Policy Statement 9 - March 2006
Emergency Medical Services - March 20
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers in rural Nebraska experience unique challenges, particularly when compared to their urban and suburban counterparts. Low population density, limited human and fiscal resources, the lack of community awareness, and burdensome regulations are all factors that impact daily operations. A brief review of the rural EMS challenges are as follows:
Inability to Recruit and Retain EMS Personnel - Difficult to find volunteers due to time and money needed to invest in training, as well as time away from regular job.
Inability to Generate Revenue to Pay Expenses - Inconsistent funding streams are not able to match the increasing cost of operations.
Lack of Community Awareness - Rural Nebraska residents do not understand the complexities involved with providing emergency medical services. There appears to be a major disconnect between the service level expected and what is actually available from EMS providers.
Burden of Regulatory Requirements - Legislation and regulations create a significant strain on the ability of rural EMS providers to perform their job responsibilities.
Lack of Collaboration within Rural EMS System - There appears to be very little collaboration within EMS systems in rural Nebraska. Each service provider – EMS, fire protection, hospital, physician – often operates in a vacuum and minimal coordination occurs.
Policy Recommendations:
•
State-funded scholarships for required training programs.
State-funded scholarships for required training programs.•Maximize use of technology to provide training curriculum.
Maximize use of technology to provide training curriculum.•Provide organization management training for EMS agencies to include fundraising, volunteer management, and community relations.
Provide organization management training for EMS agencies to include fundraising, volunteer management, and community relations.•Review and standardize all regulatory document requirements.
Review and standardize all regulatory document requirements.•Develop statewide public information resources/tools which can be tailored for local use.
Develop statewide public information resources/tools which can be tailored for local use.•Develop legislation that clearly identifies EMS providers as an integral component of a community health system.
Develop legislation that clearly identifies EMS providers as an integral component of a community health system.•Provide resources necessary for community-based self-assessment and determination concerning the level and type of EMS desired.
Provide resources necessary for community-based self-assessment and determination concerning the level and type of EMS desired.