National EMS Week This Week

Edmonson EMS staff members stand with Judge Executive Wil Cannon.

Edmonson Voice Staff Report:​
ALWAYS IN SERVICE
May 21-27, 2017 is the 43rd annual EMS Week
In 1973, President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week to celebrate EMS, its practitioners and the important work they do in responding to medical emergencies. Back then, EMS was a fledgling profession and EMS practitioners were only beginning to be recognized as a critical component of emergency medicine and the public health safety net.

A lot has changed over the last four decades. EMS is now firmly established as a key component of the medical care continuum, and the important role of EMS practitioners in saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest and trauma; in getting people to the hospitals best equipped to treat heart attacks and strokes; and in showing caring and compassion to their patients in their most difficult moments.

Whether it’s the team at Grady EMS in Atlanta who had the expertise to transport the nation's first Ebola patient, the volunteer firefighters and flight medics called to search for and rescue survivors in the Everett, Wash. mudslide or the thousands of EMS responses that happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and don't make the news, EMS is there for their communities at their greatest time of need.
 
This year’s theme is “EMS Strong: Always in Service”.  Please take a few moments to recognize those individuals who have dedicated their lives to providing life-saving care whenever and wherever it is needed.