Clinton, Miss. — With EMS practitioners serving on the front lines of our nation’s defense, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has released a new position statement on operational safety and domestic preparedness and planning.
The events of September 11, 2001, spurred the federal government to address strategies against threats posed by acts of terrorism. Terrorism continues to exist and evolve ― threatening EMS services and practitioners. As EMS practitioners are the first trained responders to arrive following a terrorist attack, placing them in a vulnerable position, NAEMT is committed to advocating for the safest practices and regulations to protect them ― such as operational security measures and domestic preparedness and planning.
Taking these steps requires:
- Sustainable federal funding for programs to assist EMS agencies and practitioners in implementing measures addressing domestic preparedness, situational awareness of threats and operational security. These include information blocking countermeasures, and expanded training and communications.
- Including EMS system requirements in the development, implementation and use of operational security measures. This would include developing and using new tracking processes for members, equipment and vehicles; timely briefings on security issues; adequate personal protective equipment and safeguarding of identifying items to prevent unauthorized access to agency buildings, equipment, vehicles and data.
- EMS participation in local, regional, state and federal preparedness planning.
“This statement reaffirms and makes official NAEMT’s long-standing position that EMS ― and the nation’s hundreds of thousands of front-line EMS practitioners ― play an integral role in homeland security. We must continue to assure that EMS is properly funded and is included as an essential component in planning and response to acts of terrorism,” says Jerry Johnston, Immediate Past President of NAEMT and Chair of the NAEMT Advocacy Committee.
To view the full position statement, please visit the NAEMT Positions page in the Advocacy section of www.naemt.org.
About NAEMT
Formed in 1975 and today more than 30,000 members strong, NAEMT is the nation’s only association representing the professional interests of all EMS practitioners, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, first responders and other professionals working in pre-hospital emergency medicine. NAEMT members work in all sectors of EMS, including government service agencies, fire departments, hospital-based ambulance services, private companies, industrial and special operations settings, and in the military.