Tuesday, April 16, 2024
4/16/2024
Abstract: The Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Project for the Copper River Basin focuses on strengthening reliable and sustainable Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for our vast, rural Alaska region. The project goals address the limited availability of EMS resources, including personnel, instructors, and equipment, which adversely impacts local EMS's ability to respond quickly and efficiently to medical emergencies. The Rural EMS Training Project will train and equip responders to react to complex trauma and emergency medical situations effectively. Our region's EMS personnel serve an area of 20,000+ square miles with a full-time population of around 3,000 residents and nearly 100,000 visitors in the summer due to tourism and fishing. The resident population's racial demographics are 23% Alaska Native, 69% Caucasian, and 8% other. The majority of residents are between 18 and 64 years of age (65%), with only 24% under 18 years of age and 11% 65 years or older. On average, local EMS services respond to 150 to 200 calls annually. The Rural EMS Training Project will provide essential training for providers who will serve 100,000 people annually in the Copper River Basin. With the project focus on recruiting, retaining, and training qualified EMS personnel and overall strengthening EMS resources in our rural region, objectives include training and certifying more new EMS personnel, new local EMS instructors, and recertifying and transitioning all levels of current EMS personnel to meet new, rigorous Alaska State regulations. Currently, our region's active EMS personnel are comprised of 20-22 volunteers and one or two paid FT responders. Due to the lack of local, qualified EMS instructors, EMS training often requires contracted instructors from out of the region on limited availability to provide the appropriate training. This project will increase the number of local EMS instructors by 300%, and will expand the number of active responders by 50% from 24 to 36, including the first-ever homegrown certified paramedic for the region. The project will provide EMS training to 60 unduplicated local residents, which will benefit all current responders and significantly increase the pool of potential recruits for future EMS service. Project staff will provide more than 20 courses, varying from 8 to 80 hours (with Paramedic program training exceeding 1500 hours). Additionally, Basic Life Support and Emergency Medical Responder level certification classes will be offered at the Copper River School District's local high school to develop the next generation of EMS responders. This project's comprehensive course offerings will also enhance local EMS providers’ ability to respond effectively to calls involving mental illness, drug abuse, domestic violence, recognizing/reporting child abuse and neglect, and geriatric emergencies. The Rural EMS Training Project will also provide Copper River Native Association (CRNA) and Copper River Emergency Medical Services Council, Inc. (CREMS) the opportunity to purchase critical supplies and equipment necessary to enhance the quality of EMS training and patient care in the Copper River Basin.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
