The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (BEMS) organizes, regulates, and maintains a statewide program to improve emergency medical care. Mississippi EMS strives to maintain and promote the highest standards of pre-hospital care for the citizens and visitors of Mississippi.
BEMS coordinates agency resources in “all hazard” planning and response to disasters. This includes both incidents involving weapons of mass destruction as well as natural disasters such as hurricanes on the coast to ice storms in the delta.
The office is responsible for implementing and coordinating the agency’s Emergency Response Plans and Emergency Response Team with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS), the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and other agencies for all disasters including weapons of mass destruction and bioterrorism.
The Bureau of Trauma System Development and Injury Control, includes the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program. The primary goal of the Mississippi Trauma care System Program is “to provide the architecture for a trauma system which will decrease morbidity and mortality from traumatic injury.”
EMS System Overview
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are pre-hospital health care services delivered to residents of a community who suddenly become ill or injured under emergency conditions. Its scope includes a quick response, detailed assessment, immediate treatment of life-threatening illnesses or injuries, and transportation to definitive care. Emergency Medical Services are provided by public, private, or non-profit entities with the authority and the resources to effectively administer the services.
The components of an EMS System include:
- Manpower
- Training
- Communications
- Transportation
- Facilities
- Critical care units
- Public safety agencies
- Consumer participation
- Access to care
- Patient transfer
- Coordinated patient record keeping
- Public information and education
- Review and evaluation
- Disaster plan
- Mutual aid
The Emergency Medical Services Act of 1973 established standards for the organization of emergency services. Prior to 1974, government involvement in emergency medical services was primarily limited to providing an emergency department in the public hospital. Private operators, predominantly funeral homes, provided emergency transportation.
The Mississippi EMS Act of 1974, and subsequent amendments, authorized the Mississippi State Department of Health to create a Division of Emergency Medical Services. The Act authorized this Division to license all ambulance services in Mississippi, to require specific equipment and standards for emergency vehicles, to provide for training and certification of emergency medical technicians (EMT’s), and to assist with the creation and the provision of technical assistance.
