GEORGIA

An Endorsement of the Proposal to Establish a United States Emergency Medical Service Administration

WHEREAS the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services represents the
professional interests of EMS responders, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) and
Paramedics, career and volunteer, of the State of Georgia;

WHEREAS EMT’s and Paramedics proudly and bravely serve their communities by responding
to thousands of emergency calls for help from the citizens they serve daily. However, even in a post-9/11 environment a critical component of the first responder community—Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) response —is a missing piece of the preparedness puzzle;
WHEREAS Federal offices that have been involved in EMS have had little to do with direct
responder support, responder health & safety or operational innovation targeted for street level
operations. The recent past demonstrates that the global federal system has been primarily
concerned with curriculum development and modest medical intervention programs. While these issues are important from a “global” EMS system perspective, EMS “response” support and
development of the responder have gone unaddressed resulting in what can best be described as the missing “center of gravity”. This has led to trivial support for field operations and marginalized EMS agencies;

WHEREAS EMS has a multifaceted role: as essential public safety responders, side-by-side with fire and police; as an out-of-hospital component of the health care continuum; and as public health
providers. As such, there are numerous federal Departments that have complementary objectives
with the EMS mission. However, all of these Departments have such a broad scope that EMS
receives little, if any priority. The EMS program office in DOT / NHTSA appears to have the most prominent EMS role in the federal government, yet their involvement stems from the
formative years when EMS was primarily linked to automobile crashes. They have made
progress, but NHTSA’s focus diverges from the evolution of EMS;

WHEREAS EMS needs an officially recognized seat at the table as first responder policy,
funding, and operations are debated and charted at the federal level. To this end, EMS deserves
an appropriate home in the federal government that is afforded to the other first responder
constituencies; “

WHEREAS Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services supports all objectives
articulated by the GWU Homeland Security Policy Institute report, including but not limited to:
the creation of a national EMS Administration, a national training academy, data collection and
research. The Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services strongly asserts that the
USEMSA must not be assumed under USFA. Such a move may irrevocably subjugate EMS to
the fire service in the eyes of providers, government and the public. EMS must have autonomy
to effectively advance as a public safety and health care entity with the specific delivery model
adoption at the local level remaining a local decision;
WHEREAS Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services believes the optimal solution
to advance EMS in the United States and within the federal government, both from a policy and
financial perspective, is to create a U.S. EMS Administration as a distinct component of the
Department of Homeland Security;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that on May 2, 2005 the Georgia Association of
Emergency Medical Services fervently endorse the concept of creating a United States
Emergency Medical Service Administration to effectively support EMS and the protection of this nation. Further, we request that the Congress involve the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services in the development and planning for this institution.


Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 4626
Macon, Georgia 31208
Phone (478)633-7514
Fax (478)749-9145
Website: http://www.gaemt.com

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