Emergency medical services (EMS) comprise a system of care for victims of sudden and serious injury or illness. It is estimated that the average U.S. citizen will require the services of an ambulance at least twice in the course of their lives. Thus, the development of effective EMS systems is crucial in rural and frontier areas.
Rural EMS systems face substantial challenges. Few rural communities have paid EMS personnel, depending instead upon volunteers, who often work full-time in non-EMS related vocations within the community, yet continue to donate their personal time to provide pre-hospital care and receive training. Sparsely populated regions lead to higher costs for EMS care, but there are fewer tax dollars to fund EMS programs. Rural populations are aging, which places an increased demand on EMS.
Additionally, poor access to training and medical supervision, higher response times, dated equipment, inadequate insurance reimbursement for services, and insufficient communications systems all combine to make rural EMS an area of critical concern.
Sources
Institute of Medicine Future of Emergency Care Series: Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads (2006); Institute of Medicine Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press (2005); McGinnis, L. (2004) Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services: Agenda for the Future Kansas City, MO: National Rural Health Association; Emergency Medical Services Overview, University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
Access to Trauma Care: Getting the Right Care, at the Right Place, at the Right Time
Web site
An interactive tool that allows the user to find the trauma care centers in their region and across the United States.
CMS Ambulance Services Center
Web site
Includes information on CMS regulations and policies on ambulance fee schedule, fee-for-service, coding and billing, and payment.
Community Paramedic
Web site
Works to improve the health of millions living in rural and remote regions of the United States and around the world. Offers the Community Paramedic Program, which through a standardized curriculum, trains first responders at the appropriate level to serve communities in the areas of Primary Care, Public Health, Disease Management, Prevention and Wellness, Mental Health, and Dental Care.
Eligible ZIP Codes for Enhanced Medicare Rural Ambulance and Lab Reimbursement
Web site
A national fee schedule for ambulance services, effective for claims with dates of service on or after April 1, 2002. Applies to all ambulance services, including volunteer, municipal, private, independent, and institutional providers, such as hospitals, critical access hospitals (except when it is the only ambulance service within 35 miles), and skilled nursing facilities. Sections of this are updated yearly.
Emergency Medical Services
Web site
Highlights HRSA's EMS programs and initiatives including EMS for Children, Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, Rural Access to Emergency Devices Program, Poison Control, TBI, Community Paramedicine, The NEMSIS Project, and the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS).
Emergency Medical Services for Children
Web site
Contains listings of publications, funding opportunities, state and national activities, research, publications, education, and training.
EMS Voluntary Event Notification Tool
Web site
Designed to improve the safety, quality and consistent delivery of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
EMS.gov
Web site
Contains educational opportunities, publications, news, links to other EMS Web sites and resources, as well as background and updates on Federal initiatives and programs.
Farm Rescue and EMS: A State by State Directory
Web site
State-by-state list of farm rescue or response programs, Cooperative Extension Safety Specialists, and State EMS Training Coordinators.
Geriatric Education for Emergency Medical Services
Web site
Curriculum designed specifically to help EMS providers address all of the special needs of the older population.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Emergency Medical Services
Database
Develops and enhances comprehensive emergency medical service systems to care for the injured patients involved in motor vehicle crashes.
Rural Health Research: Emergency medical services (EMS)
Web site
Provides summaries of current and completed rural health research projects and related publications addressing the topic of emergency medical services (EMS), produced by the Office of Rural Health Policy's funded rural health research centers.
WISER: Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders
Web site
Assists first responders in hazardous material incidents. Provides information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice.
WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)
Database
An interactive database system that provides customized reports of injury-related data.
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
2011 National EMS Assessment
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Emergency Medical Services Division
Provides a comprehensive description of emergency medical services, EMS emergency preparedness, and 911 systems at state and national levels. Chapters 9, 10, 158, and 194 discuss rural EMS.
Date: 12 / 2011
Ambulance Providers: Costs and Expected Medicare Margins Vary Greatly
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
Examines the differences in providers' costs of ambulance transports in 2004 and factors that contributed to these differences. Includes information for urban, rural and super-rural areas.
Date: 05 / 2007
Around the Country: EMS Co-op Helps Rural Providers
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights the North Central EMS Cooperative (NCEMSC), a Minnesota-based, EMS co-op that provides a mechanism to achieve cost reductions for members.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Issue Summer
Date: 08 / 2007
Around the Country: MEDLearn: Fake Patient Teaches Real Medicine
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Describes a human patient simulator offered for hands-on practice by Montana Health Network's Montana Mobile Education Delivery and Learning (MEDLearn) Program.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Issue Spring
Date: 05 / 2007
Around the Country: Mobile EMS Lab Improves Critical Care in Nevada's High Desert
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights Humboldt General Hospital Emergency Medical Services, in Nevada, which is taking ultrasound and lab out in the field to improve patient outcomes.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11 / 2011
Becoming an Emergency Medical Technician: Urban-Rural Differences in Motivation and Job Satisfaction
Author(s): P. Daniel Patterson, Victoria A Freeman, Charity G. Moore, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
This study uses cross-sectional data from the 2003 national Longitudinal Emergency
Medical Technician Attributes and Demographic Study (LEADS) Project to explore urban-rural
differences in why EMTs enter the field, what is important in their jobs, and whether they are
satisfied with their profession.
Date: 03 / 2007
Challenges for Rural Emergency Medical Services: Medical Oversight (Findings Brief)
Author(s): Victoria Freeman, Rebecca Slifkin, Daniel Patterson
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Examines the challenges faced by local rural EMS agencies in obtaining a medical director and ensuring medical oversight for EMS personnel.
Date: 05 / 2008
Changes in Emergency Department Access Between 2001 and 2005 Among General and Vulnerable Populations
Author(s): Yu-Chu Shen, Renee Hsia
Sponsoring organization: AcademyHealth
Examines how geographic access to emergency departments, measured by driving time, changed from 2001 to 2005. Results showed that rural communities and vulnerable populations, such as Hispanics, have poorest access.
Journal citation: Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages: 1-3
Date: 11 / 2010
Characteristics of Frequent Emergency Department Users
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Peppe, Jim W. Mays, Holen C. Chang, Eric Becker, Bianca DiJulio
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
Examines the demographic and health characteristics of people who frequently use hospital Emergency Departments (ED) and how the risk of being a High ED User varies based on these characteristics.
Date: 09 / 2007
Community Paramedicine Evaluation Tool
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Provides a framework by which data can be collected from multiple community paramedicine programs to develop common successes and challenges. Designed to address rural settings.
Date: 03 / 2012
Community Paramedics Widen Medical Services in Rural Areas
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights how rural communities in Colorado and Minnesota are training paramedics to also provide home care, immunizations, and other health services.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Volume 2010 Issue Fall
Date: 11 / 2010
Community-Based Needs Assessment: Assisting Communities in Building a Stronger EMS System
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Outlines a community planning process for rural EMS systems that that engages local stakeholders to facilitate appropriate planning and decision making at the local level.
Date: 2007
Contributing Factors and Issues Associated With Rural Ambulance Crashes: Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography
Author(s): Nels Sanddal, Steve Albert, Joseph Hansen, Douglas Kupas
Identifies published literature that describes the frequency, epidemiology, etiology, typology, and cost of ambulance crashes generally and rural ambulance crashes specifically.
Date: 08 / 2008
Distance Education in EMS: A Literature Review and Rural/Urban Comparison
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Explores what is known about distance learning in EMS and how distance learning is being used to provide continuing education to EMS professionals in rural and urban areas. Includes recommendations for future development and application.
Date: 2007
Emergency Departments Under Growing Pressures
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Reports on a set of interviews with emergency department heads and others practicing in emergency departments.
Date: 08 / 2009
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Activities Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
Describes the EMS-related projects that states proposed to conduct in fiscal year 2004-
2005 as part of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program.
Date: 02 / 2006
Emergency Medical Services Education Agenda for the Future: A Systems Approach
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Contains a vision for an education system that promises improved efficiency for the national EMS education process, enhanced consistency in education quality, and ultimately, greater entry-level student competence.
Date: 06 / 2000
Emergency Medical Services in Frontier Areas: Volunteer Community Organizations
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Frontier Communities
Provides information on paid and volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers in frontier and rural areas. Discusses challenges facing volunteer EMS systems and provides examples of different types of programs from several states.
Date: 04 / 2006
EMS Workforce for the 21st Century: A National Assessment
Sponsoring organization: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Emergency Medical Services Division
Results of research that address workforce planning such as having adequate EMS workforce, attracting and retaining EMS workers, maintaining EMS workforce resources across all populations and geo-graphic areas, future demand, and obtaining information.
Date: 06 / 2008
Future of Emergency Care Series: Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Part two in a series of three reports from the Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. Examines pediatric emergency and trauma care. This report is also a follow-up to the 1993 IOM report Emergency Medical Services for Children.
Date: 2006
Future of Emergency Care Series: Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Part one in a series of three reports from the Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. Examines prehospital EMS services.
Date: 2006
Future of Emergency Care Series: Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Part three in a series of three reports from the Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. Examines hospital-based emergency and trauma care.
Date: 2006
Future of Emergency Care: Dissemination Workshop Series
Sponsoring organization: Institute of Medicine
Summarizes the proceedings of three one-day regional dissemination workshops, conducted in Salt Lake City, UT; Chicago, IL; and New Orleans, LA. Topics include pediatric emergency care and care in rural areas; workforce issues and hospital efficiency; and EMS issues and disaster preparedness.
Date: 2007
Guide for Enhancing Rural Emergency Medical Services
Sponsoring organization: Transportation Research Board
Offers guidance for implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Provides strategies that can be employed to enhance rural emergency medical services.
Date: 2005
Guide to Traffic Control of Rural Roads in an Agricultural Emergency
Author(s): Jerry L. Graham, Jessica M. Hutton, Shinian Cao, Michael Fagel, William Wright
Sponsoring organization: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Explores recommended practices and procedures associated with traffic control on local and state roads during agricultural emergencies.
Date: 05 / 2008
Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients: Recommendations of the National Expert Panel on Field Triage, 2011
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Update of the guidance recommended in the 2006 Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients. The new version provides changes to the decision scheme for EMS providers who care for and transport patients injured from motor vehicle crashes, falls, penetrating injuries, and other injury mechanisms each day in our nation’s communities.
Journal citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) Volume 61 Issue 1
Date: 01 / 2012
Improved EMS Delivery can Reduce Fatalities on Rural Roads
Sponsoring organization: National Cooperative Highway Research Program
One of a series of guides to help states improve rural highway safety.
Issues in Staffing Emergency Medical Services: A National Survey of Local Rural and Urban EMS Directors
Author(s): Victoria Freeman
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Explores rural-urban differences in medical oversight and the recruitment and retention of
emergency medical technicians and paramedics as reported by a survey of 1,425 local EMS directors.
Date: 05 / 2008
Pediatric Care in Rural Hospital Emergency Departments (Final Report)
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Randy K. Randolph, Stephanie Poley, Sarah Friedman, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Analyzes data from the Emergency Pediatric Services and Equipment Supplement (EPSES) to the National Hospital Ambulatory Medicare Care Survey to compare rural and urban hospitals’ responses on various dimensions of pediatric Emergency Department care.
Date: 05 / 2010
Pediatric Care in Rural Hospital Emergency Departments (Findings Brief)
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Randy K. Randolph, Stephanie Poley, Sarah Friedman, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Reports that optimal emergency care for children may be difficult for rural hospitals to provide.
Date: 05 / 2010
Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural & Frontier EMS in the U.S. Health System
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Compares the findings of the Institute of Medicine's Future of Emergency Care reports with previous work on Rural Health and with the Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future and HRSA Model Trauma System Planning and Evaluation document. Identifies similarities and overlaps of the recommendations and approaches.
Date: 2007
Recruitment and Retention of a Quality Health Workforce in Rural Areas, Number 13: Emergency Medical Services
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
Discusses the challenges facing rural and frontier emergency medical services, including recruitment, financial issues, and training. Part of a series of issue papers addressing rural health care workforce development through career pipeline programs.
Date: 11 / 2005
Rural Ambulance Crashes Literature Review
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Reviews published research pertaining to ambulance crashes with a special emphasis on the rural environment. Provides an overview of the magnitude of the risk that rural ambulance operators face every time they respond to an illness or injury. Includes citations to the literature, with annotations.
Date: 2007
Rural Ambulance Service Budget Model
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Provides an overview and instructions for using the Rural Ambulance Service Budget Model, a budgeting and financial management tool for rural ambulance services and rescue squads.
Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future: A Service Chief's Guide to Creating Community Support of Excellence in EMS
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Identifies ideas that can be applied in rural and frontier EMS agencies to support rural EMS services. A companion document to the 2004 report, the Rural and Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future.
Date: 2007
Rural and Frontier EMS Town Hall Meeting Summary
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
Highlights several town hall meetings that were conducted by HRSA's REMSTTAC during which rural EMS providers identified various issues of interest and concern to their local agency.
Date: 2007
Rural Emergency Department Staffing: Potential Implications for the Quality of Emergency Care Provided in Rural Areas
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Reports results of a study of rural emergency department staffing and discusses potential
implications of staffing for the quality of emergency care provided in rural areas.
Date: 08 / 2007
Rural EMS Crisis: An Interview with Gary Wingrove
Author(s): Raphael Barishansky
Sponsoring organization: EMS World
An interview with former Minnesota State EMS Director Gary Wingrove about the problems faced by rural EMS systems.
Date: 01 / 2011
Rural EMS Managers Awareness Program
Sponsoring organization: Office of Rural Health Policy
Provides new emergency medical services agency managers with an orientation to the broad scope of an EMS system. Includes background information and covers 14 components of the EMS system.
Date: 2007
Rural Highway Mass Casualty Guidelines: Resources for State and Local Officials
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State EMS Officials
Discusses rural highway mass casualty readiness. Focuses on improving response in rural areas of state EMS systems, and to further collaboration with state offices of highway safety and state traffic safety engineering staff.
Date: 03 / 2012
Rural Hospital Support for Emergency Medical Services (Final Report)
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Hilda A. Howard, Ruth Lavergne
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Discusses the proportion of rural hospitals who support or operate EMS units, financial investments made by these hospitals in EMS, and communities in which these hospitals are located.
Date: 11 / 2010
Rural Hospital Support for Emergency Medical Services (Findings Brief)
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Hilda A. Howard, Ruth Lavergne
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Uses Medicare Hospital Cost Reports to identify rural hospitals, with and without Emergency Medical Services (EMS) units, to answer the following questions: what proportion of rural hospitals support or operate EMS units; has this changed in last five years; what are the characteristics of rural hospitals that support or operate EMS; what are the financial investments made by these hospitals in EMS; and what describes the communities in which these hospitals are located.
Date: 11 / 2010
Rural Volunteer EMS: Reports from the Field
Author(s): Victoria A. Freeman, Stephen Rutledge, Michael Hamon, Rebecca T. Slifkin
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Explores the current state of rural emergency medical services (EMS) by interviewing 49 local directors from all-volunteer rural services in 23 states.
Date: 08 / 2010
Rural-Urban Differences in Characteristics of Local EMS Agencies (Findings Brief)
Author(s): Victoria Freeman, Rebecca Slifkin, Daniel Patterson
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Describes the characteristics of local rural EMS agencies and important ways that they differ from the characteristics of agencies located in urban areas.
Date: 05 / 2008
State Flex Program EMS/Trauma Activities and Integration of Critical Access Hospitals into the Trauma System (Briefing Paper)
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Nicholas Jennings, Christopher Dickerson
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
Provides information on State Flex Program EMS and trauma-related activities. Focuses on the designation of Critical Assess Hospitals as trauma centers.
Date: 03 / 2010
State Flex Program EMS/Trauma Activities and Integration of Critical Access Hospitals into the Trauma System (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Nicholas Jennings, Christopher Dickerson
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
Reports that more than one-third of all Critical Access Hospitals in the U.S. have been designated as trauma centers. The project team identified a combined total of 560 CAHs designated as trauma centers.
Date: 03 / 2010
State Perspectives Discussion Paper on Development of Community Paramedic Programs
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
Summarizes the current status of community paramedicine programs and presents a synopsis of some of the opportunities and challenges state EMS offices will face as these programs are contemplated in local communities.
Date: 11 / 2010
Telemedicine, Midlevel Practitioners Start to Fill Physician Gap
Author(s): Jennifer Vogel
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Public Radio
Tells how telemedicine and community paramedics are shaping the future of rural medicine in Minnesota.
Date: 06 / 2011
Trauma Systems Save Rural Lives
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Discusses organized trauma care systems, which are critical to reducing mortality and morbidity in rural areas. Highlights include how access to trauma care varies by state, how rural hospitals play a role in trauma care, and a future goal of having coordinated care nationwide.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11 / 2007
Journals
EMS World Magazine
Combines editorial and informative content to help improve the delivery of prehospital emergency medical care. Geared toward the wide array of EMS professionals, including: Paramedics, EMTs, administrators and instructors working in private and public services. Some articles focus on rural emergency services.
Journal of Emergency Medical Services
Provides information for the improvement of patient care in the prehospital setting. Strives for positive change in the field of EMS.
Organizations
American Ambulance Association (AAA)
National organization
Represents ambulance services across the United States that participate in serving more than 75% of the U.S. population with emergency and nonemergency care and medical transportation services.
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Represents physicians who practice emergency medicine. Provides a national report card that includes an assessment of the support that each state provides for its emergency medicine system.
Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS)
National organization
Encourages and promotes quality patient care in America's medical transportation system. Establishes standards for the ambulance service industry.
Critical Illness and Trauma Foundation (CIT)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Focuses on improving outcomes for people who become suddenly ill or who are injured in rural areas of the U.S. and around the world. Dedicated to the prevention of injury and illness, research into rural injury and illness and training for rural emergency medical care providers.
EMS Agency Research Network for Quality & Safety Improvement (EMSARN)
National organization
A network of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies that works to improve quality, safety, and performance in EMS nationwide; it also provides member and non-member EMS agencies with information on issues impacting performance in EMS.
EMS Grant Central Station
National organization
Posts EMS grant opportunities in a variety of states, as well as resource material.
EMS World
Nonprofit/Foundation
An online forum which provides news, video training, podcasts, and events for paramedics and EMTs. Serves urban and rural delivery models including fire-based, municipal, volunteer, and private EMS services.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal government
Responsible for responding to, planning for, recovering from, and mitigating against disasters. Part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
International Roundtable on Community Paramedicine (IRCP)
International organization
Comprised of delegates from various countries and regions dedicated to exploring the promotion and better delivery of health care to rural and remote areas through the utilization of traditional and non-traditional models of care.
National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE)
National organization
Promotes EMS Education, develops and delivers educational resources, and advocates research and lifelong learning.
National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP)
National organization
Consists of physicians and other professionals partnering to provide leadership and foster excellence in out-of-hospital emergency medical services.
National Association of EMTs (NAEMT)
National organization
Serves its professional membership through educational programs, liaison activities, development of national standards and reciprocity, and the development of programs to benefit pre-hospital care personnel.
National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO)
National organization
Provides leadership, vision, resources, and support in developing EMS systems throughout the nation. Formulates national EMS policy. Fosters communication among state EMS directors. Provides a listing of all State EMS Agencies. Includes a focus area on Rural EMS.
National Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Data Analysis Resource Center (NEDARC)
National organization
Helps EMSC grantees and state EMS offices develop their own capabilities to collect, analyze, and utilize EMS and other healthcare data to improve the quality of care in state EMS and trauma systems.
National EMS Information System Technical Assistance Center (NEMSIS)
National organization
Offers technical assistance on the implementation and tracking of National EMS Data.
National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA)
National organization
Identifies, develops, promotes and disseminates best practices in the management of EMS operations. Represents over 1,600 EMS leaders including fire chiefs, administrators, directors, managers, and supervisors from across North America.
National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
National organization
A nonprofit membership association which represents the interests of the volunteer fire, emergency medical services, and rescue services.
North Central EMS Cooperative (NCEMSC)
National organization
Maintains a network of more than 3000 EMS organizations in 49 states and several provinces, all purchasing equipment together on national contracts.
North Central EMS Institute (NCEMSI)
National organization
Provides leadership in EMS through educating, standard setting and benchmarking. Develops benchmarks definitions for the ambulance industry.
Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium (RDPC)
National organization
Provides training and resources for emergency first responders, with an emphasis on rural areas. Training is free and is certified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Rural Emergency Medical Services & Trauma Technical Assistance Center (REMSTTAC)
Federal government
Serves as a national focal point for the dissemination of information on rural and frontier emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma care. REMSTTAC can be utilized by various rural and frontier EMS providers including federal grant recipients, state EMS and rural health offices, and their constituencies, such as rural hospitals and communities.
Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC)
National organization
Assists states with all aspects of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program), including Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) conversion, networking, EMS and performance improvement. TASC is the technical assistance center for the Flex Program, and a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center.
U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
Federal government
Works to reduce fire deaths through data collection, public education, research and training efforts. Part of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Western EMS Network (WEMSN)
National organization
Provides rural and frontier EMS agencies in MT, WY, ID, WA, AK, OR, NV, UT, AZ, NM and CA a network which includes purchasing equipment together on national contracts. A companion cooperative, the Western EMS Network provides similar purchasing services to the western states not served by NCEMSC.
Terms & Acronyms
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Prehospital health care for patients with real or perceived emergencies from the time point of emergency telephone access until arrival and transfer of care to the hospital.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) A member of the EMS team who provides out-of-hospital emergency care; includes certifications of EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic which identify progressively advancing levels of care.
EMS System Any specific arrangement of emergency medical personnel, equipment, and supplies designed to function in a coordinated fashion. May be local, regional, state, or national.
First Responder Initial level of care within an EMS system.
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