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EMS practitioners across the United States and Canada will be the focus of EMS Week, which takes place from May 18 to 24.
The 2008 EMS Week theme is "Your Life is Our Mission." This statement was chosen to recognize the commitment that emergency medical personnel make to the communities they serve, according to Linda Lawrence, MD, FACEP, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).
Continuing the commitment to the safety of children, ACEP has designated Wednesday, May 21, as EMS for Children Day. Click here for more information on EMS for Children resources.
Click here for a list of online resources relating to EMS Week.
NAEMT is an association sponsor of the annual EMS Week Planning Guide. This informative 48-page guide offers tips on event planning, sample proclamations, fact sheets and other useful tools. Click here for a link to a downloadable copy of the guide.
Special Events Planned
Three special events that coincide with EMS Week are the National EMS Memorial Service, the National Moment of Silence and the annual EMS Memorial Bike Ride. Here are more details about these events:
EMS Memorial Service: This annual service honors EMS providers who have died in the line of duty. Since 1993, 350 providers from 44 states and the District of Columbia have been recognized at this annual event, which will take place at 7 pm May 24, 2008, in Roanoke, Virginia.
Visit www.nemsms.org for more information on this year’s service.
National Moment of Silence: Providers around the country can observe the National Moment of Silence, which is set for 8 pm Eastern time on May 31.
The National Moment of Silence offers EMS providers and agencies around the nation the opportunity to honor those EMS providers who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives in the line of duty.
Visit http://nemsms.org/silence.htm for more information on this year’s observance.
National EMS Memorial Bike Ride: After a reorganizing year in 2007, the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride is set to kick off on May 17 in New York and May 18 in Kentucky. The goal of the ride is to achieve recognition for EMS as a profession, to reduce the number of debilitating injuries and deaths in EMS and to create a national EMS accountability system.
 | Ride organizers hope that the ride will focus attention on the accomplishments of all EMS personnel, and educate the community at large about the need for improved safety standards, injury prevention, disability tracking and death benefits for EMS personnel and their families.
The 2008 ride will feature three events. The first will be a ride from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on May 10. So far, 25 riders are signed up to participate in this ride.
The second ride will run from New York City to Roanoke, VA. The announced route is as follows:
- May 17: New York City to Princeton, NJ, via Staten Island
- May 18: Princeton, NJ, to Wilmington, DE
- May 19: Wilmington, DE, to Annapolis, MD
- May 20: Annapolis, MD to Manassas, VA, via Washington, DC
- May 21: Manassas, VA to Skyland Resort, VA
- May 22: Skyland Resort to Lexington, VA
- May 23: Lexington, VA, to Roanoke, VA (with possible side tour to Blacksburg, VA)
The third route will run from Lexington, KY, to Roanoke. At press time, the second route was as follows:
- May 18: Lexington, KY, to Paintsville, KY
- May 19: Paintsville, KY, to Pikeville, KY
- May 20: Pikeville, KY, to Grundy, VA
- May 21: Grundy, VA, to Bluefield, VA
- May 22: Bluefield, VA, to Blacksburg, VA
- May 23: Blacksburg, VA, to Roanoke, VA
NAEMT is a sponsor of the ride, and NAEMT board member Jennifer Frenette is the group’s president. Visit www.muddyangels.org for more information on this year’s ride.
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