EMS Week

In 1974, President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week to celebrate EMS practitioners and the important work they do in our nation's communities. National Emergency Medical Services Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of medicine's frontline. EMS Week is presented by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in partnership with the National Associations of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT). Together, NAEMT and ACEP lead annual EMS Week activities. These organizations are working to ensure that the important contributions of EMS practitioners in safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of their communities are fully celebrated and recognized.

EMS Week 2024

EMS Week Logo

Hello from Maine EMS! As spring arrives in 2024, I want to express our admiration for your unwavering dedication to delivering top-notch emergency medical services across our great state. With Emergency Medical Services Week just around the corner (May 19-25), the Maine EMS Board is eager to honor outstanding leaders and contributors within our system.

Maine EMS is seeking nominations for award recipients in the following seven (7) categories:

  • Governor's Award: This award is conferred for exceptional contribution to the EMS system at the state, national, or system-wide level. The candidate should have demonstrated involvement and contribution in multiple areas of EMS activity (i.e., system development, education, administration, public education, quality/process improvement, etc.).
  • EMS Excellence Award: Conferred for contribution to the EMS system at the regional or state level. The candidate should have demonstrated involvement and significant contribution in one or more areas of EMS activity (i.e., system development, education, administration, public education, quality/process improvement, etc.).
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: This award is conferred for extensive involvement with EMS in Maine for at least ten (10) years, consistently performing above and beyond expectations in system development, patient care, service involvement, and/or community involvement.
  • EMS Merit Award: Conferred for contributions to the EMS system at the local or regional level. The candidate should have demonstrated involvement and contribution in one or more areas of EMS activity.
  • EMS Community Partner Award: This award is conferred to a non-EMS organization or individual who has demonstrated excellence, support, collaboration, and integrity with the EMS system in Maine. The recipient of this award has significantly impacted the EMS system by providing resources, education, advocacy, or partnerships that enhance the quality and safety of prehospital care in Maine. (Added in 2023)
  • EMS Service of the Year Award: This award is conferred to an EMS service that has shown exemplary performance, innovation, and quality improvement in the delivery of prehospital care in Maine. (Added for 2024)
  • Medical Director of the Year Award: This award is conferred to an EMS medical director who has provided outstanding leadership, education, and guidance to Maine's EMS clinicians and services. (Added for 2024)

We strongly encourage you to nominate deserving candidates through our online submission tool, which you can access HERE.  Alternatively, you can complete the form below and submit your nomination via email or USPS to Maine EMS, 152 Statehouse Station, 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 1, Augusta, Maine, 04333.

Award Nomination Form (PDF) 

Please note that we will accept nominations until 23:59 on April 15, 2024.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any additional questions or concerns. You can reach us by emailing maine.ems@maine.gov or calling (207) 626-3860.

Respectfully,

Wil O'Neal

Director, Maine EMS

 

  • Sunday is Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day

Sunday of EMS Week is Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day to promote the health, wellness and resilience of EMS providers and patients. Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day highlights the need to recognize and care for the health and wellness of EMS providers and patients and share ideas on strengthening resilience. It is an opportunity to step back and take care of ourselves through self-care as well as to care for our fellow EMS professionals and the patients who are in our care every day.

  • Monday is Education Day

Monday of EMS Week is Education Day, highlighting public education programs and EMS provider education.  Education Day seeks to highlight community educational programs, as well as the importance of continuing education for EMS practitioners. This is the ideal day to plan a community injury or illness prevention program and a special CE course for your agency. Consider in-person or online community education programs related to the prevention of falls, burns, poisoning or drowning.

  • Tuesday is EMS Safety Day

This day is to promote Safety for the EMS provider, the patient, and the public.  Safety Day encourages first responders to focus on risk and prevention rather than possible negative outcomes and aims to promote the advancement of safety measures for both the community and the profession. This is a great day to highlight stress reduction, self-care and mental health awareness programs. Other options for programs include improved situational awareness, driving and roadway safety, vehicle and device maintenance, proper lifting techniques or violence awareness.

  • Wednesday is EMS for Children Day

EMS for Children Day highlights the distinctive physiological and psychological aspects of caring for children and serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about improving specialized care for children in pre-hospital and acute care settings. Consider planning a pediatric care educational event for your clinicians and a community program related to first aid, emergency preparedness, car seats or bicycle safety.

  • Thursday is Save-A-Life Day

This day is to promote Stop the Bleed, public CPR programs and other programs It doesn’t matter how quickly EMS practitioners get to a scene—bystanders will almost always be there first. Save-A-Life Day empowers the general public to learn and apply steps that can be taken to help save a life. This is an ideal day to schedule community CPR and Stop the Bleed educational courses. Take advantage of the many programs and toolkits available that make it easier to coordinate these programs.

  • Friday is EMS Recognition Day

This day serves to recognize your local EMS heroes and those who save lives through the EMS system. On EMS Recognition Day, we honor members of the EMS community who regularly go above and beyond what’s expected. It’s a day to give gratitude to first responders for their unwavering commitment to serve their communities. Plan a memorial ceremony, an awards event, a special meal, a gift-giving event and other honors for EMS Recognition Day.

 

EMS Week 2023

  • Happy EMS week to all of those providing and supporting emergency medical care! Each day of EMS Week has a different theme or area of focus. We will be sharing information throughout the week, and hope you are celebrating with your local community and agency.
  • EMS Week 2023 Proclamation from US President Joe Biden
  • EMS Week 2023 Proclamation from Maine Governor Janet Mills (PDF)
  • Thank you letter from Maine EMS Chair Brent Libby, Director Sam Hurley, and Medical Director Dr. Matt Sholl (PDF)
  • Thank you video from Gam Wijetunge, Director, National Office of EMS, NHTSA
  • Thank you video from Susan Bailey, NAEMT President
  • Sunday of EMS Week is Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day to promote the health, wellness and resilience of EMS providers and patients. Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day highlights the need to recognize and care for the health and wellness of EMS providers and patients and share ideas on strengthening resilience. It is an opportunity to step back and take care of ourselves through self-care as well as to care for our fellow EMS professionals and the patients who are in our care every day.
  • Responding with Resilience: Mental Wellness in EMS (Youtube video)
  • Monday of EMS Week is Education Day, highlighting public education programs and EMS provider education.  Education Day seeks to highlight community educational programs, as well as the importance of continuing education for EMS practitioners. This is the ideal day to plan a community injury or illness prevention program and a special CE course for your agency. Consider in-person or online community education programs related to the prevention of falls, burns, poisoning or drowning.
  • Thank you letter from Maine Community College (PDF)
  • Maine EMS is launching a new virtual reality training opportunity, building off the success of the EMS for Children VR trainings. These new adult scenarios are built specifically to Maine protocols, letting you practice what you would really do in the field. Reach out to MEMS.VR@maine.gov to schedule a training, reserve headsets, and more!
  • Maine EMS Adult Virtual Reality Training Program Flyer (PDF)
  • Tuesday of EMS week is Safety Day! Check out the most recent version of the Maine EMS Safety Newsletter
  • Happy EMS week! Today is #EMSForChildrenDay ! Join Maine EMS in thanking all of the EMS providers in Maine and nationwide for answering 2.7 million calls for pediatric patients in 2022 and watch this EMSC Thank You video.
  • AED access
  • Happy EMS week! Thursday is Save A Life day, and one way you can help is to register the location of publicly accessible AEDs. Watch the video on the link below, download the app, and you can enter the information about the AED, and it will be sent to Maine EMS, reviewed and then pushed out to all PSAPs statewide. You do not need to do this for ambulances/firetrucks/police cars or other non publicly accessible AEDs, but all others are strongly encouraged to enter the info and make it available in pulsepoint in cases of cardiac arrest, and use to help save a life! https://www.pulsepoint.org/pulsepoint-aed
  • Stop the Bleed
  • Launched as a national public awareness campaign by the White House in 2015, the Stop the Bleed campaign seeks to train more of the public to provide immediate care in the event of mass-causality situations. As the result, actions led by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, the Stop the Bleed campaign seeks to bring a greater understanding on the initial steps in bleeding control. After an extensive study of tourniquet use by the U.S. military in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the benefits were clearly shown. Follow-up studies in 2014 showed similar benefits in the civilian population and additional actions such as direct pressure techniques and wound packing provided an arsenal of treatments that could be safely implemented by non-medically trained individuals.
  • Letter to EMS Community - 2023 EMS Awards (PDF)
      • Sunday is Health, Wellness, and Resilience Day
      • Monday is Education Day
      • Tuesday is EMS Safety Day
      • Wednesday is EMS for Children Day
      • Thursday is Save-A-Life Day
      • Friday is EMS Recognition Day

EMS Week 2022

EMS Week 2021

EMS Week 2020