Emergency responders welcome the New Year with the assurance that they will promptly be notified of potential exposure to a communicable disease while on the job. The 2009 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act reinstated and strengthened important notification procedures and requirements guiding officials designated to notify emergency response employees of life-threatening infectious disease exposure.
Under the law, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was tasked with three critical jobs to protect responders: develop a complete list of diseases to which the notification procedures apply; draft final guidelines describing the circumstances under which exposure to listed diseases occur; and develop final guidelines for determining whether exposure has occurred. They are discussed in detail in a Final Notice, released in November 2011.
The diseases that require notification of potential exposure are divided into four categories based on how they are transmitted: by contact or through bodily fluids; through aerosolized airborne means; by aerosolized droplets; and by bioterrorism or biological warfare. The document also describes how transmission to responders would occur on the job and details how medical and other designated facilities should notify responders and address their concerns about exposure.
The information published in the CDC Final Notice, effective Dec. 2, 2011, is available at cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ryan
white/pdfs/FRN11-2-2011GPO.pdf.
Following the Money
Federal budgetary cutbacks, combined with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) redoubling of its efforts to implement Enhanced 911 and Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology, make tracking states’ expenditure of the 911 fees they collect from mobile phone bills especially critical now. The import of these fees is evident in the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008, which directs the FCC to hold states accountable by analyzing annually how the states spend their 911 fees, dedicated to the improvement of county emergency 911 centers.
A November 2011 analysis of 2010 expenditures identified seven states that diverted some portion of these funds for non-911 purposes, most often through transfer to their general funds, from which municipalities pay for general government functions. The good news is that this marks a decline in the number of states misusing the funds, down from 12 states reported in the study of 2008 expenditures and 13 states in the report on 2009 expenditures.
As they released this year’s report, the FCC commissioners emphasized their concern by releasing a proposal authorizing the collection of more detailed information from states and localities on the expenditure of 911 fees. Commissioners want to ensure better use of these fees to make the system text-, video- and photo-transmission-capable and question whether the funds could be used for NG911 initiatives. The commissioners also raise the possibility of recommending to Congress specific legislative changes that would create greater accountability over 911 fee expenditures by municipalities.
The Report to Congress on State Collection and Distribution of 911 and Enhanced 911 Fees and Charges is at transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1108/DOC-310873A1.pdf. The Public Notice of the commissioners’ proposal is available at transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1108/DA-11-1859A1.pdf.
Mark Your Calendars for EMS on the Hill Day
The third annual EMS on the Hill Day presents EMS responders with the opportunity to flood Washington, D.C., to educate Congress about key EMS issues and send legislators a message on the importance of their issues and the need for funding. This year’s event takes on special import with the reintroduction of the Field EMS Bill in October 2011, which will be among the priorities discussed with legislators this year.
Sponsored by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and strongly supported by a broad cross section of the EMS community, the event is an important and successful component of nascent but organized EMS lobbying efforts taking shape in recent years. The two-day event kicked off in 2010; last year, 145 EMS professionals from 39 states met with more than 217 legislators and their staff to promote EMS issues.
Scheduled for March 20–21, the event offers free training on the issues as well as lobbying techniques, and event organizers will schedule appointments for participants to meet with their local legislators or staffs. A schedule of events and links to registration and other important information are at naemt.org/advocacy/emsonthehillday/EMSontheHillDay.aspx.
“National Strategy for Creating a Culture of Safety in EMS” Draft Released for Public Comment
The “Culture of Safety” project is the result of a cooperative agreement between the American College of Emergency Physicians and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s EMS for Children program. The three-year project brings together representatives from national EMS and fire organizations to develop a high-level strategy for inculcating safety into the fabric of EMS, including patient safety, operational safety and provider safety.
Draft two of the strategy document was released for public review on Dec. 13, 2011. Comments are due by Feb. 24. To download the document and for additional information, go to emscultureofsafety.org.
