Our conference takes place April 25-30, 2022. Register here.

EMS agencies and their providers are in the risk prevention and mitigation business designed to prevent and resolve medical and rescue situations that harm the general public we are bound to protect. Less attention is paid to internal risk management addressing our EMS staff and other critical internal issues related to a well-functioning and efficient EMS or fire operation.

There are too many examples of employees mistreating each other and violating their rights, including: assault and battery; rape; tampering with safety equipment; embezzlement; child pornography; theft; cyberstalking; and other examples of misconduct – and at times, criminal activities on- and off-duty. All of these issues are ripe for litigation.

In addition to the criminal activities, there are also career and reputation damaging events involving the misuse of social media, driving violations, and training accidents added to those issues requiring proactive management and enforceable policy, including codes of conduct to guide the behavior of employees both on- and off-duty.

JEMS Con 2022 Preview: Resuscitation Airway and Internal Dynamics

Elected officials, directors, managers, and providers are responsible for creating a safe place for your EMS employees, providers, and staff inside the station and on the emergency scene. This may incur protections off-duty as well. Understanding the means and methods to prevent these adverse legal processes is the basis of litigation prevention.

EMS agencies are also subject to medical malpractice litigation brought on by medical mistakes, including missed intubations, using the wrong medications or medications that have expired, practicing outside of their established protocols, patient abandonment, and other medical errors or misfeasance. Litigation prevention and managing risk is the cornerstone of a well-organized and managed department and is the responsibility of the leadership and the employees of the organization.

While medical malpractice is one factor, leadership must understand the largest litigation payouts affecting departments are based on Civil Rights violation claims. Your employees or patients can sue you and the department for violating their protected rights under the law found under the Constitution. These include: Title VII Civil Rights violations, sexual discrimination, religious discrimination, gender discrimination, or discrimination based on sexual identity, hostile workplace, harassment, sexual harassment, hazing, bullying, and stalking. One of the prevention methods to avoid litigation is that you provide up-to-date and enforceable policies, standard operating procedures (SOP), and standard operating guidelines (SOG), and train your employees annually with updates and scenarios based situations.

JEMS Con 2022 Preview: Modern EMS Recruitment and Retention

The patient also has rights under the law; for example, EMS providers may have violated their protected 4^th Amendment rights preventing illegal use of excessive force in their treatment and at times restraint and transportation to a medical or jail facility.

In one recent example, a Columbus, Ohio, man who works as an EMT was charged for his violent contact with a restrained patient in an ambulance. The EMT is facing charges of official misconduct and misdemeanor battery. He is accused of grabbing the handcuffed patient’s hea

Officials secured $22,798,291 in funding for nine projects, including $1,338,750 for a new fire station in Nashville.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – [Thursday, March 10], the United States Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus appropriations package, which contains $22,798,291 in Community Project Funding secured by Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) for projects in the First Congressional District of North Carolina. This critically needed funding responds directly to some of the most pressing needs in the First Congressional District. The Senate’s vote now sends the funding package to President Biden to be signed into law. 

“In addition to the funding I secured in this bill for the First Congressional District, this “Funding for the People” will positively impact North Carolina families and millions of Americans across the country, by helping working families with the cost of living, creating jobs, supporting small businesses, and caring for the vulnerable,” said Congressman Butterfield.

“I am incredibly proud to have voted for this bill which includes $22,798,291 in funding that will have a profound impact on North Carolina’s First Congressional District. These investments support underserved communities in eastern North Carolina and will foster economic development, making a real difference in the lives of so many in our communities. I am proud to have fought for this funding that will make our communities healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient.”

Congressman Butterfield championed funding for 9 projects that will directly benefit NC-01 residents. These include:

• $1,338,750 for a new fire station in Nashville
• $5,000,000 for renovations to the Northampton County Courthouse
• $1,500,000 for revitalizing the Highway 301 Corridor in Wilson
• $1,040,000 for replacing the roof of the Imperial Centre in Rocky Mount
• $3,000,000 for workforce housing in Northampton County
• $2,085,540 for housing for young adults transitioning out of foster care in Pitt County
• $3,437,000 for a Martin County water regionalization project
• $1,897,001 for improvements to the Town of Hookerton’s waste water treatment plant and sewer collection system
• $3,500,000 for the City of Henderson to upgrade the Kerr Lake Regional Water System

This is the first time in a decade that Community Project Funding has been included in a government spending bill. Taken together, the Community Project Funding for the First Congressional District and the funding increases for critical government programs will help reverse decades of disinvestment in our communities and strengthen our communities and our nation.

This legislation will be signed into law by President Biden later this week. A detailed summary of the bill is available here.

Mount Desert voters approved a $1 million bond for living-quarters renovations to the Somesville fire station.

Also approved was public funding for the Northeast Harbor EMS Service. Officials say by the end of 2023, at the latest, the fire department should assume full EMS duty.

“Shall the Town of Mount Desert be authorized to issue general obligation bonds or notes of the Town in a principal amount not to exceed $1,000,000 to finance professional and technical services (including project management services) and construction costs associated with improvements to the Somesville Fire Station located at 1157 Main Street in the Town of Mount Desert (the ‘Project’), with said improvements being made to accommodate anticipated staffing, storage and equipment needs of the Town’s fire department, and with said improvements to include but not be limited to incorporating new staff sleeping quarters, a day room, a new shower and bathrooms and public lobby and other fire, ambulance, furnishings, appliances and personnel needs identified during the design process, all as generally described and illustrated in the concept sketches, and further to authorize the Board of Selectmen to execute all things necessary or convenient to issue the bonds or notes of the Town, which may be callable, and to accomplish the Project?” the town writes on its website.

Antioch Fire Department officials say a tax levy increase is necessary to fund repairs to its fire stations, among other needs.

Last month, the department’s board of trustees voted to raise the tax levy via referendum on the June 28 primary ballot. Since then, the department has been monitoring social media for public response and has seen some opposition. It decided to do something about it:

“To be completely transparent to the voters, we will be doing a #fridayfive (#Friday5) until the referendum vote takes place June 28. We feel this is the best way to get the truth out to voters,” the department says in a memo on its website.

“Let’s be clear: These are your questions on social media. We have been reviewing social media for questions directly from you–the voters–across multiple social media outlets. Like we said, we want the truth out there to give the most accurate information possible before residents vote in June. So, we plan to do a #FridayFive every week, so if we didn’t get to your question this week, we’ll try to get to it next week.”

Some sample questions:

“Why does it have to be a referendum? Why can’t the Antioch Fire Department start a go fund me to get the stations fixed?”

“The fire department is a long-term investment in the community. We are here to provide you with Emergency Services requiring a long-term funding solution. This referendum is for more than just making repairs at all the stations. We need sustainable funding to provide staff to help our residents in the village of Antioch and throughout Antioch Township.

“In our short-term goals spanning the next five (5) years, we need to offer higher wages and a better benefits package to retain a staff that is highly trained to meet the growing needs of the Antioch community. We need to start planning to transition from a part-time/contract department to a full-time department to ensure we have a consistent staff to meet the needs of our ever-changing community.

“We also need to institute a consistent vehicle replacement plan. We have a plan for each vehicle; however, that plan dramatically pushes the life limits of some of these vehicles. Understand, these are emergency vehicles that NEED to run. We cannot ever cross our fingers and hope these vehicles start when we need them on a cold day. It would be catastrophic for residents if we double our response time on one call because our ambulance didn’t start. So, it’s imperative our ambulances start every single time. While we do have a comprehensive maintenance plan that includes scheduled maintenance and emergency repair, the fact of the matter is these emergency vehicles–like your own cars–get old and need to be replaced.”

The rest of the questions and answers can be seen here.