New Ohio EMS Law Allows for Quicker Response

When there's a car crash or someone suffers cardiac arrest in Colerain Township in Ross County, volunteer emergency medical workers often leave their jobs and drive their own cars to the scene.

Although they can start lifesaving measures such as CPR, the medicine and tools they might need are in an ambulance at the fire station.

If a volunteer firefighter or other first responder gets to the station, state law has said they have to wait until a second medical worker arrives before the ambulance can leave.

That can take precious minutes, and time is everything in trauma and cardiac care.

But a state law that takes effect today will allow firefighters and first responders to drive ambulances to scenes by themselves.

"We have a lot of (emergency medical technicians) that can go directly to the scene, and all we needed was someone who could bring the squad to us," said Chief Carl Gearhart of the Colerain Township Volunteer Fire Department.

"First responders can bring the vehicle to the scene if there is an EMT there. It makes a big difference."

A first responder has a minimum of 48 hours of training that includes being able to perform CPR, operate an automatic external defibrillator, give patients oxygen and immobilize a patient's spine.

The law also allows first responders or firefighters to drive the ambulance while an EMT is in the back caring for a patient.

Before, departments were required to have two EMTs transport a patient.

These changes primarily affect volunteer departments. Paid departments, such as Columbus Division of Fire, have on-duty paramedics to respond to emergencies.

Of the 1,338 fire departments in Ohio, at least 846 are either all-volunteer or have a mix of volunteer and paid staff members.

Volunteer fire chiefs "felt it was important to get a vehicle to the scene and respond rather than going to a station and waiting to make up a crew," said Jeffrey Leaming, executive director of the Ohio Emergency Medical Services division.

"Getting resources to the scene would be beneficial to the patients."

State Rep. John Carey, R-Wellston, who sponsored the bill, said many fire departments in his rural district were concerned about delays in patient care.

The Ohio Fire Chiefs' Association pushed for the change in law.

"Many departments in rural areas have difficulty staffing equipment on a day-to-day basis," said Bernie Ingles, past president of the association and chief of the Westerville Fire Division.

"Our hope is that it does give the flexibility many departments need ... and allow them to still provide the best care to the patient that they can in both responding to the scene and transporting to the hospital."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service