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11/22/2010

Division of EMS to Host Open Forum on New Education Standards

The Division of EMS and the Ohio State Board of EMS will host an open forum on December 15 at 9:15 a.m., giving stakeholders an opportunity to offer feedback on the adoption of new national education standards that will change the way Ohio EMT-Basics establish advanced airways in their patients.

Orotracheal intubation of pulseless and apneic patients using dual lumen and supraglottic airway devices will remain in the EMT-Basic scope of practice and EMT curriculum. However, the EMS Board voted to remove endotracheal intubation of pulseless and apneic patients by direct laryngoscopy with laryngoscope and single-lumen ET tube. This EMS Board action is not currently in effect.

The open forum session will be limited to one hour and will be held during the Board’s regularly scheduled bi-monthly meeting at the Ohio Department of Public Safety, 1970 W. Broad St., Columbus. Anyone planning to attend and offer feedback is asked to submit their comments in writing to the Ohio State Board of EMS. Anyone that is unable to attend the open forum but wishes to submit comments regarding the impact of this change in scope of practice on their region is also invited to do so. All comments should be submitted to EMSEducation@dps.state.oh.us no later than December 10, 2010. Those seeking additional information can visit www.ems.ohio.gov.

This open forum will provide Ohio’s EMS community an opportunity to provide critical input to the Board as a part of the process. The Board will gather and review all information from stakeholders as well as other resources before ultimately making its decision upon measures that will best serve Ohio’s EMS professionals and their patients.

Approving new Ohio curriculums and the adoption of the National EMS Scope of Practice as a minimum guideline is just one of a series of measures taken by the Board as a result of a study it conducted in 2007 of the National Education Agenda for the Future and the National Education Standards.

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