HR0444 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0444 LRB103 34618 LAW 64459 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and other first responders may be exposed to unforeseen dangers when rendering medical assistance or crisis intervention; and

WHEREAS, These dangers may include rendering medical aid in the presence of hidden weapons to perpetrators of crime, to suspects attempting to elude police, or to patients confused or experiencing an altered state of consciousness; and

WHEREAS, First responders may render aid to patients under known or unknown conditions of medical trauma, shock, comas, hallucinations, emotional and psychological crisis, intoxication, or the influence of narcotics and other substances; and

WHEREAS, Emergency calls that begin as medical assistance or crisis intervention situations could either potentially evolve or suddenly transition into a very dangerous physical conflict, and these situations may include the presence of weapons, such as firearms, and may become violent, thereby endangering the lives of first responders, patients, and the public; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, the Illinois State Police, the State's fire departments and districts, the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator, and all public safety agencies in the State to review policies and procedures pertaining to the potential dangers encountered by emergency medical technicians, paramedics, public safety telecommunicators, and other first responders involved in rendering medical assistance; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge that the training of first responders include policies and procedures that will improve situational awareness and the communications of EMTs, police, dispatch, and firefighters to best preserve their safety and the safety of patients and the public from these potentially dangerous situations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge that the training of first responders include procedures and policies to help identify such potentially dangerous situations, how to properly communicate a threat with dispatch, law enforcement, and other relevant responders, and the appropriate actions, disengagement, or response needed to de-escalate dangerous situations; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the State's public safety agencies to critique their response to past experiences of emergency medical responses that evolved into violent or potentially violent incidents and to include, in their culture and procedures, open discussions about such responses and the necessary training, policies, and procedures needed to appropriately address such events in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois EMS Association, the Illinois State Ambulance Association, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, and the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator.