Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Trauma – Resources

Safety in Numbers: Are Major Cities the Safest Places in the United States?
Compares injury risk in urban areas to those in suburban and rural areas. Reports that death rates for injury are higher in frontier and rural areas.
Author(s): Sage R. Myers, Charles C. Branas, Benjamin C. French, et al.
Citation: Annals of Emergency Medicine, 62(4), 408-418
Date: 10/2011
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Challenges for Rural Emergency Medical Services: Medical Oversight
Examines the challenges faced by rural emergency medical service agencies in recruiting a medical director and providing medical direction for EMS personnel.
Author(s): Victoria Freeman, Rebecca Slifkin, Daniel Patterson
Date: 05/2008
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Community-Based Needs Assessment: Assisting Communities in Building a Stronger EMS System
Outlines a community planning process for rural EMS systems that that engages local stakeholders to facilitate appropriate planning and decision-making at the local level.
Date: 2007
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Model Trauma System Planning and Evaluation
Designed to provide trauma care direction to trauma care professionals, including public health officials and health care policy experts, when developing and evaluating trauma systems.
Additional links: Trauma System Self-Assessment Supplemental Tool: Benchmarks, Indicators, and Scoring
Date: 02/2006
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Heat-Related EMS Activation Surveillance Dashboard
Mapping dashboard that shows Emergency Medical Services activations related to heat illness. Includes data at the state and county level for the previous 14 and 30 days. Selecting the Disparity Explorer tab shows patient data related to EMS response time, rate of EMS activation, number of deaths, and EMS transportation for patients at the urban, suburban, rural, and frontier levels. Updated weekly.
Sponsoring organizations: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Rural EMS Quality Improvement Basics
A quality improvement course geared toward emergency medical services (EMS) professionals in rural areas. Provides guidance on quality improvement awareness, implementation, and leadership.
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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The EMS Compact
Information on the agreement enabling emergency medical service (EMS) personnel licensed in Compact member states to cross state borders to practice and work in other Compact states without getting an EMS license in the remote state. Describes ways in which this agreement may enhance communities' responses to COVID-19 when local resources are reduced. Includes a map showing locations of EMS Compact states and contact information for each member state's Compact Commissioner.
Sponsoring organization: Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice
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Rural Community Ambulance Agency Transformation Toolkit
Provides a self-assessment and resources to help rural ambulance agencies move from volume to value and meet the core competencies outlined in the Baldridge Excellence Framework for Health Care. Offers resources related to EMS leadership, strategic planning, the workforce, operations and processes, community involvement, data collection and analysis, and quality outcomes.
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Technical Assistance and Services Center
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FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority)
Provides information on the development of a national high-speed wireless broadband public safety network, supporting the work of first responders, including emergency medical services personnel.
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Fatality Facts: Urban/Rural Comparison
Presents characteristics and differences of fatal motor vehicle crashes between rural and urban areas, with trend data since 1977.
Sponsoring organization: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Highway Loss Data Institute
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