DHS Releases National Emergency Comms Plan

     The NECP is the country's first strategic plan to improve emergency response communications, and was developed with input from more than 150 public- and private-sector emergency communications officials. It is designed to complement existing initiatives and legislation, and fits with the National Response Framework, National Incident Management System and National Preparedness Guidelines. Its goal is to improve nationwide response efforts and bolster situational awareness, information sharing and command and control operations.

     The Plan sets three goals:

• By 2010, that 90% of urban areas designated as high-risk under the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
• By 2011, that 75% of non-UASI jurisdictions can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within one hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
• By 2013, that 75% of all jurisdictions can demonstrate response-level emergency communications within three hours of a significant event.

     For more, see www.dhs.gov.

NEW IAFC REPORT looks at EMS
     The International Association of Fire Chiefs' EMS and Volunteer and Combination Officers sections have produced a report aimed at helping volunteer and combination departments expand their EMS services. The report focuses on areas such as communications, deployment, logistics, funding, training/development, human resources and quality management.

     Find the groups' Orange Ribbon Report at www.VCOS.org or www.iafc.org/emsSection.

LINE-OF-DUTY DEATHS
     • Paramedic Mark E. Marvel, 45, of Seals Ambulance Service in metro Indianapolis, died from a cardiac event while on duty July 25. He was director of training for Seals, a volunteer firefighter and part of a local hospital's neonatal transport team.

NEWS IN BRIEF
     U.S. and international providers will come together for a seven-day EMS Study Tour prior to this month's EMS EXPO in Las Vegas. From Oct. 7–14 they will travel around the Southwest, visiting an array of EMS systems, in an attempt to share ideas and foster collaboration. Participants will start in Los Angeles and travel through San Diego, Tucson, Grand Canyon and Tuba City (AZ) before concluding at EXPO, where they will discuss their experiences at an event on October 16 … Responding to reports of metal fatigue and leg breakage, Ferno is conducting a field inspection on certain PROFlexx Model 35X cots; relevant serial numbers are between 06 002156 and 07 054091. For more information call 866/987-3776 or e-mail quality.products@ferno.com … The EMS Workforce for the 21st Century Project released its draft EMS Workforce Agenda for the Future; see www.emsworkforce.com … Hennepin County (MN) Medical Center received the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems' President's Award for its response to last year's I-35W bridge collapse … American LaFrance has successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy … Advocates for EMS is working with Congressional staff to reinstate provisions of the Ryan White CARE Act aimed at protecting emergency responders exposed to bodily fluids … The National Academies Press is offering Dispensing Medical Countermeasures for Public Health Emergencies, a published summary of a workshop held earlier this year … The NAEMT released its annual strategic plan … Elderly trauma patients in Maryland are less likely to be taken to trauma centers than younger patients with the same emergencies, Johns Hopkins researchers found. They suggested unconscious age bias as a cause … Under a program called Street Calls, D.C. Fire and EMS providers are helping social workers check on at-risk families and children … It now takes almost an hour on average for emergency department patients to see a doctor, the CDC reported … The death of a Georgia woman following a 9-1-1 address error led to the reassignment of Fulton County's 9-1-1 director … Officials with the union representing fire and EMS providers in Kansas City said they oppose bulletproof vests for first responders following the ambush shooting of a rookie St. Louis firefighter … A former Oregon paramedic accused of fondling women during ambulance transports was sentenced to five years in prison … Officials with Virginia's Lifeline Ambulance Service cited a "technical glitch" after paychecks to workers bounced in July, leading some to bounce their own checks and incur overdraft fees. A county Supervisor who was a longtime fire-rescue member and won a lottery jackpot in 1991 advanced funds to the affected providers.