By Erin Hicks
EMS1 Staff
WASHINGTON — They came from far and wide with a simple mission — to make their voices heard.
Or, more accurately, to make a collective voice heard, the voice of EMS.
More than 120 EMS providers from 40 states and Puerto Rico gathered this week to bring important EMS issues to the attention of legislators on Capitol Hill for the first EMS on the Hill Day.
The event represented the EMS community’s first coordinated effort to visit congressional leaders and staff, and included representation from all sectors of the EMS community.
Only the start
Despite the declared success of the event, for Jules Scadden it is only the start of concerted efforts to make sure the concerns and needs of EMS are heard — and acted upon — by the most powerful people in the country.
“This is just the beginning — we can’t lose the momentum now,” said EMS1 columnist Scadden, who has served on numerous advisory boards and committees on state and national levels over the past 18 years.
“We need to be thinking about what to do for next year and how to make it better and make a bigger impact out there — a large group of constituency is what gets Congress’ attention.”
My Day on the Hill By Art Hsieh, EMS1 Editorial Advisor This week I had the wonderful opportunity to participate on the first annual EMS on the Hill Day. Over the course of a day, EMS providers representing 40 states reached out to more than 160 members of Congress, informing the members and their staff of the urgent need to support EMS services across the United States. A few of my thoughts through the day: 1. Although I’ve visited the US Capitol before, it’s awe inspiring. Just as impressive are the folks who work there, and in the various buildings surrounding the Capitol. The “people’s business” was buzzing with an incredible amount of energy and purpose. 2. You would be proud of the people who represented our profession. Folks from super-rural areas sat alongside deep urban EMS providers during the briefing session, held the night before. During the day, you could see uniformed personnel waiting patiently outside offices, waiting for their turn. 3. In preparing for the day, we were trained to stay unified and “on message” as we spoke to congressional members and staff. Freelancing was a detriment. We were only able to discuss our concerns for less than thirty minutes, which gave little time to really talk about anything more than the agenda topics. 4. I personally found my meetings to be pleasant. Some of the staffers were really very informed about the topics, and were encouraging in their remarks. These folks really work hard to listen to the message and bring it back to their congressional member. The take-home lesson: You can’t be heard unless you speak. In previous columns I’ve mentioned that it was critical to let your local elected officials know about what you do and what you need to perform excellent service every day. EMS on the Hill drives that message home, like a spike. I look forward to attending next year; I hope you will, as well. Art Hsieh, MA, NREMT-P, is Chief Executive Officer & Education Director of the San Francisco Paramedic Association, a published author of EMS textbooks and a national presenter on clinical and education subjects. |
The inaugural event, hosted by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, included a pre-Hill visit briefing to prepare participants for visiting Congressional leaders, as well as a reception for all participants, congressional leaders and staff, and federal agency staff.
“Seeing so many EMS uniforms on Capitol Hill, unified in voice for EMS was truly empowering,” said Scadden, who was involved in the planning process for the event.
“NAEMT did a fabulous job organizing and sponsoring this event, but it was truly the EMS folk who invested themselves, their time and money to be involved who made this event a huge success.”
Scadden said that they planned to get 60-80 people — they never imagined they’d break 100. Even so, the work isn’t over yet. She hopes the number of attendees triples next year.
During this year’s event, which took place May 3-4, attendees worked to bring attention to three main issues:
The Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act of 2009 (S. 1066, H.R. 2443)
This would provide permanent Medicare reimbursement relief for ambulance services consistent with the 1997 GAO report that determined that they are paid significantly below cost. It would provide a permanent 6 percent increase for ambulance transports originating in urban or rural areas and add a bonus payment for transports originating in super rural areas.
“The Medicare funding reimbursement for rural services expires every year. We’re asking them to make it permanent so it doesn’t have to be reinstated,” Scadden said. “We always end up getting the money back, but it takes a while.”
The Dale Long Emergency Medical Service Providers Protection Act (S. 1353) and the Nongovernmental Emergency Responder Family Protection Act (H.R. 2485)
Both bills would extend the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program ― which currently only apply to those employed by a federal, state or local government entity ― to EMS professionals employed by private, non-profit EMS agencies.
“The average age of EMT that dies LODD is 38, Scadden said. “They’re leaving behind small families, and in many cases their employer doesn’t have a benefit that pays enough to help the families. People who work for privately owned companies do the same job as someone who works for a government — they should be paid the same benefit.”
Field EMS legislation
Currently under development, this would implement a cohesive strategy to strengthen the development of our nation’s field EMS at the federal, state and local levels. The bill, which is expected to be introduced this summer, will promote patient-centered, medically directed, evidence-based, cost-effective and safe field EMS service throughout the United States to enhance 24/7 readiness, catastrophic preparedness and continual innovation in quality and capability for the betterment of patients.
“EMS is scattered, it’s always been the red-headed step-child of emergency services,” said Ken Erikson, who also attended the event.
“Many times people forget. People think about police and fire first,” he said. “We need one central place where all of EMS comes together.”
Erikson serves as deputy chief of operations, staff supervisor and paramedic with Community Ambulance Association Ambler/Medic 351 in Montgomery County, Pa. He was selected as one of four NAEMT grant recipients that were given financial support to help attend the event.
During the reception, congressman Tim Walz from Minn. received the Legislator of the Year Award from Advocates for EMS for his involvement and leadership on issues concerning the EMS community.
“I was humbled to be the first recipient of this award and I share it with the tremendous folks in the EMS community who have been working on these issues for decades,” said Walz. “It is easy to forget how critical our emergency responders are where there isn’t an emergency, but I believe our caucus can help serve as a constant reminder that we always need to make sure those emergency responders on the front lines have the tools they need to do their job.”
As EMS on the Hill Day came to a close, NAEMT President Patrick Moore said he was pleased to see “this successful event come together and for EMS professionals to make our collective voice heard in our nation’s capitol.”
“We need to have a voice in any decisions made at the federal level that affect us,” he said. “This event helped us build governmental relationships that will strengthen our national advocacy work on important issues and will help us shape federal legislation.”