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Purpose

The EMS System Act provides for the Department to divide this Commonwealth into EMS regions and to assign a regional EMS council to each EMS region to exercise certain responsibilities for the region, including helping the Department to carry out its responsibilities under the EMS System Act.

Overview

The Eastern PA EMS Council employs an Executive Director and support staff that conducts ambulance inspections, facilitates performance improvement programs and also assists other EMS entities such as Communications Centers with obtaining grants for equipment and training. Additionally, the EMS Council Staff is available 24/7 to respond to a regional Mass Causality Incident with vehicles, support staff and equipment to assist with on scene operations. Likewise, the Council maintains global vigilance and is readily available to respond to the needs of EMS practitioners within the Eastern PA EMS Region.

The Eastern PA EMS Council is also active in assisting with grant funding and, through a system wide approach, is receiving all pre-hospital data collection electronically from all services within the region. Likewise, the Council administers EMSOF funding through a committee of providers throughout the region assisting EMS entities with purchasing updated equipment. Lastly, the Eastern PA EMS Council conducts complaint investigations received through this office, processes the information and sends the findings to the Department of Health.

Aside from the daily operations of EMS regulations, the Eastern PA EMS Council also conducts and maintains various committees within the field of Emergency Medical Services. Those committees, which consist of 300 volunteers, are as follows:

• Executive Committee

• Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support

• EMS Leadership

• Medical Advisory

• Performance Improvement

• EMS Education and Training

In addition to the committees mentioned prior, the Council also supports various special committees such as:

• Critical Incident Stress Management

• Tactical EMS

• STRIKE Team

At the request of Municipal Officials and with the assistance of EMS Agencies, the Eastern PA EMS Council will assist with reviewing their specific services deployment strategies; provide to them cost analysis recommendations for future enhancement and development, and unit hour utilization. The EMS Council offers this technical support in an effort to ensure the delivery of timely and efficient pre-hospital emergency care.