News & Updates

EMS and Trauma Care System Assessment and Workgroup

The American College of Surgeons conducted an assessment of Washington’s EMS & Trauma System in April 2019. The written assessment report was released this summer and offered recommendations for improvement. You can find the assessment report and recommendations here.

The Department of Health will be holding forums across the state to engage stakeholders and gather community feedback on the assessment from EMS and Trauma care providers, community members, legislators, Tribes, and others. These are open public forums, and all are welcome.

EMS and Trauma Consultation Recommendations

Trauma System Consultation Report

Public Forums Summary Report 2020

DOH Washington State Rural EMS Research

In January 2019, the Department of Health (Department) sent the Washington State Rural EMS Service Survey to all of the licensed EMS services in the state. The survey had an excellent response rate of approximately 85%. 2019 Rural EMS Service Survey Questions

Attached is a statewide analysis conducted by the Department’s EMS research and data personnel. Individual EMS service results are not included in the final report but were provided to each EMS service directly. 2019 Rural EMS Service Survey Results Report

Also attached is the EMS Attributes of Success Workbook, a tool your service could use to identify goals, strategies, and tasks for improving scores in attributes your service prioritized as needing improvement.  EMS Attributes of Success Workbook

If more grant funding becomes available, the department may consider repeating the survey to measure improvements over time and other activities to continue to learn about the challenges facing EMS, particularly in rural communities.