March 2004 EMS Wire Service

Gilmore Panel Issues Final Report

With its fifth and final report before a scheduled early-2004 disbandment, the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction-popularly known as the Gilmore Commission-issued a last plea for Congress to help prepare EMS responders for a terrorist attack.

In a report released in December, the group also called for the revival of a federal office overseeing EMS, as well as several other steps, including: a process for the Department of Homeland Security to develop standards for local-level emergency responders; consolidation of the federal grant-making process; elimination of duplicate emergency preparedness and response authorities within the DHS; consolidation of the number of federal departments involved in developing emergency communications systems and equipment standards; and establishing a "matrix" of mutual aid among local, state and federal agencies.

The panel has issued a total of 144 recommendations since its inception in 1999; 125 have been adopted and are being implemented either wholly or in part. The entire 2003 report can be viewed at www.rand.org/nsrd/terrpanel/volume_v/volume_v.pdf.

-www.MERGINET.com

ED Delays Keep Rigs Out of Service

Overcrowded hospital emergency departments increasingly lead to long EMS turnaround times and keep ambulances out of service, a study in the January Annals of Emergency Medicine reported.

Over a one-year period, the study found that Los Angeles Fire Department ambulances were kept from service on more than 21,000 occasions while crews waited to transfer patients to open gurneys. One in eight LAFD transports encountered such a delay; the median length was 27 minutes, and more than 8% lasted over an hour.

"This poses a significant threat to our EMS system's ability to adequately serve the community," lead author Marc Eckstein, MD, LAFD medical director, said of the study. "Most people assume if there's an ambulance in their neighborhood, it's available to respond to a medical emergency, but we found this is often not the case."

Critical visits per California emergency department increased by 59% in the last decade, while the number of EDs in the state decreased by 12% (by 21% in Los Angeles County) and the number of staffed critical-care beds by 4%.

-American College of Emergency Physicians

VoIP Providers to Offer 9-1-1 Access

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) has announced an agreement with the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) industry that will provide emergency 9-1-1 access to callers using VoIP.

Under the agreement between NENA and the Voice on the Net (VON) Coalition, which represents VoIP providers, those providers will, within 3–6 months, be able to route caller information, including location, to the nearest public-safety answering point. In the interim, calls will be delivered through the existing 9-1-1 network, along with callback numbers and, where possible, location information.

Though few 9-1-1 calls are currently made via VoIP, Internet telephone service is expected to grow as major telephone and cable companies begin providing it. Participation in the agreement is voluntary because VoIP providers are not regulated by the FCC and hence do not fall under the legislation mandating cell phone companies to transmit caller location information. The FCC is considering possible regulation of the VoIP industry.

-National Emergency Number Association

Vintage Vehicles, Photos Sought

The New York State Museum is looking for historical and vintage ambulances for an exhibit on the history of emergency medical services scheduled to open in November.

The exhibit, which will run from November 2004–May 2005, will focus on the evolution of EMS systems from the 19th century through the present. It will feature examples of vehicles used as ambulances over the years, as well as samples of historical equipment, uniforms and training materials.

Vehicles planned for display include a horse-drawn carriage, a 1917 Babcock-Dodge motor ambulance, a 1926 Cunningham, a 1939 Superior-Pontiac, a 1948 Meteor-Cadillac and a 1974 S&S-Cadillac. The museum is seeking additional models, particularly Type I and Type II vehicles from the early 1970s with histories of use in New York, as well as historical photos of ambulance crews at work. The museum will provide insurance and pay shipping for any items loaned, as well as credit the lender in exhibit labeling.

Anyone with a vehicle or other material suitable for inclusion in the exhibit is asked to contact Geoffrey Stein, 518/473-3810, gstein@mail.nysed.gov, or Thomas Fortune, 518/402-0996, tmf03@health.state.ny.us.

-New York Dept. of Health Bureau of EMS

ACEP Honors Arizona Emergency Doc

Arizona emergency physician Arthur B. Sanders, MD, has received the American College of Emergency Physicians' Award for Outstanding Contributions in Research.

Sanders, formerly chief of staff at Tucson's University Medical Center, is a pioneer of CPR and cardiac resuscitation who has published 47 review articles, 39 book chapters and edited six textbooks. He has published 77 peer-reviewed articles in an array of medical journals. A professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine in the University of Arizona's College of Medicine, he has served as president of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and chair of ACEP's Ethics Committee.

-American College of Emergency Physicians

Moore Seeking Valor Nominations

Nominations are due by April 1 for the second annual Moore Medical Valor Award for EMS professionals.

Created to honor heroism in the line of duty, the award can go to any U.S. first responder, EMT, paramedic, firefighter, rescue worker or other emergency professional involved in prehospital care. The act for which the provider is nominated must have occurred between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004, and must have been part of an official EMS agency incident response.

Nomination forms can be downloaded at www.mooremedical.com and www.MERGINET.com.

-Moore Medical

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