West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services

Overview

West Virginia's Office of Emergency Medical Services receives advice and direction from several committees and organizations.  Among these is the EMS Advisory Council.

West Virginia State Code §16-4C-5 creates the Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council.  The council

• advises the commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health (and/or the Commissioner's designated representative) concerning emergency medical services
• works with the Commissioner/designee to develop standards for emergency medical service personnel
• provides advice to the Office of Emergency Medical Services and to the Commissioner/designee on establishing and maintaining adequate emergency medical services for all portions of the state
• reviews the current emergency medical system and making recommendations for improvement
• Provides assistance to the Office of Emergency

Membership

• The Mountain State Emergency Medical Services Association has two representatives, one paramedic, one EMT-Basic
• The County Commissioners' Association has one representative
• The West Virginia Firemen's Association has one representative
• The West Virginia Hospital Association has one representative
• The West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians has one representative
• The West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association has one representative
• The West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Collation has one representative
• The Ambulance Association of West Virginia has one representative
• The State Department of Education has one representative.

In addition to the groups mentioned above, the governor appoints

• Three people representing the general public
• One person representing the represent emergency medical service providers operating in the state
• One person representing the represent the small emergency medical service providers operating in the state

View the current list of council members.

Meetings

While State code requires the Committee to meet at least twice a year, the Committee's bylaws require it to meet at least quarterly.  The meetings are open to the public, posted on the Secretary of State's website, and the minutes of the meetings are publically available.

Liaisons

The Committee has created liaison positions to interface with other agencies, associations, or EMS specialty groups.  The primary purpose of the liaison position is to exchange information.  Liaisons are not voting members of the Committee, but they are included in discussions.  Whenever possible, the Committee solicits the opinions of the liaisons.