The Need

imageWhy is Emergency Medical Services (EMS) so important?

    Although the EMS profession is relatively young, it is growing and advancing rapidly. In 1966 the National Academy of Sciences published a paper entitled “Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society”. This prompted a more organized approach to EMS and trauma care. The Highway Safety Act of 1966 encouraged states to set standards, regulate EMS and institute programs to prevent injuries. At that time, patients who were seriously ill or injured were far more likely to die before reaching the hospital than patients today.
    EMS has evolved throughout the years to the point where today, much of the initial treatment you would receive in the emergency room, you can receive prior to reaching the hospital.  For example, if you walked into an emergency room sweating, with severe chest pain, nausea and shortness of breath, you would be given oxygen, aspirin, possibly nitroglycerin, an IV would be started and an EKG would be performed.  These are all things that EmergyCare paramedics can do for you in your very own living room!  The sooner these critical first steps are performed the better chance you have at survival and recovery.
    Consider another example: Just 40 years ago, victims of vehicle accidents received very little pre-hospital care and stabilization. Not only were these patients far more likely to die prior to reaching the hospital, their hospital stay was generally much longer than a similar patient today. Pre-hospital care and stabilization, prior to and during transport to the hospital has proven to be a significant factor in improving patient outcomes.
 

In short, emergency medical care is so important to our community because:

  • When you receive quality pre-hospital care, you are likely to have a shorter hospital stay, need less rehabilitation and return to the activities you enjoy sooner.
  • Emergency medical services contains healthcare costs by cutting hospital stays, and rehabilitation costs.
  • Early treatment of serious illness and injury is just good medicine! The care provided within minutes of an emergency call and rapid transport to the emergency room can be the difference between life and death!