Emergency Medical Services

Quality Service

High quality emergency medical care is not defined solely in terms of life saving interventions for critically ill or injured patients. High quality emergency medical care is defined by the decisions made on each and every patient encounter. The challenge emergency medical service (EMS) providers face is to make important, sometimes critical decisions with a limited amount of information. On occasion, East Chicago Fire Department EMS personnel are called upon solely for their opinion as EMS professionals.

The highly educated EMS personnel of the Fire Department pursue excellence in their profession by combining the benefits of medical science with the art of compassionate care. In all cases, potential patients are approached with the greatest professionalism and concern for their well-being.

Program

The Fire Department is developing a continuous comprehensive evaluation program, which will assess all aspects of the EMS system. This program will include evaluation of structural, process and outcome measures. In addition to survival, other outcomes could be utilized for evaluation, such as:

• Destitution
• Disability
• Discomfort
• Disease
• Dissatisfaction

This enables appreciation of the complete spectrum of EMS effects for the community.

Direction

An Assistant Chief heads the EMS administrative staff with the direct assistance of the District Chief for EMS. These two individuals in essence are the executive classified arm of EMS operations. They are responsible for:

• Compliance with all bulletins, orders, policy and procedures
• Implementation of the operational structure:
  • Complaint disposition
  • Disciplinary action
  • EMS staffing assignments
  • Fiscal management