Pennsylvania joins the EMS Compact
On July 7, 2022, Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill -861, which makes Pennsylvania the twenty-second state to join the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel Interstate Compact, known as the “EMS Compact”, the law is effective immediately.
The EMS Compact provides licensed EMS personnel a privilege to practice in other EMS Compact states without obtaining a separate EMS license in that member state. By enacting the legislation, Pennsylvania will gain access to the National EMS Coordinated database. The national database enhances public protection by sharing EMS personnel licensure data and supports expedited licensing in member states for military personnel upon discharge from service and their EMS qualified spouses. It will also protect the public by providing member states information concerning adverse action taken on a person’s EMS licenses.
Senator Patrick J. Stefano, who introduced the legislation on March 12, 2021, stated that “Pennsylvania is having an exceedingly difficult time in recruiting and retaining licensed EMS providers as put forth in the Senate Resolution 6 Report of 2018. The EMS Compact would help address this issue by making Pennsylvania more attractive to out-of-state EMS personnel. It would help with staffing during emergencies, as well as making it easier for Pennsylvania residents to practice out-of-state. Furthermore, our military families would be served well by having a means to move more expeditiously from state-to-state.”
Aaron Rhone, Pennsylvania Bureau of Emergency Medical Service Director stated, “I am excited for the benefits that this will bring to Pennsylvania” as Pennsylvania joins the EMS Compact and participates with the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice (ICEMSPP).
Joseph Schmider, ICEMSPP Chairperson, “as a former Pennsylvania Bureau of EMS Director, I am extremely excited to welcome the Commonwealth into the EMS Compact. This will bring another EMS workforce instrument to Pennsylvania’s comprehensive EMS system, which is responsible for preventing and reducing premature death and disability.”
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The EMS Compact facilitates the day-to-day movement of licensed EMS personnel licensed in one Compact state to all other compact states. EMS personnel, including EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics, licensed in one compact member state are granted a Privilege to Practice in the other compact member states. The EMS Compact is a legal agreement between states, enacted by state legislation in over 20 states. The EMS Compact increases access to patient care, protects the public, reduces administrative burden for EMS personnel and states, and enhances the Emergency Medical Services system in the United States.
Photo Acknolegement:
The EMS Compact provides licensed EMS personnel a privilege to practice in other EMS Compact states without obtaining a separate EMS license in that member state. By enacting the legislation, Pennsylvania will gain access to the National EMS Coordinated database. The national database enhances public protection by sharing EMS personnel licensure data and supports expedited licensing in member states for military personnel upon discharge from service and their EMS qualified spouses. It will also protect the public by providing member states information concerning adverse action taken on a person’s EMS licenses.
Senator Patrick J. Stefano, who introduced the legislation on March 12, 2021, stated that “Pennsylvania is having an exceedingly difficult time in recruiting and retaining licensed EMS providers as put forth in the Senate Resolution 6 Report of 2018. The EMS Compact would help address this issue by making Pennsylvania more attractive to out-of-state EMS personnel. It would help with staffing during emergencies, as well as making it easier for Pennsylvania residents to practice out-of-state. Furthermore, our military families would be served well by having a means to move more expeditiously from state-to-state.”
Aaron Rhone, Pennsylvania Bureau of Emergency Medical Service Director stated, “I am excited for the benefits that this will bring to Pennsylvania” as Pennsylvania joins the EMS Compact and participates with the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice (ICEMSPP).
Joseph Schmider, ICEMSPP Chairperson, “as a former Pennsylvania Bureau of EMS Director, I am extremely excited to welcome the Commonwealth into the EMS Compact. This will bring another EMS workforce instrument to Pennsylvania’s comprehensive EMS system, which is responsible for preventing and reducing premature death and disability.”
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The EMS Compact facilitates the day-to-day movement of licensed EMS personnel licensed in one Compact state to all other compact states. EMS personnel, including EMTs, AEMTs, and Paramedics, licensed in one compact member state are granted a Privilege to Practice in the other compact member states. The EMS Compact is a legal agreement between states, enacted by state legislation in over 20 states. The EMS Compact increases access to patient care, protects the public, reduces administrative burden for EMS personnel and states, and enhances the Emergency Medical Services system in the United States.
Photo Acknolegement:
Press release archives. (n.d.). Governor Tom Wolf. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.governor.pa.gov/topic/press-release/