JimSpoor
05-15-2003, 11:11
This article comes from Virginia.
Clarke Rescue Companies Seek
EMT Rule Exemption
By Val Van Meter
The Winchester Star
BERRYVILLE — Clarke County’s emergency medical personnel are
sending out a call for help to the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Beth Leffel of the Clarke County Fire and Rescue Association has
asked the governing body to approve an application from the county’s
four volunteer fire and rescue companies to the state Emergency
Medical Services Office seeking an exemption from a transport
requirement.
County Administrator David Ash told the supervisors Tuesday that a
new regulation requires an Emergency Medical Technician be part of
any ambulance crew in which an Advanced Life Support technician is
giving care.
Ash said ALS technicians are certified to give a higher level of care
than EMTs.
However, he said, under this state regulation, while an ALS technician
could be a first responder and give higher care, once an ambulance
arrives on the scene, the ALS technician would not be allowed to give
the advanced care he or she is trained to give, if the ambulance crew
did not have an EMT with it.
Ash noted that, because Clarke is a small county with mostly volunteer
emergency medical staff, sometimes only two personnel respond to a
call. Even if the driver were an EMT, he could not assist the ALS
technician while driving.
The state EMS office insists that requests for exemptions be reviewed
by the local governing body before they are submitted.
Leffel’s letter notes that all of the county’s volunteer fire companies are
joining in the request for exemptions.
“This is a backdoor attempt to run the volunteers out of business and
make it more difficult and more expensive to provide service,” Ash
said.
Supervisors Chairman John Staelin agreed.
“This is state bureaucracy at its worst,” he said.
Supervisor Michael Hobert asked Ash to investigate whether any
liability would attach to the volunteers or the county with the
exemption.
The supervisors agreed to review the request at their June meeting.
---------------------------------------------------------
I think the state has made a mistake. This law makes it more difficult and more expensive to put ammbulances on the road. In all likelihood, this will lead to longer response times. I do not see this law improving patient care or outcomes.
Clarke Rescue Companies Seek
EMT Rule Exemption
By Val Van Meter
The Winchester Star
BERRYVILLE — Clarke County’s emergency medical personnel are
sending out a call for help to the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Beth Leffel of the Clarke County Fire and Rescue Association has
asked the governing body to approve an application from the county’s
four volunteer fire and rescue companies to the state Emergency
Medical Services Office seeking an exemption from a transport
requirement.
County Administrator David Ash told the supervisors Tuesday that a
new regulation requires an Emergency Medical Technician be part of
any ambulance crew in which an Advanced Life Support technician is
giving care.
Ash said ALS technicians are certified to give a higher level of care
than EMTs.
However, he said, under this state regulation, while an ALS technician
could be a first responder and give higher care, once an ambulance
arrives on the scene, the ALS technician would not be allowed to give
the advanced care he or she is trained to give, if the ambulance crew
did not have an EMT with it.
Ash noted that, because Clarke is a small county with mostly volunteer
emergency medical staff, sometimes only two personnel respond to a
call. Even if the driver were an EMT, he could not assist the ALS
technician while driving.
The state EMS office insists that requests for exemptions be reviewed
by the local governing body before they are submitted.
Leffel’s letter notes that all of the county’s volunteer fire companies are
joining in the request for exemptions.
“This is a backdoor attempt to run the volunteers out of business and
make it more difficult and more expensive to provide service,” Ash
said.
Supervisors Chairman John Staelin agreed.
“This is state bureaucracy at its worst,” he said.
Supervisor Michael Hobert asked Ash to investigate whether any
liability would attach to the volunteers or the county with the
exemption.
The supervisors agreed to review the request at their June meeting.
---------------------------------------------------------
I think the state has made a mistake. This law makes it more difficult and more expensive to put ammbulances on the road. In all likelihood, this will lead to longer response times. I do not see this law improving patient care or outcomes.