Your focus at this meeting on the need to integrate emergency medical services into the overall rural health network is both timely and urgent. Since the late 60s, EMS has slowly become institutionalized throughout the United States as the result of the intensive advocacy of both the public safety and medical communities. Today, most Americans expect to dial and reach a 911 system that links them immediately with life-saving medical advice from trained dispatchers. Yet, in many areas of the country, these expectations cannot be met. In our rural and frontier areas the need for well-defined emergency medical service is critical.
Agriculture is a tough and dangerous business often putting whole families at risk.
It is estimated that some 23,000 children are injured on farms or ranches each year. Rural families have further to travel when they need urgent medical help and have fewer providers available to them, thereby, increasing the morbidity and mortality associated with trauma and medical emergencies. In these communities, the uncertainties of today's dynamic health care environment only exacerbate concern about the viability and performance of their EMS system. We at HRSA recognize these challenges and are working in a variety of ways to fill the gaps. Help improve and integrate emergency medical services for the benefit of all residents.