This week, National Emergency Medical Services Week, the Coast Guard celebrates its more than 1,000 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who routinely risk their own safety to provide emergency medical care to our servicemembers and the public in our care/custody.
Although all Coast Guard members are armed with first aid knowledge and skills, the EMT certification is a higher-level, civilian credential required by some ratings, such as rescue swimmers and health service technicians, and optional for others, like tactical operators in Deployable Specialized Forces communities.
LT Douglas Schneider, who is the current EMS and Tactical Medicine (TACMED) Program Manager explains, “For members of our EMS community, they have a primary career field that is not necessarily medical so to be an EMT, they go above and beyond their initial duties and responsibilities.”
Schneider continues by sharing the significance of this week. “EMS week recognizes our personnel who gain an outside civilian certification, which signifies a higher level of care that they can provide to the public and to our service members. They often put themselves in danger to save another’s life.”
In addition to recognizing our shipmates, the Coast Guard is making several significant changes by updating the EMS COMDTINST, which guides and standardizes how field medical care is performed. The primary changes to how EMS functions in the Coast Guard will include:
- Quality Assurance: Each EMT will have a medical officer providing oversight and training support. Medical officers will also review patient care reports for quality of care.
- Credentialing: The EMS COMDTINST defines the new credentialing process for EMTs, affirming that they are authorized to provide emergency medical care under official duties.
- Patient care documentation: Each EMT is required to document the medical care provided in the field and submit for review. This enables the Coast Guard to collect data on what type of medical care is provided in the field.
- Standardized equipment: The COMDTINST standardizes equipment that EMTs and TACMED providers will carry.
CAPT Keren Hilger, the Coast Guard EMS Medical Director, shared, “National EMS Week is a tribute to our servicemembers who provide medical care in the field, putting self above others, and to celebrate the progress we have made in defining changes to the Coast Guard EMS system.”
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