When the entire National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC) was abruptly terminated in August 2025, the shock rippled across the EMS profession. For many, it was the first time they’d even heard of NEMSAC. For those who had served on the Council, the sudden dismissal halted years of progress, dozens of in-progress advisories, and the only formal federal channel that EMS has into national policy.
At EMS World Expo, five recently terminated NEMSAC members — Brenden Hayden, Tom Arkins, Mike Taigman, Daniel Gerard and Dr. Brandon Morshedi — took the stage to explain what NEMSAC does, what was lost and what must happen next.
This was not, as the moderator made clear, a gripe session. It was a grounded conversation about purpose, structure and the high-stakes value of the work now in limbo.
What NEMSAC is — and isn’t
NEMSAC is a federally chartered advisory council that provides direct recommendations to the executive branch via the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS). It is the only body in the United States statutorily empowered to speak nationally for the EMS profession.
It is not a lobbying group.
It is not a political vehicle.
It is not a professional association.
Its members are unpaid and spend hundreds of hours reviewing research, gathering testimony, debating priorities and drafting formal federal advisories that influence policy, funding, education and system design. As one panelist noted, “You do it because someone has to.”
A quiet body with a loud impact
Despite its low visibility, NEMSAC’s influence runs deep. Over the past 18 years, it has significantly shaped national direction on issues such as EMS Agenda 2050, community paramedicine, ambulance safety, rural access, active threat readiness and violence against EMS.
What drew particular attention in the session was the pace of recent work: a quarter of all NEMSAC advisories since 2007 were completed in just the past 2 years. The council was not winding down — it was accelerating.
The work now stuck mid-stream
Seventeen advisories were in progress when the terminations arrived. And these weren’t academic exercises — they were aimed squarely at the challenges defining EMS right now:
- Hospital wall times and ED boarding
- Sustainable funding for mobile integrated healthcare
- Real-time EMS hospital data exchange
- Tracking and addressing violence against EMS clinicians
- Retaining and supporting a fatigued, shrinking workforce
These advisories had research behind them, draft language written and subject-matter experts engaged. Now, they sit paused. As Arkins summarized: “We didn’t just lose people. We lost momentum.”
The real risk: Starting from zero
A new NEMSAC will eventually be seated — but likely without any returning members to maintain continuity. Normally, half the council carries over so institutional knowledge is not lost. This time, the next group will walk in cold.
“The next council will start without the understanding of how federal advisory work actually works,” Taigman said. “These issues are too important to restart slowly.”
The former council members pledged to help the next cohort — to hand off documents, research packets, workflow maps and context. “We’ll meet them at the starting line,” said Morshedi. “We just need there to be a starting line.”
A warning against narrowing the table
During the session, the idea of a paramedic-only NEMSAC was raised. The panel responded directly: EMS does not exist — and cannot function — in isolation.
Taigman framed it clearly:
“If I collapse in this room, I am relying on the call-taker, the dispatcher, the first responder, the paramedic, the emergency department, the cardiologist and the rehabilitation team. This is not a solo act. It never has been. Removing voices because they are not field medics takes us backward decades.”
The chain of survival only works if the chain stays a chain.
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The closing note
The panel closed not with frustration, but with a reminder of why NEMSAC matters at all.
“When life hangs in the balance, we don’t ask who the person is, what they believe or whether they can pay,” Gerard said. “We go. That is the moral center of EMS. The work of NEMSAC is to protect the ability of our system to keep doing that — every day, for every person.”
The council may be quiet for now.
The profession — and its future — cannot be.
Additional resources
- NEMSAC dismantled: Inside the fallout shaking federal EMS policy. Rob Lawrence speaks with two former National EMS Advisory Committee chairs to uncover how years of progress were halted overnight, the critical work left undone and the path forward
- Myth-busting the National EMS Advisory Council. Why the termination of NEMSAC is a giant loss to EMS
- Insider analysis: Will EMS gain a stronger national voice? The Overrun weighs in on how the dismissal of all NEMSAC members could reset priorities at the federal level
- NHTSA seeks applicants for National EMS Advisory Council. After terminating the previous NEMSAC council, the Department of Transportation says it seeks members who fairly represent diverse EMS and 911 roles
