IMHO...
Is the police department a part of EMS because they do traffic control at accident scenes with patients?
No that is Emrgency Service, but they are not providing that middle word MEDICAL.
Does it matter if the police department carries an AED on all of their patrol cars?
Yes, then they are part of the EMS system and are providing a emergency medical service.
Once again, are the ones doing the extrication doing so in the course of providing medical care or are they doing it to get the patient out of that situation so that someone can provide MEDICAL CARE?
Does it matter if the person extricated refuses to be transport (in essence does not become a patient)?
Were they evaluated by a EMS-level provider? Then yes. For instance, in SAR, when we rescue a victim (no matter what the call) we always havemembers of the medical team evaluate the patient before we end teh call. But EMS was provided because patient contact was made by and EMT or Medic, even if we didn't treat or transport.
At the extreme end, can anyone with a CPR/AED card claim to be a member of EMS?
Technically, they are the first link in the chain of survival. Joe Blow on teh street witnesses an arrest and provides CPR for 5 minutes before the First Responders show up, then yes, they are (for that moment) part of teh EMS system, but since providing that care in an offical capacity (such as Ambulacne, Fire, Rescue, SAR, LE, etc...) is not part of their normal job, then they are not EMSers.
I'm not prepared to say that any basic working first aid for an amusement park is truly a member of EMS (clarification: Dedicated first aid standby neither qualifies nor disqualifies someone to be a part of EMS. Someone can work both an EMS job and a first aid job).
So, real example (and there are numerous like this). I am 9in teh winter) a part-time manager / EMT Supervisor at a Snow Park. We run BLS calls all the time (spinal, MI, fractures, seizures, etc...). Last year on Christmas we had an MI. It took Fire First Response 30 minutes to get on scene and ambulance another 15 minutes. It took anotehr 30 minutes to fly him out to a cath lab. Are you saying that the BLS care that I provided (the same taht the EMT First Responders did) is not EMS? First Aid stations manned bty EMTs and Medics are often BLS or ALS equipped, not just First Aid w/ band Aids. In fact, there are many Ambulacne Agencies that make a busness out of these large event standbys and transport via their own ambulance to hospitals. Are they EMS?
Similarly any IFT company that does not run a significant number of emergency transports (private/SNF, 911, or emergent CCT. "Emergency transport" defined for non-CCTs as the destination being the emergency room. Acuity, origination, and use of emergency lights are not a factor) is not a member of EMS.
Disagree. I worked for a compnay where I did IFTs, 911 ALS, and CCT, depending on the day of the week. Are you saying that I wan't EMS on the days I was on IFT? What if I was transporting a patient to a SNF and came across a MVC? I stop and teh driver requests a 911 response, triages, and runs the call until Medis arrive. How can they do that if they are not EMS? Are they just playing First Aider, even though they have a L&S equipped Ambulacne, 911 radios, BLS equipment, and a uniform that doesn't distiguish between 911 and IFT? I put on the uniform and I was a EMS provider regardless of what call I was running (or if I was at Jack in the Box getting a soda). Hell, in the event of an MCI while running IFT, IFTs got sent to the call for manpower and transport. But we are not EMS? Ha.
On that note, responding to a medical call as a "first responder" does not automatically qualify as a member of EMS. Case in point, fire departments who's on scene time beats the ambulance by a few minutes (say urban area's with non-fire ambulance) should not qualify. Area's where EMS might be a significant distance away (rural/frontier areas) should count.
So, if a Fire Depatment (non transport) is Medic Staffed is that EMS? Is it EMS if they are EMT staffed? Is it EMS if they are MFR staffed? If any first response agency, regrdless of time on scene, provides medical care, it is EMS. They weren't called to put teh fire out. They were called to provide medical services, even if that is just O2, a set of vitals, and helping the medics transfer to the rig.
Would every person that owns a fire extinguisher be considered a part of the fire service?[/
Not a correct analogy. Does owning a stethescope automaticlly make you a Doctor? It's like saying, does owning a book make you a professor or does owning a car mean you are in NASCAR. Hell, my grandma owns a glucometer, does that make her a nurse?
The line of what is and is not EMS is not clear cut.
Maybe not for some. But a contend that if your job, even a small part, is providing any type of emergency medical service, then yes you are EMS. In SAR we run search for hours or days, rope rescue for hours, warter rescue for hours, helo rescue for hours, and medical care when all is said and done for 10-15 minutes. Yet we are certified to the same standards as Ambulacne EMTs and Medics and are just as equipped. We are still EMS providers, because part of our job is to provide emergency medical service, if not tranport.
I guess my argument is based on th fact that everyone here on the forums provides EMS in some fashion, but not eveyone is Ambulance, yet questions like this assume that Ambulacne is the only way to provide EMS. Not transporting = not EMS?
