County encouraged to recognize local EMS
National EMS Week, May 18-24, recognizes and honors the hundreds of thousands of emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners around the country. Now in its 40th year of celebration, EMS Week is a time for national appreciation of the daily life-saving service that EMS practitioners provide to their patients, and an acknowledgement of the important role of EMS in our nation’s healthcare system.
National EMS Week was first authorized by President Gerald Ford in 1973. A lot has changed since then, and the role of EMS in our nation’s healthcare system is changing fast. Today, EMS responds to a wide range of emergency medical conditions (including trauma, stroke and cardiac arrest) through first response, field medical response, and medical transport. EMS practitioners conduct nearly 25 million transports per year (predominantly by ground, but also by air), which represents more than 8 percent of the U.S. population.
EMS saves lives and is a unique and critical part of the healthcare delivery system. In every community in our nation, EMS is expected to deliver quality emergency medical care on a 24/7 basis to their residents, as part of a continuum of healthcare services provided to all patients with emergency medical conditions. EMS is very often a patient’s entry into the healthcare system, resulting from an acute care episode. And with the new healthcare focus on improving patient outcomes and lowering costs, EMS is now collaborating with other healthcare providers to help navigate patients to the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.
“We are seeing rapid changes in EMS and the demands of our profession are very different than they were a decade ago,” said NAEMT President Don Lundy. “EMS is now on the front line of mass casualty and other disasters, and at the front door of entry into the healthcare system. I encourage all communities to take part in this special week — celebrate EMS and appreciate the commitment EMS has to providing emergency medical care to patients in their times of need.”
SOURCE: National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)
Coshocton County EMS would like to take this opportunity to thank our local EMTs for their dedication. Their commitment to their friends and neighbors will allow CCEMS to be ready to answer the 6,500 calls for assistance we will receive this year from our community.
Category: People & Places
