E-Update Archive
June 19, 2007
In this issue:
- Special Member Update: NVFC Calls for Citizen Corps and Fire Corps
- Bipartisan Coalition Of Senators And Representatives Asks President To 'Unlock' Hometown Heroes Benefits
- Coalition Stresses Importance Of Fire Service-Based EMS
- GAO Report Finds Medicare Payments to Super-Rural EMS Providers Insufficient
- NVFC Honors Volunteer with President's Volunteer Service Award
- Registration Open for National Fire Academy Training Opportunities
- Calendar of Events
- Support Those Who Support the Voice of the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services
Special Member Alert: NVFC Calls for Citizen Corps and Fire Corps Authorization in Testimony before House Subcommittee
On June 13, National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman and La Farge, WI, Fire Department Chief Philip C. Stittleburg testified today before the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response. Stittleburg's testimony focused on the Fire Corps program, which is administered on the national level by the NVFC, in conjunction with the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Stittleburg's testimony included calling for Congress to pass an authorization for Citizen Corps that would include a sub-authorization for Fire Corps. Read the full article.
Bipartisan Coalition Of Senators And Representatives Asks President To 'Unlock' Hometown Heroes Benefits
In three and a half years since act became law, only 6 claims approved
On June 7, a bipartisan group of 101 Members of Congress - led by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Representatives Bob Etheridge (D-NC) and Peter King (R-NY) - sent a letter asking President Bush to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award benefits authorized by Congress under the Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefits Act. The NVFC and other fire service groups sent a similar letter to the President several weeks ago. When the Congressional letter was first made available for signature, the NVFC encouraged its members and the public to urge their Representative and Senators to sign the letter.
In the letter, the Members of Congress expressed concern over the DOJ's slow implementation of the Hometown Heroes Act. The Act was supposed to make it possible for the families of public safety officers who die from heart attack or stroke within 24 hours of participating in emergency response activities to be able to collect a Public Safety Officer's Benefit (PSOB). PSOB is a one-time death and disability payment to the families of public safety officers who die in the line of duty. It has been three and a half years since the bill became law, and yet DOJ has approved only six claims out of 264 applications.
"In 2004, then-Attorney General Ashcroft mandated that all PSOB claims should be processed in no more than 90 days," the letter reads. "Unfortunately, more than three years since the passage of the Hometown Heroes law, and more than eight months since DOJ finalized its rule on the law's implementation, over 80 percent of the claims still languish. The Department of Justice appears to be giving them less than its full support with its delays and denials. We are disappointed that this situation remains unresolved. The families of our nation's first responders have waited too long. "
The letter goes on to ask the President to direct his Administration to expedite all outstanding claims and ensure that benefits are awarded in line with the intent of Congress. The legislation was intended to create a presumption that the heart attack or stroke was caused by work in the line of duty, unless there was clear evidence to the contrary. DOJ instead has placed an unnecessary burden on applicants by requesting volumes of paperwork, including 10 years of medical history. The lawmakers are concerned that DOJ may be intentionally misinterpreting the direct, expressed intent of Congress and the President.
Heart attacks and strokes account for nearly half of firefighter deaths each year. On March 22, the Harvard School of Public Health published a study that shows firefighters are much more likely than the general public to die of a heart attack or stroke during and after participating in emergency response.
Coalition Stresses Importance Of Fire Service-Based EMS
Report Highlights Critical Role of the Fire Service
Fire departments are best equipped to deliver emergency medical service, according to a new white paper. Prehospital 911 Emergency Medical Response: The Role of the United States Fire Service in Delivery and Coordination was prepared by top EMS physicians from three different regions of the United States. The 13-page report describes fire service-based EMS and the time-critical role of the fire service in providing emergency medical care. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is promoting the paper through the Advocates for Fire Service-Based EMS, a coalition of national emergency service organizations.
It is critical that policy makers understand the importance of having emergency medical services provided through the fire service. Fire service-based EMS is prehospital emergency 9-1-1 medical response provided by the nation's firefighter EMTs and paramedics. Due to the training, expertise, and equipment of fire service-based EMS responders, they are capable of simultaneously securing a scene, mitigating the hazard, and triaging, extricating, treating, decontaminating (if necessary), and transporting the patients who have been injured to an appropriate medical facility. Time efficiency is a key component of the best designed EMS systems. There is no service more capable of rapid multi-faceted response than a fire service-based EMS system.
"The fire service has a proud heritage of providing EMS services in local communities across America," said Chief Dennis Compton. "What this white paper represents is an awareness that EMS begins the second a 9-1-1 call is placed and highly skilled and trained emergency medical personnel from local fire departments are dispatched to the scene to provide the first level of care to victims."
The paper is intended to help organizations as they continue efforts to educate local, state and federal officials about the role of fire service-based EMS. The paper underscores the importance of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and SAFER programs in training and equipping fire service-based EMS and the role of the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS) in establishing federal EMS policies.
The coalition also produced a video, "Fire Service-Based EMS: The Right Response," to complement the new white paper. It features a number of highly respected fire service-based EMS advocates who share their views about the important role of fire service-based EMS in local communities. The experts include Dr. Franklin Pratt, Medical Director, Los Angeles County Fire Department; Dr. Eugene Nagle, Miami Fire Department; Chief William "Shorty" Bryson, City of Miami Fire Department; and Chief Dennis Compton, International Fire Service Training Association.
The report was written by Dr. Franklin D. Pratt, Medical Director, Los Angeles County Fire Department; Dr. Steven Katz, Associate Medical Director, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue; and Dr. Paul Pepe, Riggs Family Chair in Emergency Medicine at Southwest Medical Center. Members of the Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates Steering Committee include the Congressional Fire Services Institute, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fire Protection Association and the NVFC.
A copy of the report is available on the NVFC web site at www.nvfc.org. The video can be obtained by submitting a request to the Congressional Fire Services Institute at update@cfsi.org.
GAO Report Finds Medicare Payments to Super-Rural EMS Providers Insufficient
In May 2007, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Ambulance Providers: Costs and Expected Medicare Margins Vary Greatly. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) was one of many associations that represent the emergency medical services that helped to develop the document, and one of five associations that were asked to review and comment on it before release.
In 2002, Medicare created a national fee schedule to allow for the standardization of payments for ambulance services. The following year, Congress enacted the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) to ease the transition through the implementation of temporary pay provisions and a regional fee schedule. The report covers the payments, costs, and Medicare margins that derive from MMA.
The report does not include an examination of "shared services" providers, like fire departments delivering EMS, because the GAO assessed that in general, shared services providers are not able to reliably isolate their ambulance costs from other costs. The GAO did note that it has no basis or information to suggest that providers with shared services have higher or lower costs than other providers.
The report assesses payments, costs, and Medicare margins between urban (areas within a metro statistical area), rural (areas outside of a metro statistical area), and super-rural regions (areas in the bottom 25% of rural areas in population density), and the reasons why these three assessments differ in each geographical area. After considering forecasted Medicare margins, transport costs after the enactment of the MMA, and characteristics contributing to differences in costs, the GAO found that a shift to a national fee schedule may work to raise costs and cause negative Medicare margins (costs will be greater than payments received) in super-rural areas that are generally served by volunteer fire and EMS agencies. For the reasons listed above, the GAO recommends the adequacy of Medicare payments to ambulance providers be monitored in order to combat inadequate ambulance service in super-rural areas due to high costs and negative Medicare margins.
NVFC Honors Volunteer with President's Volunteer Service Award
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the President's Volunteer Service award to Jane Callen in recognition of her volunteer service. Established in 2003, this honor is available on an annual basis to individuals, groups, and families who have met or exceeded requirements for volunteer service and have demonstrated exemplary citizenship through volunteering. As one of thousands of Certifying Organizations, the NVFC is able to confer the award to recognize the outstanding achievements of volunteers.
Jane Callen is a dedicated volunteer who offers her services to multiple organizations. In addition, Callen works full-time and maintains responsibilities at home that include taking care of her elderly mother.
Callen's commitment to volunteer service runs in her family. Her son is an avid volunteer, as was her late father, who took time off from work on numerous occasions to assist in the fight for civil rights. Their dedication inspired Callen to serve in programs such as Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), which provides swimming lessons to children with autism.
Callen's passion for helping others was reinforced after she served for three weeks as a disaster relief volunteer on the front lines of the the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. When she returned, she joined Glen Echo Fire Department (GEFD) Station 11 as a volunteer, as well as the Red Cross Disaster Action Team. She has since received her EMT-B and is now a Charge Aide with GEFD, the officer in charge on a Basic Life Support Ambulance. Callen is also on GEFD's Board of Directors and the Membership Executive Committee.
Jane Callen's history of volunteerism is simply the execution of her conviction that "helping others - and doing so with dedication and integrity - is the mark of a life well-spent."
The President's Volunteer Service Award was created by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation in order to recognize dedicated volunteers and show gratitude for their efforts. This award is an honor that every American, from every age and every walk of life, can aspire to achieve. To be eligible to receive the award, individuals, families and groups submit a record of their annual volunteer service hours to participating Certifying Organizations, such as the NVFC, that will verify the service and deliver the award. Eligibility for individuals and groups is based on required hours, which vary by age.
For more information about how to qualify for the President's Volunteer Service or how to become a certifying organization, visit www.PresidentialServiceAwards.gov or call 1-866-545-5307.
Registration Open for National Fire Academy Training Opportunities
Registration is now open for the first semester of the 2007-2008 National Fire Academy (NFA) courses. The semester runs from October 1, 2007-March 31, 2008. The application deadline is June 30. Find courses and access registration forms.
The NFA is also still accepting applications for courses with vacancies for the 2006-2007 academic year. Since applications must be received at least six weeks before the course start date for applicants to be considered for the course, it is important to apply early. View a listing of courses with vacancies.
Calendar of Events
Look for the NVFC, the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, and/or Fire Corps at the following events:
Maryland State Firemen's Association Convention
June 16-22
Roland E. Powell Convention Center
Ocean City, MD
Fire, Burn & Life Safety Conference
IAFC Missouri Valley Section
June 19-22
Hutchinson, KS
FBLA-PBL National Leadership Conference
June 24-25
Chicago, IL
Firehouse Expo
July 26-28
Baltimore, MD
Fire-Rescue International
August 23-25
Atlanta, GA
Alaska State Firefighters Association Conference
September 26-28
Valdez Civic Center
Valdez, AK
NVFC Fall Meeting
October 24-27
Providence, RI
Support Those Who Support the Voice of the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services
The NVFC relies on the assistance of its corporate and association partners to be able to provide a voice for the volunteer fire and emergency services in Washington. We encourage you to look at a list of our Sustaining Members and support them with your business.
