EMS System Review - State of New Jersey

State of New Jersey, DHSS, OEMSConsulting Services: EMS System ReviewAdvanced Life Support – Dispatched only to life-threatening incidents, AdvancedLife Support (ALS) providers offer the highest level of prehospital care. ALS service in the Stateof New Jersey is provided by paramedics and Mobile Intensive Care Registered Nurses throughMobile Intensive Care Units (MICU) and JEMSTAR helicopters.MICUs are operated by licensed, acute-care hospitals and are bound by a state-issuedcertificate of need, which allocates sole-provider service areas to specific hospitals. These ALSunits are generally prohibited from transporting patients, unless no BLS ambulance is available.Three exceptions are the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) EMS inNewark, Jersey City Medical Center EMS in Jersey City, and Robert Wood Johnson UniversityEMS in New Brunswick, that routinely provide both BLS and ALS transport services. 8JEMSTAR – The JEMSTAR Air Medical Program was designed to provide rapidemergency transport and care for trauma patients in New Jersey. The program operates fourmedically-equipped Sikorsky S76-B helicopters (two operational helicopters and two backup)that provide on-scene landings and inter-facility transfers. The helicopters are staffed by ALSflight paramedics and a flight nurse and flown and maintained by the New Jersey State Police(NJSP). Several privately-operated air medical providers are also licensed to provide interfacilitytransports and backup JEMSTAR helicopters as needed.NorthSTAR and SouthSTAR are the two JEMSTAR helicopters in operation to serve theState of New Jersey. NorthSTAR is based at Somerset Airport and covers the northern portion ofthe state. The EMS component and medical direction for NorthSTAR are provided by the EMSdepartment and Level I trauma center at University Hospital. SouthSTAR is stationed at WestJersey Health System’s Hospital at Vorhees. The medical component is provided by the MobileIntensive Care Unit Program of Virtua Health System, with direction for trauma patientsprovided by the Level I trauma center located at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center,Camden. 9Political Structure of the StateLike the United States government, the government of the State of New Jersey is dividedinto three coequal branches: (1) the legislative branch, responsible for enacting laws; (2) theexecutive branch, which includes the Governor and state agencies and functions to carry out theprograms established by law; and (3) the judicial branch, including the state supreme court andlower courts. New Jersey’s state government also includes a variety of departments and agencies,9 State of New Jersey, Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of EMS.http://www.state.nj.us/health/ems/ams.shtml.TriData, a Division of 10September 2007System Planning Corporation