News

News

CE event june 2025The Southwest Virginia EMS Council will be hosting a FREE 8-hour CE program on June 28th. This event will start at 8:00am and will be located at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. Attendees can receive up to 8 hours of category 1 CEs for attending this event. In addition, several EMS employers will be on hand to discuss possible job opportunities.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Office of EMS (OEMS) has distributed information to registered superusers of licensed EMS agencies. This includes a document that provides additional background and training information on Marburg Virus Disease (MVD), a rare and severe hemorrhagic illness caused by the Marburg virus. 

VDH is currently monitoring international cases of Marburg and OEMS is working hard to ensure good communication is established among EMS agencies in Virginia. It’s important to note that currently there are no cases of Marburg in Virginia or the United States, and the risk of infection with this virus in the United States is low. This information is being shared for awareness only. 

ballad logoEMS Partners,

As we move into the second half of our Kingsport market transition I wanted to provide you with some points for your review and distribution to your personnel:

·         Effective at midnight tonight/tomorrow morning (4/22), all OB/GYN services will transition from HV to IPCH.  This change will be permanent.

·         As I shared last week, the pause on medical and surgical admissions at IPCH remains temporary as we continue working through the pandemic event. 

·         All OB/GYN patients in the Kingsport market should be routed to IPCH, with the exception of your OB trauma patients, which will continue to have their destination determination according to your respective state trauma destination guidelines, and your departmental SOP’s.

·         The ED at IPCH remains open with no changes.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any questions you have.  Rebecca Beck is the administrative sponsor for this transition and she, too, will be glad to assist you.

Sincerely,

Anita Perry

Small Training logoThe Council is pleased to announce the implementation of a free regional continuing education program. CE courses will be offered each month at our office. Courses will begin at 9:00 am and will cover a variety of topics. Registration is not required. Click READ MORE to view the list of dates and topics.

oems vdhThe Virginia Office of EMS has released some important information updates. The Director of the Office of EMS (OEMS) position has been posted. For more information, please review this link. In addition, it has been determined there will be no statewide EMS Symposium held in 2024. Please view this link for more details. Finally, OEMS has also released additional information regarding changes to the Virginia EMS drug box system. The full article can be accessed by clicking this link.

To see the latest information from the Virginia Office of EMS, please visit the OEMS webpage at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/. 

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Free hand sanitizer, please call the EMS Council and request a FREE CASE of hand sanitizer for your EMS Agency. 

 

COVID-19 Guidelines and Resources

The Southwest Virginia EMS Council has created this page to provide information related to the COVID-19 crisis to our regional EMS agencies and providers. We have just released guidance for EMS agencies as you respond in your communities to possible and confirmed COVID-19 cases. It is essential for EMS agencies and providers to be diligent in addressing patient care during this public health emergency. Understanding proper techniques for limiting exposure and the spread of disease is vital. The resources linked below contain the latest available information. Refer to these sites frequently. Review guidelines for proper use of PPE, and pay attention to urgent communications being sent by various stakeholders. To assist our agencies and providers, new protocols and guidelines have been approved by the regional Medical Direction Committee for immediate implementation. Please discuss these with your operational medical direction.  These are available on our mobile app and attached here:

OEMS recently announced that in conjunction with Virginia’s EMS System, the Western Virginia EMS Council recently partnered with ESO to build a comprehensive, statewide network to better collect and track healthcare and public safety data from EMS agencies, fire departments and hospitals.

This will allow the system to really lean into data across the entire patient journey – from 911 call to hospital disposition – to help improve patient care and patient outcomes at a statewide level. Additionally, we’ll have greater insight into first responder well-being so we can provide ongoing support to this critical workforce. Bottom line, we’ll be able to leverage analytics to see data-driven trends that will help us make the most informed decisions when it comes to keeping Virginians healthy and safe.

For more information, click below:

https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/2021/03/11/eso-to-provide-software-and-services-to-virginia-ems-agencies-fire-departments-and-hospitals/

ballad logoUPDATES REGARDING COVID-19 PROCESSES

ER INTAKE

The following information relates to the transport of COVID-19 patients and the appropriate processes for intake at the ED’s. It is the goal that appropriate patients will be cared for at their local health departments, or at home.  Many measures have been put into place across the region to assist with this.

Please work with your respective dispatch centers to ensure the screening questions suggested by the CDC are being asked.

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Proudly serving the cities of Bristol, Galax, and Norton and the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe. © 2018 Southwest Virginia EMS Council, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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