EMS BullEtin

Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services, Virginia Department of Health Spring 2007

What Do You Have Planned for EMS Week?“Extraordinary People -Extraordinary Service” isthe theme for this year’sNational EMS Week,which is May 20 - 26.EachEMSagencyinVir-giniashoulddosomethingto remind the people intheir communities of theextraordinaryservicesthattheyprovide.

EMS Week provides agreat opportunity for in-jury prevention and pub-lichealtheducation, fundraisingandrecruitment.

Agencies can hold events that can rangefromopenhouses tobloodpressureclin-icsorevensafetyfairs.Demonstrationsor

mockdisasterswithmou-lagecanbeabighitandprovideagreatnewsitemforyourlocalnewspaperorTVstation.

EMSWeekeventscanbeaperfectforumforreach-ing prospective mem-bers. Have applicationsand job announcementsreadytohandouttothosewho express an interestinworkingorvolunteer-ing in the EMS field.

Fundraisingisanecessi-tyformostagencies,but

itdoesn’thavetobecomplicated.

Continued on Page 3

ThetransferoftheVirginiaEmergency Medical Ser-vicesforChildren(EMSC)Program to the Office of EMS became official on March 1 with the awardof the Health and HumanResources AdministrationEMSPartnershipGrant.

“ThetransferoftheEMSCprogram to the Office of EMS is amilestone in thehistory of this office,” said Gary Brown, Director, “Ihave great hopes and ex-

pectations with the pro-gram being housed here– we have an opportunitytomakeadifferenceinpa-tient care for children andleadthenationasadvocatesandleadersforEMSC.”

Brown also emphasizedthat a great foundationwas established by formerEMSC Coordinator PetraMenzel,Dr.TheresaGuinsandtheEMSCGovernor’sAdvisory Board Commit-tee. The Office plans to

continue this partnershipin support of specializedtraining and attention forthepediatricpatient.

The EMSC program wasestablished in 1996 andwas lead by the VirginiaCommonwealth Univer-sity. The EMSC programisnowapartoftheOEMSDivision of Trauma/Criti-cal Care. Visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/oemsformoreinformation on the EMSCprogram.

EMSC Moves to The Office of EMS

HamptonDivisionofFire&RescuePhotoCourtesyofBrianRueger

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In This Issue

2007 General Assembly UpdateLive EMSAT Web Training

CISMHMERT Updates

EMS Week

Emergency OperationsDDNR

Bring Out the DED

Regulations Myths & MoreGet to Know Your Rep

Calendar of EventsTown Forums

Duringthe2007VirginiaGeneralAs-semblytwoHouseBillswereofferedfor consideration concerning Emer-gency Medical Services (EMS) inVirginia. Both bills were referred totheHouseCommitteeonHealth,Wel-fare and Institutions and the SenateCommitteeonEducationandHealth.House Bill No. 2161 and House BillNo.2211wereapprovedbybothcom-mitteesunanimously.

These amendments are important tothecontinuedsuccessofcurrentbillsthat need to reflect contemporary lan-guage,policyandpractices.Withcleanand refined language, those whom the billsreferto,inthiscasetheVirginiaEMS employees, stake holders andproviders, are better able to translateand reflect the current trends in the field.

House Bill No. 2161 refines the lan-guageusedintheStatewideEmergen-

cyMedicalCareSystem.Thisincludeslanguage revisions to the emergencymedical services performance im-provement(qualityassurance)processand also broadens the list of organi-zations currently active in improvingemergency care. This bill allows forVirginia EMS Stakeholders involvedinout-of-hospitalmedicalcaretobet-ter understand the mission of perfor-manceimprovement.Italsostatesthata plan for performance improvementmustbedraftedandimplemented.

House Bill No. 2211 clarifies current code language used in Pre-hospitalPatient Care Reporting (PPCR) pro-cedures, the Virginia Trauma Regis-try and the confidentiality of Virginia EMSpatientsandpersonnel.Thisbillupdatesall languagedealingwiththePPCRandtheStatewideTraumaReg-istry and reflects the new electronic submissionofallreports.Thisupdate

helpstomovetheentireVirginiaEMSsystemintopresentdaypracticesandmodern methods of tracking and re-cording submissions. This will helpbetter the quality of data collectionandanalysisallowingforbettertreat-mentandperformanceimprovement.

TheGeneralAssemblymovedquicklythrough their 2007 session and ad-journedFeb.24,toreconveneonApril4.OtherremainingHouseBills,Sen-ateBillsandJointResolutionsassoci-atedwithVirginia’sEMSsystemwereeitherapprovedorleftintheirdecidedcommitteesuntilfurthernotice.

Visit http://legis.state.va.us/ for moreinformation on the Virginia GeneralAssembly and the 2007 LegislativeSession.

2007 General Assembly Update

Learn the tricks for‘Keeping the Best!’

These four tools are available at no cost from the Office of EMS. Download your free copies now

at www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems or e-mail emstechasst@vdh.virginia.gov

Discover unique and exciting techniques for motivating and keeping your agency’s

members.

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Live EMSAT Web TrainingWithproperequipment,viewersatdesignatedEMSATsitesinVirginiacan receiveCategory1and2continuingedu-cation credit via the Internet.This liveWeb streamingofEMSATprogramsisatthesametimeasourregularsatellitebroadcasts,from7:30–8:30p.m.onthethirdWednesdayofeachmonth.

OEMS-designatedWeb-basedsitesmusthavethelatestver-sionofMediaWindowsPlayer,anLCDorDLPprojectorandahigh-speedbroadbandinternetconnection.Themini-mumsuggestedbroadbandconnectionspeedis512Kbps.Unfortunately, having a high-speed internet connectiondoesnotguaranteethatWeb-basedliveEMSATbroadcastswillworkforyou.

DesignatedEMSATsitesmustbelargeenoughtoseat8-10people, and are usually located at squad buildings, fire sta-tions, hospitals, schools, etc.To request an application tobecomeaWeb-basedEMSATsite,orformoreinformationonEMSAT,pleasecontactTracieJonesorTerryCoyattheVirginia Office of EMS (800) 523-6019, (804) 864-7600 or terry.coy@vdh.virginia.gov. Visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/oemsfortheEMSATschedule.

EMS Bulletin

Manylocalb u s i n e s smay do-nate itemsthat be used for raffles or silent auctions. These items can evenbeusedasdoorprizestohelpenticepeopletoattendyoureventandstayforawhiletoenjoyallofthegreatactivitiesthatareplanned.

To help plan your event, each agency will receive anAmerican College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)EMS Week planning kit. TheACEP Web site also hasthekitavailablefordownloadandhasseveralotheruse-fulitemslikeprintablefactsheets,activitiesforkidsandmoreatwww.acep.org.

EMS Week coincides with EMS For Children Day onMay23andtheNationalEMSMemorialServiceonMay26.FormoreinformationontheMemorialServicepleasevisitwww.nemsms.org.

IfyouneedadditionalassistanceorinformationonEMSWeek please contact Beth Singer with the Office of EMS atelizabeth.singer@vdh.virginia.gov.

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Virginia was the first in the nation to have a coordinated statewide systemof public safety (EMS, fire and law enforcement) Critical Incident StressManagement(CISM)teams.Thereare16 regional CISM teams in Virginiathatareavailable24/7todealwiththestress reactions of our public safetyprofessionals.

Being involved in an EMS, fire or law enforcement job is not easy. Publicsafetypersonnelspecializeinstressfulsituationseveryday.Theseprofession-alsspecializeinrespondingtosomeoneelse’s tragedy–whether it isanauto-mobile accident, a house fire, an injured childoraburglarizedhouse.

The situations that first responders deal with may put their lives in jeopardyfromdealingwithinjuredandsickpa-

tients,toenteringaburningbuildingtobeingshotat.Thoughtheseindividu-alsareloyalanddedicated,theyarenotsuperhuman.

Theymayhavestressreactionsthatin-cludetroublesleeping,intestinalprob-lems,headachesordreamsafterapar-ticularlybadday.

CISMisaprogramthatfocusesonthefact that these stress reactions are anormalcopingmechanism. CISMal-lows individuals involved inacriticalincident todiscuss their reactions inagroup setting (defusing or debriefing) or one on one (individual crisis inter-vention).Talkingdoeshelp.Learningabout normal reactions and ways todeal with stress is an innovative pro-cess,usedaroundtheworld.

Inaddition,CISMcoursesareavailableto learn more about how to deal withstressandtounderstandhowacriticalincidentcanimpactyourlife.CISMisin fact a retention program – keepingpublicsafetyworkersonthejob!

The2007CISMAnnualTrainingwillbeheld fromMay29-June2,2007 inVirginia Beach. The conference bro-chureispostedontheOEMSWebsite,www.virginia.vdh/oems. Three newcoursesbeingofferedthisyear:

l FromTraumatoAddictionl BehavioralEmergencies:SurvivalStrategiesforEMSandCounselorsl StrategicResponsetoCrisis

PleasecontactCarolMorrow,VirginiaCISM Manager (804) 864-76346 formoreinformation.

TheDivisionofEmergencyOperationsisactivelypartici-patinginanumberofeventsinthecomingmonths.Thefirst major event is the Celebration of the 400th Anniver-sary of Jamestown. During the weekend of May 11-13,2007, Health and Medical Emergency Response Team(HMERT)personnelwilldeploytoJamesCityCounty/theCityofWilliamsburgtoaugmentlocalagenciesprovidingmedicalcaretoparticipantsandattendeesofthecelebra-tion.

Whilethenumbersareexpectedtobelowerthaninitiallyprojected, plans are being developed to reflect an expected attendanceofover30,000people.Thisdeploymentwillprovide an opportunity for the HMERTs to work witheachother,aswellaslocalresources,toimproveself-suf-ficiency and interoperability with local, state, and federal agencies.

TheDivisionofEmergencyOperationswillalsobepro-vidingtrainingfortheHMERTs.Thiswillprovideanop-portunityforallpersonneltotraininthemethodsofde-ployment,aswellasemergencymanagementprinciples.Trainingistentativelyplannedforlatesummer/earlyfall.

HMERT Deployments & Trainings

Stressed? CISM May Be For You

EMS Week - Continued from page 1

Spring 2007

Incident CommandUpdates from Emergency Operations

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What Do You Know About DDNR?

The Division of Emergency Opera-tions (DEO) recently welcomed newstaff members to their team. FrankCheatham joined the Division in Oc-tober2006as theHealthandMedicalEmergencyResponseTeam(HMERT)Coordinator. Frank comes to the Of-fice of EMS after 34 years at Dominion VirginiaPowerandmorethan25yearsinEMS. Inhisnewposition,hewilloversee support of HMERT resourcesduringemergencyandnon-emergencyevents,servingasaliaisonbetweentheteams and the office and assuring their deploymentneedsaremet.

WandaStreetisalsonewtotheDEO.Wanda serves as the Senior Secretary

and supports both theDEO and Division ofTrauma and CriticalCare. She comes tothe Office of EMS af-tersevenyearswiththeVirginiaDepartmentofTransportation.Wandaassists in the day-to-day activities that helpkeepthedivisionfunc-tioning.

AthirdstaffmemberhasalsojoinedtheDEO.Although she isnot anew faceto the Office of EMS, Carol Morrow is now the full-time Critical IncidentStressManagement(CISM)Coordina-

tor.CarolpreviouslydividedhertimebetweentheRSAFGrantprogramandCISM program. In her new position,Carol will focus on development andenhancementoftheCISMprogram.

Picturefromlefttoright:FrankCheatham,WandaStreetandCarolMorrow

Durable Do Not Resuscitate (DDNR)ordersallowforapersontochoosenottoberesuscitatedinthecaseofahealthemergency.Insuchcases,therearepro-ceduresandrulestofollow.HowmuchdoyoureallyknowaboutDDNR?

DDNR orders do not expire and canonlyberevokedbythepatientorsome-one designated to act on the patient’sbehalf.TheDDNRordermustprovidethe patient’s full legal name, a physi-cian’s signature and the date issued.DDNR forms are only available tophysiciansandtoanyfacility,programororganizationoperatedorlicensedbystate institutions including the Boardof Health, the Department of MentalHealth, Mental Retardation and Sub-stanceAbuseServices,aswellasotherstateagencies.DDNRorderformscan-notbeissueddirectlytopatients.

Virginia EMS providers can honor aDDNRformissuedbytheVirginiaDe-partmentofHealthoranoriginalphy-

sicianDNRorderwhenapatientisina licensed health care facility, but theformmustincludeallnecessaryinfor-mation and it cannot be a photocopy.EMS providers can also honor a di-rectverbalorderbyaphysicianwhois

presentandinattendanceofthepatientatthetimeofdeath.AnoriginalDDNRformmustbeinapatient’schartwhenresponding to a call from a nursinghomeorhospice.EMSproviderscan-nothonoralivingwillorDDNRformfromanotherstatebut theycanhonora DDNR bracelet or necklace in lieuof a Virginia DDNR form. VirginiaEMSprovidersmustalsodocumentintheir Pre-hospital Patient Care Report(PPCR)thattheywereprovidedwitha

validDDNRform,bracelet/necklaceordoctor’sorder.

DDNRbraceletsandnecklacescanbepurchased at the Oneida NameplateCompany or the Appomattox DrugStore. DDNR bracelets and necklacesare not sold by the Office of EMS and canonlybepurchasedwithappropriateandvalidpaperwork.

ToorderDDNRforms,faxyourrequestto the Office of EMS at (804) 864-7580. YourrequestmustbeonaPhysicianorHealthCareAgencyletterheadoronaDDNRorderform.DDNRformorderscannot be filled over the telephone.

Please visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems/ddnr/ddnr/aspformoreinforma-tion on how to fill out the DDNR form, asample form,aswellasother infor-mation that you should know aboutVirginia Durable Do Not Resuscitateorders or e-mail Russ Stamm at russ.stamm@vdh.virginia.gov.

EMS Bulletin

Get in the know atwww.vdh.virginia.gov/oems

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WelcometotheDivisionofEducation-alDevelopment(DED)Section!

2007isgoingtobeanotherbusyyearfor DED Staff. They will hold EMTInstructor/ALS Coordinator updatesin every Regional Council area againthisyear.PleasecheckeithertheBLSor ALS Programs & Re-sources area of the Educa-tion, Training & Certifica-tion part of the Office of EMSWebsiteatwww.vdh.virginia.gov/oems for thescheduleanddirections.

EMT-Instructor ProgamThe EMT-Instructor Pro-gram is in full swing. TheOffice hosted an EMT In-structor Institute in earlyFebruary in the Tidewaterarea where 26 providersfromaroundthestatecom-pleted their Instructor Cer-tification. Providers who are interested in pursuingEMT-B Instructor Certifi-cation should contact anyRegionalCouncil and register to taketheInstructorwrittenpre-testataCon-solidatedTestSite.Candidatesshouldstudy the 1994 Department of Trans-portation EMT-B Curriculum to pre-pareforthewrittentest.Afterpassingthewrittenpre-test,alleligiblecandi-dateswillbeinvitedtoapracticaltestin mid-April.After the practical test,25-30Candidateswill be selected fortheInstructorInstitutetobeheldattheVirginiaAssociationofVolunteerRes-

cue Squads Rescue College in June.Providers who hold current certifica-tion as a Fire Instructor I are eligibletobridgetoEMT-Instructorthroughanabbreviated process. For more infor-mationontheInstructorProgram,con-tactGregNeimanatgregory.neiman@vdh.virginia.gov.

ALS Coordinator Seminars & Meetings Forty-onecandidatesattendedtheALSCoordinator Seminar in January andbecame endorsed ALS-C’s. The nextALS-CSeminarisscheduledforJuly.ALS providers who are interested inobtaining theirALS-C should contactTomNevetralformoreinformationatthomas.nevetral@vdh.virginia.gov. InFebruary,71ALSCoordinatorsattend-edthemeetingheldatCharlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad. They ad-

dressed issues facingALS education,networked and received their annualInfectiousDiseaseUpdatefromKathyWest. The next ALS Coordinator’smeeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. onJuly20atJeffersonCollegeofHealthSciencesinRoanokecontactTomNev-etralformoreinformation.

It’s a Baby - 28 of themWe are pleased to an-nounce that the Office of Emergency MedicalServices has finalized theadoptionpaperworkfor28LaerdalSimBabyadvancedinfantsimula-tors (www.laerdal.com/document.asp?subnodeid=13010668).Ourlittleones arrived at our Of-fice in Richmond in De-cember and have beenundergoing rigorousphysical examinationsoverthepastfewweeks.The time has come for

the Office to wean our wee ones and distributethemtoouraccreditedEMStraining facilities. Twenty-three ac-credited Intermediate and ParamedictrainingsitesareeligibletoreceivetheSimBaby manikins and will be com-ingtotakethemhomesoon.Aspartoftheadoption,thetrainingsiteswillbeupgradingtheirSimMansoftwareandhardware as well. Congratulations tothe23newparents!

Bring Out The DED

TomNevetral,ALSTrainingSpecialistdemonstratesproperairwaytechniques

Check Your

CEs & Find

Classes

Download RSAF Grant Applications

Spring 2007

Straight From The Rumor Mill... Regulations Myths & MoreOnadailybasis,OEMSprogramrep-resentatives throughout the Common-wealth field questions about “what they heard,” “someone told me” or someother variation of an interpretation ofthe Virginia EMS Regulations. We’lltry to clear up some of the confusionbysharingsomefrequentlyaskedques-tionsandprovidingaccurateanswers:

Q:“IunderstandthatifIdon’thaveanEMTwithmeontheambulance,Ican-notdoALScareandIcanonlyprovideBLScaretothehospital.Infact,IneedtocallthehospitaltogetpermissiontoprovideALScare,right?”

A:Wrong!12VAC5-31-1250(3)Ad-vanced life support vehicle transportstatesinpart:“3. An Attendant must be certified as an emergency medical technician or

an equivalent approved by the Office ofEMSinadditiontotheattendant-in-charge. The attendant must not serveastheattendant-in-charge.Anoperatormay serve as the attendant if certified asanemergencymedicaltechnicianoran equivalent approved by the Office of EMS.”

The staffing of an ALS Ambulance dur-ing transport of anALS level patientneeds to have the ALS provider andanEMT.IfthereisnotanEMT–DONOTWITHOLDCARETOTHEPA-TIENT!12VAC5-31-1060Transportwithout required personnel notes theabilityofsuchatransporttooccur,butitmustbedocumentedonthePrehospi-talPatientCareReport(PPCR).

Q: We were told as a first responder

agency that we did not have to fill out apatientcarereport,wewouldsimplygivethenameofthepatienttothear-rivingambulanceandthatwasit”.

A:A licensedEMSagency inVirgin-ia, whether transport or first response, should document every incident as-signed to their agency, including can-cellations, refusals, standbys (as in fire and law enforcement assist), publicservice,etc.Thisdataisinturnsubmit-ted to the Office of EMS on a quarterly basisasrequiredby§32.1-116.1oftheCodeofVirginia.

Each day new challenges and issuesarise. For the most complete and di-rect answer, contact either your localOEMSProgramRepresentativeorthisOffice, (800) 523-6019.

Get To Know Your Rep...

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What’s your favorite part about your job? Visiting the agencies andthe providers throughout the region.As a volunteer provider and agencymanagermyself,Igettoseehoweachagency does things and I take it backtomyagencyandutilizetheirideasaswellassharethemwithotheragenciesto make their and my jobs easier andmoreproductive.

If you could change anything about being a program rep, what would it be? Beabletodomoresitevisitsandspotchecksinsteadofscheduledbi-an-nualinspections,tobemoreresource-ful and available to the agencies andtheirneeds.

Where within your service area is your favorite place to visit?Iamveryfortunatetoliveandworkinmyregion.Tosee thebeautyof themountains ineachseasonandtravelthemdaily,eachareahastheirownspecialfeaturesthat

are a draw. SmythCounty probablyhas it all with anarray of scenicmountain views,valleysandstreamsthatareverysooth-ing. WashingtonCounty boastssome great eat-eries in the old downtown districtof Abingdon especially. Along theCrooked Road from Ferrum to Clint-woodthereissomuchforeveryonetoenjoy. The natural beauty here is un-matchedanywhereinthecountry.

What’s your favorite thing to do out-side of work? Ilovespendingasmuchtimeaspossiblewithmyfamily.Ienjoycamping with my wife and youngestson, fourwheeling andmost anyout-dooractivity.Also,workinginthisre-giongivesmeafeelforthebestplacestodotheseactivities.Wearealsovery

activewithourchurchandspendtimewiththeyouth.

Final thoughts: The most importantadviceIcanofferwouldbetoapproachyour position with your agency withsincerity and professionalism. Know-ingthatyouractionsorin-actionscanhavetremendousimpactonthatpatient.Makesurethattheambulanceyouareworking on is properly stocked andstaffed and ready for any emergencythatmayarise.Givegoodpatientcareand look out for your own personalsafetyandmentalwellbeing.

EMS Bulletin

Ron Kendrick, Southwest Program Representative

The Office of Emergency Medical Services, Virginia Department of Health, publishes the EMS Bulletin quarterly.

Gary R. Brown, Director, Office of EMSP. Scott Winston, Assistant Director, Office of EMSElizabeth H. Singer, EditorBrianne Slattery, Assistant Editor Contributers to this edition:Michael Berg, Regulations & Compliance ManagerTerry Coy, Video Producer/DirectorCarol Morrow, CISM CoordinatorGreg Neiman, BLS Training SpecialistKaren Owens, Emergency Operations Asst. Manager

109 Governor Street, Suite UB-55, Richmond, VA 23219 www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems

If you would like to receive this publication via e-mail please send your request to emstechasst@vdh.virginia.gov

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Upcoming Events

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April May June

4/3-EMSInstructorUpdate,6p.m.4/11-ProfessionalDevelopmentCommitteeMeeting,10:30a.m.4/12 -EMSCCommitteeMeeting,3p.m.;Medical Direction Committee Meeting,10:30a.m.4/18-EMSATBroadcast,7:30p.m.4/19-TownForuminBlueRidgeArea4/23 - Transportation Committee Meeting,10a.m.4/26 -WorkforceDevelopmentCommitteeMeeting,10:30a.m.4/27 - 4/29 - Continuing Concepts in Pre-HospitalEmergencyMedicineConference

5/3 - Emergency Management CommiteeMeeting,10a.m.5/5-EMSInstructorUpdate,9a.m.5/9-CISMMeeting,10a.m.5/16-EMSATBoradcast,7:30p.m.5/17 - Regional EMS Council DirectorsMeeting, 9 a.m.;Trauma Performance Im-provement Committee Meeting, 10 a.m.;FinancialAssistanceReviewCommittee,1p.m.;RegulationsandPolicyMeeting,3p.m.5/18 - Communications Committee Meet-ing,9a.m.;FinancialLegaslativeandPlan-ningMeeting, 9 a.m.;VirginiaAssociationofGovernmentalEMSAdministrators,10a.m.;StateEMSAdvisoryBoardMeet-ing,1p.m.5/20-NationalEMSWeek(5/20-5/26)5/26-NationalEMSMemorialService

5/30-6/2-CISMConferenceEnds6/9-EMSInstructorUpdate,9a.m.6/20-EMSATBroadcast,7:30p.m.

Please check our Web site for event locations and possible changes at

www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems

Office of EMS & State EMS Advisory Board

Public Town ForumsOffice of EMS staff along with EMS Advisory Board memberswilldiscussandanswerquestionsonhottop-icsfacingtheVirginiaEMSSystemincludingALS&BLSaccreditation,EMSfunding,theRegionalCoun-cilstudyandmore.

Upcomingtownforumswillbeheldinthefollowingregionalcouncilareas:

Blue Ridge - April 19Peninsulas - July 24

Central Shenandoah - October 16

Visit the OEMS Web site for more information atwww.vdh.virginia.gov/oems or e-mail emstechasst@vdh.virginia.gov.

Spring 2007

EMS in BriefALS Retention Workbook Now AvailableThe fourth and final workbook of the “KeepingTheBest!”toolkithasbeenprinted and distributed to all EMSagencies. “How to Retain ALS Pro-viders: Workforce Utilization Strate-gies and Applying EMS RetentionPrinciples”usesananalyticalandsys-tematicapproachtohelpEMSleadersidentifyandenhancetheircurrentanddesiredALSworkforce. EMSleadersseriously interested in ALS retentioncandownload theworkbook from theOEMSWeb site at www.vdh.virginia.gov/oems Look for the EMS Work-forceRetentionProjecticon.

Workforce Retention Training Coming to YouThrough a contract with the West-ern Virginia Regional EMS Council,OEMS will be rolling out a series ofworkshops to educate EMS leadersabout the EMS Workforce Retention

workbooks in the summer/early fall2007.OEMSwillalsobelookingforleadersinterestedinbecominginstruc-tors to teach the“KeepingTheBest!”series.

Billing For Services Guide Now AvailableCounties, cities and EMS agenciesnowhaveaguidetohelpthemdecideif billing for services is a viable op-tion for revenue recovery. The guidewasdevelopedthroughacontractwiththeCentralShenandoahEMSCouncilandreviewedbyDavidSmith,formerdirectorofREMSI inPulaskiCounty.ItalsoincludesanaccompanyingPow-erPointpresentation.ChecktheOEMSWebsitefortheguideandthePower-Pointpresentation.

Update Your Agency Listing on the EMS Recruitment DirectoryInterested in promoting your agencytocurrentorpotentialEMSproviders?

Whetheryouareavolunteerorcareeragency,youcanmakesureyourEMSagency information isupdatedon thisstatewideEMSRecruitmentDirectory.VisittheOEMSWebsiteandclickonthe Recruitment Directory section tolearnmoreortoupdateyourinforma-tion.For all EMS Briefs Contact: RohnBrown at emstechasst@vdh.virginia.gov

Office of Emergency Medical ServicesVirginiaDepartmentofHealthP.O.Box2448Richmond,VA23218-2448

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