Emergency Medical Field Personnel and Transportation

LAEMSA has certified approximately 6,700 prehospital personnel. Of these, there are approximately 4,000 EMT-Is, 2,000 EMT-Ps, and 700 MICNS. The majority of public safety EMT-Is are trained and certified by their own agency. In total, there are about 15,000 prehospital personnel certified to work in the county's EMS system (LAEMSA, November, 1992). LAEMSA reports that in 1992 there were 371 Basic Life Support (BLS) and 224 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ground ambulances, and nine BLS and 14 ALS air transport units. Thirty-one fire departments and ten private ambulance companies provide paramedic level service. Three fire departments and thirty-one private ambulance companies provide BLS service. In 1990 "...the average interval from receipt of a dispatch call to activation of the EMS personnel was one minute. The average response time from initiation of a run to arrival on scene was 3-5 minutes in the metropolitan area...." (LAEMSA, 1991, P. 4-3) The activation time of one minute meets State guidelines (Moorhead and Koehler, 1986, p. 5), as does the response time to the scene which requires that it not exceed ten minutes. (Kizer, et.al., 1984, p. 38)

Medical Care for the Injured

Continue to Hospital Emergency Departments and Trauma Centers

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