Proposed Bill Would Put All EMTs Under State Control
Establishing a single professional standard, advocates argue, would guarantee that all patients receive a uniform level of care.
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has passed a bill that would hold all of the state's emergency medical services -- including EMTs -- to a single professional standard. It would also put the New Jersey Department of Health in charge of all EMS statewide. The proposed measure changes the status quo in several ways, requiring, for instance, that volunteer EMTs be licensed and that they pass background checks. Backers of the bill (S-1650) say it "puts the framework in place so that we can create one standard of care across the board for patients throughout New Jersey," according to Andy Lovell, chief of the Gloucester County Emergency Medical Services. Nevertheless, the proposed legislation has drawn the ire of some legislators …
Dan jones
5:19 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Enough already! Ems in NJ is broken and has needed to be fixed from day one. Once the politicians cow towed to the " volunteers" who circled the capital with their ambulances afraid that the higher level paramedics would steal "their patients" it was over. The NJSFAC learned a good lesson that day...there is power in numbers. The NJSFAC has stifled progress in EMS ever since for their own self … more ›