Definition of an Emergency Medical Services System

Improvements in the provision of emergency medical care began in California in the mid 1970s, and can be traced to the Korean and Vietnam wars. Like war casualties, EMTs stabilized severely injured people in the field and quickly transported them to medical installations especially staffed and equipped to deal with them (Narad and Smiley, 1992). California began to develop such systems in earnest statewide after 1980 with the passage of the Emergency Medical Services System and Prehospital Medical Care Personnel Act. An emergency medical services system is "a coordinated arrangement of resources (including personnel, equipment, and facilities) which are organized to respond to medical emergencies, regardless of cause." (ASTM, 1988).

Medical Care for the Injured

Continue to The Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Agency (LAEMSA)

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