National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week is May 18-24, 2008

Every day, under any circumstances, 750,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers serve their communities. Emergency Medical Services Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and to honor the dedication of paramedics, emergency medical technicians, first responders, fire fighters, police, and others who provide often heroic, lifesaving services as a routine part of their jobs.

What is National Emergency Medical Services Week?

National EMS Week and Emergency Medical Services for Children Day will feature hundreds of grassroots activities coast-to-coast that will support this year's theme, "Your Life is Our Mission." These activities will recognize the commitment that emergency medical personnel make to the communities they serve. Their dedication provides round-the-clock care to communities across the nation. May 21, 2008 has been designated EMS for Children Day. On May 21, local communities and medical personnel are encouraged to focus their EMS activities and events on child safety and injury prevention.

Each year, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) develops and distributes EMS Week organizational kits to help communities plan and promote their own activities. Thanks to the support of CDC and others, the EMS Week kits* are free to the public.

This year, the organizational kit features lifesaving information that includes Bombings: Injury Patterns and Care, a course designed to provide the latest clinical information regarding blast-related injuries that are a result of terrorism. The course is available in multiple formats, including a CD-ROM/Web interactive scenario-based training. Bombings: Injury Patterns and Care is supported by CDC's Terrorism Injuries Information, Dissemination and Exchange (TIIDE) Project. TIIDE was established through a cooperative agreement and links acute care and emergency medical services to state and local injury prevention programs for terrorism preparedness and response. Bombings: Injury Patterns and Care was developed by a team of experts from the organizations listed in the Additional Resources section provided below.

The kit also features CDC's "Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports" fact sheets. Fact sheets are available for parents, coaches and athletes. For more information and to order additional materials free of charge, see the Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports tool kit.

To learn more about research to improve injury care and state programs to build capacity for injury prevention and control, see CDC's Division of Injury Response.

Additional Resources

• American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)*
• American College of Surgeons (ACS)*
• American Medical Association (AMA)*
• American Trauma Society (ATS)*
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)*
• National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians (NAEMSP)*
• National Native American Emergency Medical Services Association (NNAEMSA)*
• Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD)*
• State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA)*