Emergency Medical Services
Mission
To assure the safety and health of Kern County residents by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual quality improvement in emergency medical service care.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) includes the system of services organized to provide rapid response to serious medical emergencies, including immediate medical care and patient transport to definitive care in an appropriate hospital setting. EMS includes:
- Public safety dispatch
- Fire services first response and treatment
- Private ground and air ambulance response, treatment and transport
- Law enforcement agencies
- Hospitals and specialty care centers
- Training institutions and programs for EMS personnel
- Managed care organizations
- Preventative health care
- Citizen and medical advisory groups
Policies
- 1001.00 Investigation-Regulatory-Discipline Procedure (PDF) 08/12/2016
- 1002.00 EMS Quality Improvement Program (PDF) 10/21/2019
- 1003.00 Patient Medical Record Security and Privacy Policies and Procedures (PDF)
- 1004.00Â EPCR Policies and Procedures (PDF) 08/13/2020
- 1004.02 EPCR QI (PDF) 9/1/2020
- 1005.00 Ambulance Service Performance Standards (PDF) 3/1/2023
- 1005.02 Ordinance Interpretation-Specialty Care Transfers (PDF) 03/26/2010
- 1006.00 Ambulance Rates Process (PDF) 12/17/2019
- 1007.00 Scene Control Policy (PDF) 03/01/2012
- 1008.00 Withholding Resuscitative Measures (PDF) 01/01/2017
- 1009.00 Public Access/Layperson AED Implementation Guidelines (PDF) 05/11/2017
- 1010.00 Against Medical Advice (AMA) Policy (PDF) 5/13/2024
- 1011.00 Accreditation of EMS Personnel Policy (PDF) 03/2024
- 1012.00 Special Events Policy (PDF) 07/21/2021
- 1013.00 Kern County Annual Protocol Update Procedure (PDF) 01/09/2020
- 1014.00 Emergency Medical Services Inappropriate Use Policy (PDF) 03/01/2020
- 1015.00 Narcan Leave Behind Policy (PDF) 09/01/2022
- 1016.00 Naloxone Use by Law Enforcement Policy (PDF) 11/19/2021
- 1017.00 Tele911 Policy (PDF) 03/14/2022
- 1018.00 Advance Life Support Boat Medic Program Policy (PDF) 05/01/2023
- 1019.00 Metro-Kern Hospital Redirect Policy (PDF) 05/01/2024
- 2001.00 EMD Policy (PDF) 4/30/2024
- 2001.02 Directive: Implementation of MPDS v.14.0 (PDF) 4/9/2024
- 3002.00 Kern County Operational Area CHEMPACK Deployment Protocol (PDF) 03/31/2016
- 3003.00 Hospital Surge Protocol (PDF) 06/10/2008
- 3004.00 Emerging Infectious Disease Response Plan (PDF) 2014
Stroke System of Care
- 4002.00 Stroke System of Care Policy (PDF) 12/01/2015
STEMI System of Care
- 4003.00 STEMI System of Care (PDF) 02/13/2020
- 4003.02Â Kern County STEMI Contact ListÂ
Emergency Medical Services for Children
- 4004.00 Pediatric Receiving Center Designation Policy (PDF) 11/15/2019
Trauma Care
- 4005.00 Trauma Policies and Procedures PDF) 07/01/2015
- 4005.01 Liberty Ambulance Catchment Area Map
- 4005.02 Hall Ambulance Catchment Area Map
Burn Center
- 4006.00 Burn Center Designation (PDF) 05/12/2017
- 5000.00 All Provider Protocols (PDF)Â
- 5001.00 EMT Provider Policy (PDF) 06/11/2020
- 2023 Paramedic Update PowerPoint
- Paramedic Update Quiz
- Paramedic Update Course Evaluation
- Buprenorphine Training Video
- Buprenorphine Quiz
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- 6001.01 Training Objectives: Portable Ventilators
- 6001.02 Treatment Directive: Carfentanil Overdose (PDF) 09/13/2016
- 6001.03 ALS to BLS handoff in ED: Memorandum (PDF) 06/29/2017
- 6001.05 Offload to Triage Policy (PDF) 4/9/2018
- Transfers Directive (01/01/2018)
- 6003.00 Fireline Paramedic Policies and Procedures (PDF) 11/13/2015
- 6003.01 Wildland Fire/Mutual Aid Paramedic Authorization Process (PDF) 9/6/2011
- 6004.00 Paramedic First Responder Policy (PDF) 11/08/2018
- 6005.00 Central venous access policy (PDF) 07/01/2023
- 6006.00 Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) (PDF) 03/08/2024Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) Policy
- Paramedic Preceptor Skills Form
- 7001.00 Public Safety First Aid Optional Skills Policy (PDF) 11/13/2015
- 8001.00 Pre-Hospital Continuing Education Provider Policies and Procedures (PDF) 01/25/2013
- 9001.00 Provider Mandatory Inventory (PDF) 12/08/2023
- 9002.00 MICU Ground Policies and Procedures (PDF) 12/01/2015
- 9002.01 MICU Inspection Record (PDF) 7/15/2004
- 10001.00 Air Ambulance Performance Standards (PDF) 04/14/2015
- 10002.00 EMS Aircraft Dispatch Response Utilization Policy (PDF) 03/01/2012
- 10003.00 BLS Rescue Aircraft Policies & Procedures (PDF) 12/01/2015
- 10004.00 EMS Aircraft MICU Policies & Procedures (PDF) 12/01/2015
- 10005.00 FP-C CCP-C Unified Optional Scope (PDF) 10/31/2019
- Hospital Helipad Coordination Directive (PDF) 5/20/2004
- Second-in Air Ambulance List (PDF) 06/26/2024
- Behavioral & Psychiatric Emergencies (PDF) 8/25/2008
- Authorizing Mutual Aid Paramedics (PDF) 9/6/2011
- RAD 57 Directive (PDF) 2/23/2018
- CARES Mandate Directive (PDF) 06/19/2019
- Mandatory HandTevy Use (PDF) 10/12/2022
On February 14th, 2019, the Assistant Director of Public Health reported to the Emergency Medical Care Advisory Board that EMS was releasing the discretionary portion of the MADDY Fund for, "Enhancements in the EMS system, as approved by your board." Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Enhancement as, "Heighten, Increase – Especially to increase or improve in value, quality, desirability, or attractiveness."
The intent of releasing the discretionary MADDY funds by the county is to heighten, increase and improve, from the normal and customary base operations, the delivery of prehospital care to the people of Kern County. This would include programs, services, training, equipment and/or learning materials that would have a high likely hood to improve the Kern County EMS System of care from its normal and customary base operations. The requested item, service or training must benefit all EMS stakeholders, especially the community at large, in such a way that it improves the quality and delivery of prehospital care.