EMS Advocates Meet in DC

   On May 4, I attended the second annual EMS on the Hill Day in Washington, DC, hosted by the National Association of EMTs.

   At a preliminary meeting the day before, 145 EMS providers from 39 states met to review three key legislative initiatives already introduced in Congress. The purpose of this preliminary meeting was to equip providers with the tools to confidently meet with their representatives or staff the following day in an effort to gain their support on those initiatives.

   My agenda was scheduled in advance through NAEMT and included meetings with staffs of four different congressional leaders and both senators from my state. Other providers had similar itineraries arranged, resulting in a total of 217 congressional and senatorial meetings on May 4.

   The three issues promoted were expanding PSOB benefits to non-governmental paramedics and EMTs; allocation of D Block spectrum for public safety and funding of the build-out of the network; and passage of the Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act.

   Through NAEMT's Capwiz online advocacy service (https://capwiz.com/naemt/home), you too can review the legislation and urge support. It takes only minutes—all you need to do is enter your zip code and Capwiz determines your congressional representatives and provides a draft letter urging support for each of the initiatives. The service then e-mails or faxes the request directly. Please join the effort to help advance EMS issues on the Hill with us.