Coastal Valleys EMS Agency News

The following (and attached) revised or new Coastal Valleys EMS Agency Administrative Policies have been released with effective date of August 1, 2017:

2009 Special Event Paramedic Accreditation. This is a new policy establishing the credentialing process for short-term accreditation of paramedics to facilitate special event staffing.

4009 Procedures for CVEMSA Paramedics Outside of the Region. Incorporation of Fireline Paramedic into a broader policy that addresses other situations in which CVEMSA paramedics may practice outside the geographic boundaries of the Coastal Valleys EMS Area.

4011 Public Safety Defibrillation. Policy revision to align CVEMSA policy with California Code of Regulations requirements for the authorization of Public Safety Defibrillation programs.

4012 APOT Times. New policy created to comply with California Health and Safety Code revision addressing the collection and reporting of Ambulance Patient Offload Time (APOT) data and sentinel events.

Please distribute these documents within your organization as well as to any stakeholder groups for which you are the EMS liaison.

Posted June 8, 2017

The review and comment period for development and adoption of the following administrative guidelines has been initiated. Please review carefully and submit comments. This public comment period will close August 8, 2017.

• 2013 Flight Paramedic Accreditation

Coastal Valleys EMS Agency is in the process of creating a new tier to our current Paramedic Accreditation to include Flight Paramedic Accreditation.

A revised process for flight paramedic accreditation has been developed to recognize the unique needs air ambulance providers and personnel have when working in a multijurisdictional capacity.

The policy removes a number of ground accreditation requirements from the flight paramedic accreditation process. CVEMSA will be moving this entire process into the ImageTrend licensure module in the future.

CVEMSA accredited paramedics currently working as flight personnel will be grandfathered to flight paramedic accreditation status at no charge. New flight paramedics who wish to work both for air and ground transport (or air rescue) will need to apply for and complete both accreditation processes to receive Paramedic and Flight Paramedic Accreditation.

Please forward comments via fax or email to:

Thomas Hinrichs ALS Coordinator-Policy Development
Coastal Valleys EMS Agency
195 Concourse Blvd., Suite B
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
707-565-6510 FAX
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Attached is the Public Safety Narcan policy for public comment.

• Public Safety First Aid Intra-nasal Naloxone Authorization

Public Comment period is 60 days and comments can be submitted to Tom Hinrichs at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please find attached the public comment draft version of the 2017 revision of the CVEMSA Multi-Casualty Incident (MCI) Plan.

• Multi-Casualty Incident (MCI) Plan

CVEMSA appreciates the diligent, thoughtful work of the Fire and EMS provider agencies and CVEMSA paramedics participating in the MCI Plan Revision Workgroup. Please distribute widely within your organization and to those groups you represent or email distribution lists you manage for CVEMSA.

The public comment period will be open through June 6, 2017. Comments should be sent via email to:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank you in advance for your review and input on this revision.

Posted March 7, 2017

Please find attached public comment versions of the following revised or new Coastal Valleys EMS Agency Administrative Guidelines:

4009 Provision of ALS Care Outside LEMSA Area

This Guideline is intended to incorporate current Fireline Paramedic authorization, adding the other types of authorized deployment of ALS providers under CVEMSA medical control outside of the LEMSA area.

4010 ALS Special Use Medic

Updated version of a current Guideline addressing the authorized use of paramedics at special events.

4011 Public Safety Defibrillation

Updated version of a current Guideline intended to align CVEMSA requirements for medical control with California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 22 Div. 9 chapter 1.5.

4012 APOT (Ambulance Patient Offload) Times

New Guideline intended to align CVEMSA requirements with Health and Safety Code Section (HSC) 1797.225.

2012 Special Events-Limited Paramedic Accreditation

New Guideline providing a process to issue limited-term paramedic accreditation for special event coverage within the CVEMSA area. Intended to address the increasing number of special events within the LEMSA area with the potential to impact the EMS system. Provides for limited authorization for California-licensed paramedics to operate at basic scope of practice under CVEMSA medical control for special event coverage if employed by an authorized CVEMSA ALS Provider agency.   

These policies are open for a 60-day public comment period closing May 5, 2017. Please direct all comments via email to:

Thomas Hinrichs, ALS Coordinator

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please assist us in reaching all system stakeholders by forwarding this message along with the policy attachments to the appropriate members of your organization as well as any stakeholder groups for whom you are the EMS Agency Liaison. EMS Agency staff look forward to hearing your feedback on these policy drafts.

The California EMS Authority (EMSA) has released a proposed addition to California Code of Regulations Title 22 Division 9 for public comment. The proposed chapter “7.1 ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Critical Care System Regulations” provides structure for Local EMS Agencies to implement organized systems of STEMI care within the EMS system, including minimum standards and data requirements which will be applicable statewide.

The proposed regulations are on the EMSA website here: http://www.emsa.ca.gov/public_commentand are open for comment through January 30, 2017. Some of the documents are attached to this message.

CVEMSA staff will review and comment as appropriate on these proposed regulations from the LEMSA perspective. CVEMSA also encourages stakeholders to review and comment directly to EMSA in the format provided on the EMSA website. Your direct input as individuals and agencies helps provide EMSA with the perspective of our system participants.

Please distribute this information as appropriate within your organizations and the stakeholder groups you represent, as well as any email distribution groups you maintain on behalf of the EMS Agency.