TY - JOUR
T1 - Maximizing the Role of Emergency Medical Services in COVID-19 Response
AU - Sonkin, Roman
AU - Alpert, Evan Avraham
AU - Katz, David E.
AU - Jaffe, Eli
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
PY - 2023/12/20
Y1 - 2023/12/20
N2 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define 6 intervals of a pandemic: (1) investigation of cases, (2) recognition of the increased potential for ongoing transmission, (3) initiation of a pandemic wave, (4) acceleration of a pandemic wave, (5) deceleration of a pandemic wave, and (6) preparation for future pandemic waves. Each of these stages has 8 domains. Following China's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak announcement, Israel's National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization immediately began working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to address the threat of the COVID-19 outbreak. This article will describe how a national EMS organization acted according to these pandemic intervals and domains. In the initial stages, EMS managed a checkpoint in the international airport voluntarily testing people for febrile symptoms. Calls to the dispatch centers that aroused the suspicion of COVID-19 resulted in EMS transport to the hospital with protective gear. During the period of first exposure, the scope of the medical emergency number was increased to include questions concerning coronavirus, telemedicine, and home sampling by protected EMS workers. In the contagion stages, epidemiological tests were conducted by the MOH, and EMS began operating dedicated telephone triage, mass drive-through sampling, and finally, administration of vaccinations.
AB - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define 6 intervals of a pandemic: (1) investigation of cases, (2) recognition of the increased potential for ongoing transmission, (3) initiation of a pandemic wave, (4) acceleration of a pandemic wave, (5) deceleration of a pandemic wave, and (6) preparation for future pandemic waves. Each of these stages has 8 domains. Following China's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak announcement, Israel's National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Organization immediately began working in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to address the threat of the COVID-19 outbreak. This article will describe how a national EMS organization acted according to these pandemic intervals and domains. In the initial stages, EMS managed a checkpoint in the international airport voluntarily testing people for febrile symptoms. Calls to the dispatch centers that aroused the suspicion of COVID-19 resulted in EMS transport to the hospital with protective gear. During the period of first exposure, the scope of the medical emergency number was increased to include questions concerning coronavirus, telemedicine, and home sampling by protected EMS workers. In the contagion stages, epidemiological tests were conducted by the MOH, and EMS began operating dedicated telephone triage, mass drive-through sampling, and finally, administration of vaccinations.
KW - centers for disease control
KW - COVID-19
KW - emergency medical services
KW - pandemics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121720439&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2021.359
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2021.359
M3 - Article
C2 - 34924090
AN - SCOPUS:85121720439
SN - 1935-7893
VL - 17
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
IS - 12
M1 - e87
ER -