On Friday, the Virginia Office of EMS provided guidance regarding Governor Northam's limited executive Order and its applicability to EMS agencies/providers. Please see the official guidance provided below:
pdf OEMS Executive Order 84 Guidance-1/14/22 (134 KB)
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Free hand sanitizer, please call the EMS Council and request a FREE CASE of hand sanitizer for your EMS Agency.
COVID-19 Guidelines and Resources
The Southwest Virginia EMS Council has created this page to provide information related to the COVID-19 crisis to our regional EMS agencies and providers. We have just released guidance for EMS agencies as you respond in your communities to possible and confirmed COVID-19 cases. It is essential for EMS agencies and providers to be diligent in addressing patient care during this public health emergency. Understanding proper techniques for limiting exposure and the spread of disease is vital. The resources linked below contain the latest available information. Refer to these sites frequently. Review guidelines for proper use of PPE, and pay attention to urgent communications being sent by various stakeholders. To assist our agencies and providers, new protocols and guidelines have been approved by the regional Medical Direction Committee for immediate implementation. Please discuss these with your operational medical direction. These are available on our mobile app and attached here:
OEMS recently announced that in conjunction with Virginia’s EMS System, the Western Virginia EMS Council recently partnered with ESO to build a comprehensive, statewide network to better collect and track healthcare and public safety data from EMS agencies, fire departments and hospitals.
This will allow the system to really lean into data across the entire patient journey – from 911 call to hospital disposition – to help improve patient care and patient outcomes at a statewide level. Additionally, we’ll have greater insight into first responder well-being so we can provide ongoing support to this critical workforce. Bottom line, we’ll be able to leverage analytics to see data-driven trends that will help us make the most informed decisions when it comes to keeping Virginians healthy and safe.
For more information, click below:
UPDATES REGARDING COVID-19 PROCESSES
ER INTAKE
The following information relates to the transport of COVID-19 patients and the appropriate processes for intake at the ED’s. It is the goal that appropriate patients will be cared for at their local health departments, or at home. Many measures have been put into place across the region to assist with this.
Please work with your respective dispatch centers to ensure the screening questions suggested by the CDC are being asked.
On March 10, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provided updated guidance for EMS agencies and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for COVID-19 in the United States. Major changes are outlined below, but please refer to the complete guidance document to assist with COVID-19 planning activities.
EMS Partners,
As we move into the second half of our Kingsport market transition I wanted to provide you with some points for your review and distribution to your personnel:
· Effective at midnight tonight/tomorrow morning (4/22), all OB/GYN services will transition from HV to IPCH. This change will be permanent.
· As I shared last week, the pause on medical and surgical admissions at IPCH remains temporary as we continue working through the pandemic event.
· All OB/GYN patients in the Kingsport market should be routed to IPCH, with the exception of your OB trauma patients, which will continue to have their destination determination according to your respective state trauma destination guidelines, and your departmental SOP’s.
· The ED at IPCH remains open with no changes.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any questions you have. Rebecca Beck is the administrative sponsor for this transition and she, too, will be glad to assist you.
Sincerely,
Anita Perry
The Southwest Virginia EMS Council has been made aware of upcoming changes to Trauma activation criteria that will likely impact our region's EMS agencies. As such, we want to ensure that EMS agencies and providers are aware of these changes.
Effective August 1st, Ballad Health will implement a standardized set of trauma activation criteria for the three Ballad Health trauma centers (Johnson City Medical Center, Holston Valley Medical Center and Bristol Regional Medical Center). One set of standardized activation criteria will allow trauma centers and EMS partners to have common terminology and activation standards, for both the adult and pediatric patient population.
These standards were adapted from the American College of Surgeons, Committee on Trauma, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient trauma activation criteria document. In addition, these standards were approved by the Ballad Health Trauma Medical Directors, and further vetted through a pilot group of regional EMS Directors.
Please find attached the document containing our standardized activation criteria. As you review these criteria please note:
· We are providing these for your knowledge of our internal terminology, and standardization, for trauma activations, not for additional decision making by our pre-hospital partners, as your processes will not change.
· When our EMS partners radio report on their trauma patients they can request a “trauma alert” and our Communications Center will activate the appropriate internal activation.
Contact Anita Perry, Corporate Director of Trauma Services and EMS Liaison, by phone or email to schedule any needed training sessions with your agencies or for any questions you have concerning these criteria.
The current Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put stress on healthcare providers all over the world. In addition, patients are crowding (and often overcrowding) healthcare facilities and especially Emergency Departments (ED) located in those facilities.
At the meeting of the Southwest Virginia Medical Direction Committee, the issue of incidents between EMS provider and hospital staff related to Hospital Diversion was discussed. Local facilities have also expressed the desire to ensure positive working relationships with EMS agencies. The Council has developed a quick reporting tool to help us address issues as they arise. Upon submission, council staff will begin working to address and resolve these issues. Likewise, we are working to implement a debriefing process to work through such incidents expeditiously to ensure good collaboration. The form can be addressed by clicking this link or from the Quick Menu at www.southwest.vaems.org.
Transition 
