Position Statement

regarding the development of a

United States EMS Administration

January 2006

The Wisconsin EMS Association Board of Directors SUPPORTS creation of a stand alone, non-allied federal agency charged with Emergency Medical Services administration in the United States.

In its role, we envision an agency dedicated to the ongoing assessment, maintenance and operation as well as development of training criteria, data collection and funding requirements on behalf of thousands of dedicated EMS agencies and individual providers across the Nation and the communities and public at-large they serve.

EMS deserves an appropriate home in federal government that is the same as that afforded to the other first responder constituencies.  The EMS program currently housed in Department of Transportation, National Highway Safety Administration appears to have the most prominent EMS role in the federal government, however its involvement stems from the formative years when EMS was primarily linked to automobile crashes.   If EMS is to further its mission and enhance its services it needs a new oversight agency at the federal level more closely aligned with its core purpose – pre-hospital healthcare of the sick or injured and hospital-to-hospital inter-facility transportation – rather than just mass casualty or disaster management.

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The Board of Directors supports creation of a new, dedicated EMS oversight agency; much like the fire service industry has the National Fire Protection Agency and all its ancillary services to include a training academy, consistent funding mechanisms, reporting standards, general oversight and prominent position within the federal government’s hierarchy.

The Wisconsin EMS Association Board of Directors believes creation of a strong, stand alone federal EMS oversight agency will have greater impact and, in the long run, foster a more positive influence and set direction in the overall delivery of EMS in the United States.

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