Emergency Medical
Services Reports
These reports are a summary of key
components and various issues within the Wisconsin Emergency
Medical Services system.
REASSESSMENT
REPORT OF WISCONSIN
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
Wisconsin completed a second national assessment
of its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system. The reassessment involved
a panel of national EMS experts visiting the State over a 3-day period.
The assessment team reviewed documents, listened to presentations and
interviewed participants in order to better understand Wisconsin's EMS
system and be able to make recommendations for improvement.
This NHTSA reassessment was a joint
effort by the then Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention
in the then Department of Health and Family Services and the Bureau of
Transportation Safety in the Department of Transportation. The Department
of Health and Family Services and the EMS Advisory
Board that provides advice to the Department requested the
reassessment. Both entities felt that considerable progress had been made
since the original assessment in 1990 and that a reassessment could be
used to evaluate recent activities and help plan for the future.
The previous assessment in 1990 led to considerable activity in
promoting EMS in the State. The 2001 reassessment compared progress
made since the 1990 assessment and also compared Wisconsin's system to
national categories and standards by which all states are evaluated. We
believe that the total picture that developed from the presentations was
accurate of EMS in Wisconsin. This was crucial in order for the evaluation
team to get the best picture to evaluate our efforts-to-date and to be
able to provide recommendations for further progress.
Overall, the reassessment was very positive. The introduction to the
report notes that: "In 1990 Wisconsin requested a NHTSA
(exit DHS)
assessment of its EMS system. Using the resulting recommendations as a
guide, Wisconsin has made tremendous strides in improving its EMS system
during the past eleven years." The report further goes on to say:
" Now is the time to recognize past accomplishments and look boldly
to the future. This reassessment report represents one of the tools that
Wisconsin EMS has chosen to guide its efforts into this decade."
The presentations, committee questions, informal discussions and the
formal evaluation done as part of the site visit were all very valuable in
providing us with ideas on how we can improve EMS in Wisconsin. As was
stated numerous times during the 3 days, we hope that this evaluation will
be a catalyst for change. We will be reviewing the document with our
advisory bodies over the next couple of months and will likely refocus our
efforts based on many of the recommendations. We're sure that the document
will help us in many areas, including trying to establish a stable funding
source for EMS in Wisconsin.
EMS STATE
PLAN
The Department of Health Services is required by law to
develop and submit a biennial State Emergency Medical Services plan to the
State Legislature.
WISCONSIN EMS COMMUNICATIONS
PLAN
The Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Communication
Plan is both a communications guide for EMS providers and an
overview of requirements for local EMS systems to assure that a
statewide communication system is in place that can address daily
needs as well as large scale multi-casualty situations. This
document was created with input from an ad-hoc committee attached
to the EMS Advisory Board and the Bureau of EMS and Injury
Prevention, Division of Public Health, Department of Health and
Family Services.
The document is intended to serve three purposes:
1) Provide an overview of EMS Communications
2) Provide specific information on EMS communications in
Wisconsin
3) Serve as a "users manual" for providers in
creating and maintaining their EMS communications.
A copy of
the reports can be requested by calling (608) 266-1568.
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Last Revised:
December 28, 2011 |
