Legislation and Funding
Legislation and funding issues always affect EMS budgets and operations. Use this topic to find out how the latest economic news is affecting EMS.
State legislators have passed or are considering several pieces of legislation intended to improve EMS working conditions and safety for providers
It’s time for EMS providers to advocate for their rights to equitable wages and a safer workplace
California’s private EMS providers need to enjoy the same legal protections as firefighter-paramedics
Studies are mixed about any link between marijuana and violence, but the highly potent edibles have lawmakers pushing for better regulations
“I’m very truly sorry if I scared or frightened anyone; that was not my intention,” medic Ron Miller said
The mayor’s $8 billion budget outlined plans to unify emergency call centers and gradually replace uniformed firefighters with lower-paid civilian phone operators
For 30 years agencies were illegally getting supplies from a local hospital; now they will have to buy larger quantities through wholesalers, leading to more waste and security concerns
The county may cut funding if there’s no improvements by June; a fire official said the company has “failed to respond to the majority of dispatched calls since December”
The town manager declared a state of emergency, and says the community should have input in the change of service
The chief said the shifting of EMS responsibilities to a different county would reduce their calls by 300 a year
The danger of raw data is that it has to be interpreted and analyzed beyond the superficial first layer before it even begins to make sense
In South Carolina, 17 of the top 30 Medicare payments in 2012 went to ambulance services
The city wants to increase ambulance fees by 14 percent to hire new full-time medics after 107 EMS providers were capped at 29.5 hours per week in response to health care costs
Witnesses said they had not seen the accident but “only saw a male standing next to the female who soon thereafter left”
The county has proposed cutting about $2.3 million over the next three years, freezing payments to 18 fire departments and eventually caping EMS budget increases
All three local services are adding staff and vehicles to combat extended travel times after an area hospital shut down
Depending on the collection rate, the city could lose $364,000 or earn $15,000 per year if run by the fire department
The city department is asking for an additional $75K to hire more staff
On Wednesday hundreds of emergency medical professionals will speak with Congress about EMS issues
The city would either sue the county or form its own system after a four-year struggle to rein in county costs
The aim is to give the 26 agencies a tool to track their money in wake of financial troubles and theft
Officials are trying to persuade the state to give cities and towns more clout when it comes to choosing services, and switching when unhappy
The money from his estate will fund a new ambulance and the police K-9 unit for the next 10 years
Emergency medical personnel, state and local police, and firefighters would be able to file claims for mental-health counseling following post-traumatic stress diagnoses by board-certified psychiatrists or psychologists
City officials argued that integration is vital to save money and improve the response time and efficiency of rescue services
The state says the council must reconsider the decision, which failed to consider the “economy, efficiency and benefit to public welfare”
An ambulance and medic shortage has caused the department to fall short of of a state-mandated response goal
He ruled that Royal Bank of Canada was so eager for fees from the 2011 sale of Rural/Metro Corp. it advised for a quick sale at a price that wasn’t fair to shareholders
Des Plaines may purchase vehicles with a “vertical exhaust” after concerns that people are being unnecessarily exposed to dangerous fumes
They walked out on the meeting after a city councilman compared the firefighters to quasi doctors and AMR employees to nurses
“I’m tired of being a political punching bag,” he said after two audits revealed a six-figure deficit