— National EMS Week, May 18-24, recognizes and honors the hundreds of thousands
of emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners around the country. Now in its 40th year of
celebration, EMS Week is a time for national appreciation of the daily life-saving service that
EMS practitioners provide to their patients, and an acknowledgement of the important role of
EMS in our nation’s healthcare system.
National EMS Week was first authorized by President Gerald Ford in 1973. A lot has changed
since then, and the role of EMS in our nation’s healthcare system is changing fast. Today, EMS
responds to a wide range of emergency medical conditions (including trauma, stroke and cardiac
arrest) through first response, field medical response, and medical transport. EMS practitioners
conduct nearly 25 million transports per year (predominantly by ground, but also by air), which
represents more than 8% of the U.S. population.
EMS saves lives and is a unique and critical part of the healthcare delivery system. In every
community in our nation, EMS is expected to deliver quality emergency medical care on a 24/7
basis to their residents, as part of a continuum of healthcare services provided to all patients
with emergency medical conditions. EMS is very often a patient’s entry into the healthcare
system, resulting from an acute care episode. And with the new healthcare focus on improving
patient outcomes and lowering costs, EMS is now collaborating with other healthcare providers
to help navigate patients to the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.
Communities are encouraged to make plans to recognize and celebrate EMS practitioners during
National EMS Week for the services they provide, and to recognize the vital role of EMS in
protecting the health of community residents on a day-to-day basis and in response to disasters.
To support and promote National EMS Week 2014, NAEMT launched the 2014 EMS Week Ideas
website (www.emsweekideas.org), which offers tools and resources to help EMS practitioners
celebrate EMS Week, and prepare for the future of EMS. Hosted by NAEMT and sponsored by EMS
World and Jones & Bartlett Learning, the EMS Week Ideas site offers ideas on how to recognize
and celebrate EMS practitioners, and tips on raising awareness about EMS.
“We are seeing rapid changes in EMS and the demands of our profession are very different than
they were a decade ago,” said NAEMT President Don Lundy. “EMS is now on the front line of
mass casualty and other disasters, and at the front door of entry into the healthcare system. I
encourage all communities to take part in this special week — celebrate EMS and appreciate the
commitment EMS has to providing emergency medical care to patients in their times of need.”