EMS System Review - State of New Jersey

State of New Jersey, DHSS, OEMSConsulting Services: EMS System ReviewRecommendation 2: The NJOEMS should become a clearinghouse for EMS Research.They should work in conjunction with state medical schools emergency medicine residencyprograms and EMS management educational programs to facilitate prehospital research.Recommendation 3: The NJOEMS and the MICU Advisory Committee should workwith the NJ Attorney General’s office to make legal and administrative changes that willfacilitate EMS research.Legislation and Regulation – This component produced some of the liveliestdiscussions of the focus groups. While passions ran high, there was a great deal of consensus.Twenty-two specific ideas were identified by the groups. The top five ideas included:1. Require local government to provide EMS – This topic appears in multiplecomponents and is one of the most seriously discussed by the focus groups. Localmunicipalities have no legal obligation to provide EMS as they do law enforcementand fire suppression. While it would be a political disaster for a municipality tototally ignore its moral obligation to provide EMS, not having a legal obligationinvites benign neglect. Until the need to act becomes a duty to act, the subjectbecomes a lower priority. Fortunately, there are several possible alternatives toproviding EMS including, career municipal (fire, police, or separate service),volunteer first aid squads, commercial services, hospital-based, or a combination ofchoices.Recommendation 4: Legislation should be passed that requires local municipalities toprovide EMS (or cause to be provided). This obligation should be similar to the obligation toprovide law enforcement and fire services.2. Pass enabling legislation – That allows the executive branch more discretion toadminister and oversee the EMS system.3. Level playing field with one standard – EMS services should have one standardregardless of whether they are volunteer, career municipal, hospital-based, orcommercial.4. Take medical protocols out of regulations – Protocols should be in a separatedocument produced by NOEMS. They should be taken out of current regulations.5. All EMS providers should be regulated – All providers, regardless of operatingplatform, should be regulated by OEMS. This topic was agreed upon by all groupsexcept for the NJSFAC. They continue to oppose any regulation that involves crewsizeminimums or response times. They do believe that the non-affiliated squadsshould have a choice of being regulated or members of the NJSFAC.TriData, a Division of 51September 2007System Planning Corporation