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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
PE Franks, BA1, JA Showstack, PhD, MPH1, SA Chapman, PhD, RN2, EJ Weber, MD3, and NW Elattar, BS2. (1) Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415-476-8263, pfranks@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Center for the Health Professions, University of California San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 410, San Francisco, CA 94118, (3) Emergency Medicine Division, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, Campus Box 0208, San Francico, CA 94143
Emergency Medical Technicians: Dynamics of New Demand
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are the first to respond in medical and public health emergencies. EMTs work in a variety of locations and settings, including hospitals, private ambulance services, fire departments, police departments, and public health departments, in both rural and urban areas.
Methods: This study assesses demand/supply issues related to the emergency medical and public health response workforce in California, including trends in utilization of hospital emergency rooms and emergency response system utilization, supply of emergency workers, and utilization of workers in hospitals and in the community. Key informant interviews, review of state and national reports, and analysis of secondary data were conducted January-March, 2002.
Preliminary Findings: An estimated 35,000 EMT-Is and 6,000-7,000 EMT-Paramedics are certified in California. These numbers include those who are certified and not working, as well as those who are certified but who are employed as fire- fighters and police officers. Information is not available regarding the number of certified EMTs who are solely employed as EMTs. Trends indicate that hospital emergency room utilization is increasing. Public emergency response administrators are also concerned about the likelihood that bioterrorism will create as urgent demand for workers.
Recommendations: Additional information is needed on demand/supply and utilization of EMTs and how day- to-day, as well as extraordinary, demands for emergency medical care will be met in California.
Learning Objectives: 1) Identify demand/supply trends related to emergency medical and public health response; 2) identify additional information for emergency workforce response planning.
Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives
Keywords: Health Care Utilization, Health Care Workers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.