Office of Emergency Medical Services

The need for well-trained, equipped and prepared emergency medical service providers is critical, as the number of medical emergencies requiring response in Virginia continues to increase.

To increase the state’s level and scope of emergency medical care, the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) continues to seek new ways to partner with other organizations and agencies, develop new approaches for recruiting and retaining EMS providers, offer increased training opportunities and assist localities when emergencies occur.

Christopher Reeve Campaign Targets Need for EMS Providers
To help EMS agencies recruit and retain providers, the OEMS developed a multi-media campaign featuring the late actor Christopher Reeve, who was critically injured in Virginia in 1995. The campaign materials have won two international awards.

With permission from his family, and in deference to the impact of his message, campaign production was completed after his death. Reeve expressed his appreciation to Virginia’s EMS providers and encouraged others to “…take a look at their own lives and ask themselves, am I doing enough? Is there something else I could do to give back? And perhaps being an EMS provider–for many people, that might be the right choice.”

EMS agencies across the state received radio and TV public service spots and graphics for print materials. Virginia’s 14 trauma centers received posters that feature their critical contributions to the state’s EMS system.

EMS Workforce Retention Project Features ‘Keeping the Best’
In another project to enhance the retention of volunteer and career EMS personnel, OEMS partnered with the Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads (VAVRS) to produce new leadership materials. “Keeping the Best,” a four-part workbook series, is designed to improve retention efforts at a time when more pressure is being placed on volunteer and career EMS professionals to maintain and improve the level and availability of emergency medical care to the public.

Virginia EMS Symposium Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Virginia’s largest EMS training event, the Virginia EMS Symposium, observed its 25th anniversary in November 2004. More than 1,800 EMS providers, EMS physicians and emergency nurses attended the Symposium and participated in 256 class offerings.

AED Grants Awarded to Rural Communities
Twenty-eight communities and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries were awarded grants totaling $330,225 in the second cycle of a federal grant program designed to enhance public access to automatic external defibrillators.

Diverse EMS Training Classes Offered
A variety of training opportunities for EMS personnel, firefighters and law enforcement personnel were offered in 2005, including:
• Stress management class for State Police troopers and dispatchers
• Courses to introduce medics to the tactical environment
• Vehicle rescue train-the-trainer classes offered jointly by
OEMS, the Department of Fire Programs and VAVRS.
• Critical incident stress management classes were conducted for
more than 250 EMS, fire and police personnel, dispatchers,
physicians, military personnel and hospital nurses.