| NH Intersections: “To promote a collaborative community approach to enhance the health and safety of the public.” | ||||||||||||||||||||
| SECTION Leading causes
of emergency visits
EMS Public Health Roundtable EMS and Public Health Roundtable First Bulletin 2000 NHTSA
National Highway Traffic Safety Agency EMS and Public Health Bulletin 2002
Emergency Medical Services Reported Needs are many with focus on lack of data GAO Report 2001
Injury Prevention
Future of Trauma
Frontline of Emergencies
Heritage of Prevention
EMS in New Hampshire
Survey of EMS practitioners in NH 2002 |
 "Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of the future will be community-based health management that is fully integrated with the overall health care system. It will have the ability to identify and modify illness and injury risks, provide acute illness and injury care and follow up, and contribute to treatment of chronic conditions and community health monitoring. This new entity will be developed from redistribution of existing health care resources and will be integrated with other health care providers and public health and public safety agencies. It will improve community health and result in more appropriate use of acute health care resources. EMS will remain the public's emergency medical safety net." EMS Agenda for the Future Emergency Medical Services, Public Health and Public Safety literally intersect on the street. Every highway crash, injury and death is an EMS, public health and public safety event. EMS and Public Safety infrastructures exist in every community. In fact, EMS and Public Safety are often aware as witnesses to many public health events and issues. The August issue of the Journal of EMS highlights the role of EMS in injury prevention. Those in the field have opportunity to use their real life experience in their communities as a powerful message. The vast majority of examples of EMS Public Health and Safety collaboration have happened more by accident than by design. There is no existing forum to share ideas, challenges, resources and opportunities. There are many barriers to cross boundary cooperation. Yet there are several examples in New Hampshire of success that we will cite and propose to leverage that experience into expanded and exciting opportunities. The New Hampshire Intersections Collaborative began in August 2001 when representatives of Emergency Medical Services and Public Health discussed the possibilities of joint meetings. The idea was the result of the then recently concluded national EMS and Public Health Roundtable. The national roundtable concluded that although there were many barriers to collaboration there were also many strengths. The possibility of utilizing population-based measures to improve quality, identify opportunities, problems and interventions are a key contribution from public health. The ability to take public health to and from the streets, homes and communities is a powerful role for EMS and Public Safety. EMS Public Health National Roundtable
In fact Fire related calls have decreased in the United States by almost 50 percent in the past 20 years according to the National Fire Prevention Association data. Fire related deaths have decreased from 7500 to 4500 in the same period of time. Fire prevention success is a combination of engineering, enforcement, education and outreach implemented at the community level. At the same time that fire related calls and deaths have decreased, the role and response to emergency medical crises has expanded.
In 2000 in New Hampshire, emergency medical calls dominate the burden and opportunities for Fire and EMS. Trauma, led by motor vehicle trauma is the leading cause of EMS calls followed by falls. Non trauma related calls are led by Cardiovascular and Respiratory emergencies. |
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