EMS Week

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) today announced that the 34th annual Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week will be celebrated throughout the nation May 20-26, 2007. The event brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services on the medical "front line."

National EMS Week will feature hundreds of grassroots activities coast-to-coast that will be planned around this year's theme, "Extraordinary People, Extraordinary Service," which exemplifies the excellent services provided every day, under any circumstances by the 750,000 EMS providers who serve their communities.

"As this year's theme emphasizes, EMS providers are dedicated to saving lives, even putting their own lives on hold as they respond to medical emergencies," said Dr. Brian Keaton, president of ACEP. "They do this every day without special recognition, which is why we are recognizing EMS providers this year as extraordinary."

The weeklong series of events will include national and local activities to honor EMS providers (paramedics, emergency medical technicians, first responders, fire fighters, and police), and to raise public awareness about health and safety issues, including how to prevent injuries and what to do in a medical emergency.