[Federal Register: December 18, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 75805-75806]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18de06-76]
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[NHTSA Docket No. NHTSA-2006-26143]
National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council to the
Secretary of Transportation
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of an advisory committee.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Transportation announces the establishment of
a National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Advisory Council (NEMSAC)
to provide advice and recommendations regarding EMS matters to the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA's Office of Emergency Medical Services
will serve as sponsor of the Advisory Council for the Secretary. The
purpose of this notice is to inform interested parties of the
establishment of NEMSAC and invite the submission to NHTSA of
nominations/applications for membership, as well as comments on the
strategies or issues that should be considered by NEMSAC.
DATES: Comments and applications or nominations for membership on
NEMSAC must be received February 16, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Drew Dawson, Director, NHTSA
Office of Emergency Medical Services, (202) 366-9966 or via e-mail at
drew.dawson@dot.gov; or Ms. Allison Rusnak, Office of the Chief
Counsel, (202) 366-1834 or via e-mail at allison.rusnak@dot.gov, 400
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m.
to 4:15 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Document
Management System (DMS) at: http://dms.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission
and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section
of the Web site.
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the
Federal Register's home page at http://www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office's database at http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in a Federal Register published on April
11, 2000 (70 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will
continue to file relevant information in the docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments and we
recommend that you periodically check the docket for new material. We
will consider late comments [75 days from publication].
Background
The National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council will serve
as a forum to provide to NHTSA advice and recommendations on a broad
range of issues related to EMS. The DOT has determined that the
establishment of NEMSAC falls under the terms of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. II.
A. Notice of Establishment of an Advisory Council
In accordance with the requirements of FACA, an agency of the
Federal Government cannot establish or utilize a group of people in the
interest of obtaining consensus advice or recommendations unless that
group is chartered as a Federal advisory committee. The purpose of this
notice is to announce the establishment of an advisory committee to
provide NHTSA advice and recommendations regarding a broad range of EMS
issues. The Secretary has determined that the establishment of NEMSAC
is necessary and in the public interest.
B. Name of Committee
National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council.
C. Purpose and Objective
The NEMSAC will be a nationally recognized council of EMS
representatives and consumers to provide advice and recommendations
regarding EMS to NHTSA. The issues that NEMSAC will consider include:
National EMS needs assessment and strategic planning; development of
standards, guidelines, benchmarks, and data collection relating to EMS;
development of methods for improving community-based EMS; strengthening
EMS systems through enhanced workforce development, education,
training, exercises, equipment, medical oversight; improved
coordination and support of EMS activities among Federal programs; and
other issues or topics as determined by NHTSA.
The NEMSAC does not exercise program management or regulatory
development responsibilities, and makes no decisions directly affecting
the programs on which it provides advice. The NEMSAC provides a forum
for the development, consideration, and communication of information
from a knowledgeable and independent perspective of a strategy for
advancing EMS systems nationwide.
D. Balanced Membership Plans
Advisory council members shall represent a cross-section of the
diverse agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in EMS
activities and programs in the U.S. The NEMSAC shall be composed of not
more than 26 members, each of whom shall be appointed by the Secretary
of Transportation. Twenty-four of these members will represent the
perspectives of particular components of the EMS community. The
Council's broad-based membership will assure that it has sufficient EMS
system expertise and geographic and demographic diversity to accurately
reflect the EMS community as a whole. NHTSA seeks applications and
nominations for
[[Page 75806]]
members within the EMS community from a wide array of national
organizations and the public. Members will be selected for their
individual expertise and to reflect a balanced representation of
interests from across the EMS community, but no member will represent a
specific organization.
To the extent practical, the final council membership shall assure
representation from the following:
[rtarr8] Volunteer EMS
[rtarr8] Fire-based (career) EMS
[rtarr8] Private (career non-fire) EMS
[rtarr8] Hospital-based EMS
[rtarr8] Tribal EMS
[rtarr8] Air Medical EMS
[rtarr8] Local EMS service director/administrators
[rtarr8] EMS Medical Directors
[rtarr8] Emergency Physicians
[rtarr8] Trauma Surgeons
[rtarr8] Pediatric Emergency Physicians
[rtarr8] State EMS Directors
[rtarr8] State Highway Safety Directors
[rtarr8] EMS Educators
[rtarr8] Public Safety Call-taker/Dispatcher (911)
[rtarr8] EMS Data Managers
[rtarr8] EMS Researchers
[rtarr8] Emergency Nurses
[rtarr8] Hospital Administration
[rtarr8] Public Health
[rtarr8] Emergency Management
[rtarr8] State Homeland Security Directors
[rtarr8] Consumers (not directly affiliated with an EMS or healthcare
organization)
[rtarr8] State or local legislative bodies (e.g. city/county councils;
state legislatures)
This document gives notice to potential participants of the process
and affords them the opportunity to apply for membership on NEMSAC. The
application procedure is set forth below. In addition, NHTSA invites
commentors to suggest or nominate potential members.
The NHTSA is aware that there are many more potential organizations
and participants than there are membership positions on NEMSAC. It is
important to recognize that interested parties who are not selected for
NEMSAC membership can make valuable contributions to the work of NEMSAC
in several ways. For example, the person or organization may request to
be placed on the NEMSAC mailing list, submit written comments to the
advisory council, and attend NEMSAC meetings. Time will be set aside
during each meeting for the purpose of permitting public comment,
consistent with NEMSAC's need for sufficient time to complete its
deliberations.
E. Applications for Membership
Each application for membership or nomination to the advisory
council must include the following:
(1) A brief resume or letter (no more than one page) demonstrating
the applicant or nominee's knowledge of EMS projects or programs and
why he or she is interested in serving on the advisory council (please
note, resumes or letters will be posted in the public docket and
therefore should not contain personal information such as date of
birth, etc).
(2) The name of the applicant or nominee and which interest(s)/
component(s) of the EMS community (identified above in Section D) he or
she would represent.
(3) Evidence that the applicant or nominee represents those
interest(s)/component(s) of the EMS community (identified above in
Section D).
(4) A written commitment that the applicant or nominee would
participate in good faith. Since all comments and/or applications for
membership or nominations for membership on the advisory council will
be posted on the Public Docket, we encourage you to include only that
information you are willing to provide for the public docket and submit
your application electronically using the docket number provided on
this notice through the DOT online Document Management System found at:
http://dms.dot.gov/submit.
Every effort will be made to select advisory council members who
are objective. A balanced membership is needed and weight will be given
to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, geographical
distribution, gender, minority status, organization, and expertise.
Members of the advisory council may receive travel and per diem, as
allowed by Federal regulations and U.S. Department of Transportation
policy.
F. Duration
Two years from the establishment of the advisory council charter.
Issued on: December 13, 2006.
Mary E. Peters,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-21522 Filed 12-15-06; 8:45 am]
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