Creation of a United States Emergency Medical Services Administration Within the Department of Homeland Security

Abstract

Federal administration of this nations emergency medical services (EMS) has come under increasing criticism, in a post- September 11 world, by many of its stakeholders and constituents. Critics accurately argue that the current construct of federal governance and oversight is impairing the disciplines shareholders from being able to prepare, train, respond and recover appropriately from natural and manmade catastrophic events both locally and nationally. Valid reasons exist to endorse consolidating all the various bodies of federal authority and management into a centric office, the United States Emergency Medical Services Administration (USEMSA). Many of the EMS non-municipal organizations are poorly represented on a national, state and local scale. This nations EMS competence and potential to respond efficiently and productively to any domestic or international catastrophic incident in normal and abnormal environments, regardless of whether the etiology is manmade or natural, requires a skilled, educated and well-equipped workforce. This thesis evaluates the federal EMS paradigm of the administration for EMS and its complex systems of care and transport and recommends the best model of federal oversight for EMS to meet the challenges set forth in the National Incident Management System, National Response Framework and National Strategy Security plans.