EMS Week 2006
The American College of Emergency Physicians' 33rd annual EMS Week will be celebrated throughout the nation May 14-20. This is the week when healthcare and public safety agencies and communities take the opportunity to spread the word about EMS through educational, memorial and neighborhood events. After a year of headline news repeatedly highlighting the role of EMS in disaster response, ACEP has chosen the theme "EMS: Serving on Health Care's Front Line" to underscore the commitment and dedication of the 750,000 EMS providers who serve their communities.
"As this year's theme emphasizes," says ACEP President Frederick Blum, MD, "the brave men and women who serve as EMS providers are often first on the scene of a disaster, a motor vehicle crash or other event that may place them in a hazardous environment. It's important that we take the time to honor these frontline medical responders for often going above and beyond the call of duty to save lives, while risking their own."
Each year, ACEP creates an EMS Week Planning Kit to help communities organize and promote activities for the week. The kits, distributed to hospital emergency departments, state EMS offices, fire departments, EMS services and ACEP's 53 chapters, contain fact sheets addressing important injury prevention and health topics, as well as reports of last year's highlights. There are also opportunities for individual providers inside, such as the special membership rates offered by the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) to those who join or renew during EMS Week. Multiple corporate sponsors, including EMS Magazine, make it possible to distribute these kits free of charge. The kit can also be downloaded from www.acep.org.
Special events this year include:
May 17--Annual Emergency Medical Services for Children Day
The Wednesday of EMS Week, as always, focuses on drawing attention to the essential need for specialized emergency care for children. EMSC Day aims to ensure that every child receives the highest quality emergency care possible--from primary prevention to acute care and rehabilitation. For a pediatric emergency resource kit, visit www.ems-c.org/pie.
May 21-27--The National Memorial Bike Ride
Twenty EMS professionals from the Northeast will embark from New York City this year on the fourth annual six-day bike ride to Roanoke, VA, joined by four more intermittently along the route and supported by a seven-person team of EMTs, paramedics, nurse and bicycle mechanic. Pedaling in honor of those EMS professionals who have died, the riders will conclude their trek at the National EMS Memorial Service. Proceeds also help support Roanoke's To The Rescue Museum.
EMS and fire departments along the 500-mile route will host meals and water breaks, making for "an incredible experience," say organizers. To find out how you can greet the riders en route, visit www.emsbikeride.org.
May 27--Annual National Moment of Silence
The National EMS Memorial Service in Roanoke, VA, organizes this national event to honor and remember the nation's EMS providers who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives in the line of duty. To participate, EMS and communications agencies will observe 60 seconds of radio silence on this day at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Visit https://nmos.nemsms.org to download a participation packet or e-mail nmosinfo@naemt.org, and receive an auto-response e-mail containing the participation packet.
For more information, visit www.acep.org/emsweek.
