HR0872 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0872 LRB097 20761 KXB 67321 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Illinois Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System, comprised of dozens of individual EMS systems operating throughout the State, has since the early 1970s represented one-third of our crucial 911 emergency response infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' EMS system and the thousands of people it employs continue to play a vital and life-saving role for the people of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Approximately two-thirds of non-police 911 calls are calls requesting an ambulance; and

WHEREAS, In addition to responding to 911 calls placed from homes and businesses, Illinois' EMS system covers all 16,000 miles of Illinois' roads; and

WHEREAS, EMS ambulances annually respond to tens of thousands of motor vehicle crashes, treating 88,937 injured motorists in 2010, the latest year of available data; and

WHEREAS, Timely, efficient, and appropriate emergency medical care is one of the most significant factors in determining a patients outcome for a great many medical issues in addition to trauma, notably including acute cardiovascular disease, the nation's number one killer of adults; and

WHEREAS, Properly maintained ambulances outfitted with advanced medical equipment are necessary to provide optimal emergency medical care on scene and enroute to the hospital; and

WHEREAS, Advanced levels of training are necessary for all practitioners of emergency medicine, with higher licensure levels representing greater lengths of training and a greater range of advanced medical procedures; and

WHEREAS, Despite longer average drive times from the scene of a medical emergency to a hospital, and thus longer periods of time in which patients are in the sole care of emergency medical practitioners, many rural EMS systems are staffed primarily by volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians often with comparably lower levels of training and less available medical equipment than is found in most urban EMS systems; and

WHEREAS, While many well-funded federal grants were deservedly made available to police and fire services over the last 11 years, the same cannot be said of federal funds available to EMS services, forcing many joint fire/EMS departments and stand-alone EMS departments to rely on ad-hoc local fundraising efforts to keep up aging ambulances and basic equipment; and

WHEREAS, The State has often found it necessary to sweep expected EMS funds due to ongoing budget challenges, resulting in the fact that actual EMS funding has largely remained flat or declined over the last 10 years; and

WHEREAS, Attrition of more highly-trained EMTs, especially within volunteer EMS departments, has led to a situation in which recruitment, up-training, and retention of qualified EMTs has become incredibly challenging for many EMS departments; and

WHEREAS, These various challenges are indicative of the fact that despite over 40 years of crucial service, and in contrast to the equally worthy Police and Fire Services, Emergency Medical Service has never been declared an essential service by the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Despite these many challenges they face as an equal third of the State's emergency response infrastructure, the brave and talented men and women of Illinois' EMS system continue to save lives and improve medical outcomes for patients across the State on a daily basis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that Emergency Medical Service should be prioritized in line with its value to the people of Illinois and should formally be declared an Essential Service.