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Emergency Vaccination Information for EMS Personnel & Medical Program Directors

To determine if you need to register as an Emergency Worker, Refer to RCW 38.52Employees of private ambulance services, or those not belonging to a political subdivision must register as emergency workers to participate.
  To register, contact your local Department of Emergency Management

 

How to Use EMS Personnel to Provide Emergency Vaccinations - Process Vaccine Administration

 

 

STATE OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

PO Box 47853 · Olympia, Washington 98504-7853

 

 

To:       John Erickson, Special Assistant, PHEPR
            Karen Jensen, Assistant Secretary, Health Systems Quality        Assurance (HSQA)
From:   Janet Kastl, Director, Office of Community Health Systems, HSQA
RE:       EMS Providers and Emergency Immunizations

 DATE: September 16, 2009

State law limits emergency medical system personnel to care in the prehospital setting.  EMS providers may only do immunizations in a declared emergency when all of the following exist:

1.  There is a local or state declaration of an emergency under the provisions of RCW 38.52. A local declaration must be by the local executive.
2.  An emergency incident mission number has been issued.
3.  The EMS providers are registered as emergency workers under state law (RCW 38.52)
4.  The EMS providers are acting under the direction of the director of local or state emergency management or the appointed incident commander.

The attached process reflects these criteria.

EMS providers perform care under the direction of county EMS medical program directors (MPD).  The roles of the county MPDs are established in law. Each county has a physician appointed and contracted by the Washington State Department of Health. They provide training and medical direction through written and verbal patient treatment protocols.  Medical program directors delegate authority to other physicians to help with training and supervision.  The county MPDs may have the county health officer supervise EMS personnel during an emergency. Most of the county MPDs have adopted emergency H1N1 protocols (attached).

Based on their scope of practice, paramedics, intermediate life support technicians and IV technicians have the skills to provide vaccinations during an emergency.

 

How to Use EMS Personnel to Provide Emergency Vaccinations - Process

1.      The County MPD appoints the local or state health officer (HO) as the delegate for training and supervision of EMS personnel during public health emergencies (e.g. pandemic influenza, etc.)  The delegation must be in writing to DOH.

2.      DOH approves EMS prehospital protocols. MPD provides guidance.
·  Sample protocol/guidelines are available upon request.

3.      EMS Providers register as emergency workers through the county Department of Emergency Management

4.      An emergency is declared by local or state executive under the provisions of RCW 38.52. An incident number is issued.
·  For a pandemic influenza, the medical incident commander should be the local or state health officer (HO) or delegate.

5.      The health officer requests EMS vaccination assistance through the Medical Program Director (MPD). The request is received and approved.

6.      County EMS MPD and HO coordinate needs and resources:

    1. Determine number of EMS providers needed
    2. Determine number of EMS providers available
    3. Send EMS reporting procedures to HO
    4. Assign EMS personnel to HO medical control
    5. Assign work locations for EMS personnel
    6. HO coordinates resource allocation with local emergency management
    7. Identify and alert available EMS providers.
    8. Account for all responding EMS personnel.

·  Use Incident Command System (ICS) process and forms when available.

i.    Assemble all reports and documents per ICS, emergency response plans and agreements.

j.    Recover /Demobilize as incident winds down.

·  Scale down per emergency response plans and agreements.

 

For questions, please contact Dane Kessler at 360-236-2842. 

 

Emergency Medical Program Directors (MPD) contact and H1N1 Protocol/Guidelines status 08/28/2009

All County MPDs have Department approved H1N1 Protocols

County Name
EMS MPD Name
Phone #
E-Mail Address

County Name
EMS MPD Name
Phone #
E-Mail Address

County Name
EMS MPD Name
Phone #
E-Mail Address

County Name
EMS MPD Name
Phone #
E-Mail Address

Adams County
Hofheins, David
(509) 488-5256
drhofheins@cbha.org

Franklin County
Hodges, Kevin
(509) 737-0911
bfcountympd@gmail.com

Lewis County
O'Neill, Patrick
(503) 754-7843
dysgeusia@gmail.com

Snohomish County
Brown, Ron
(425) 551-1270 rbrownmd@snocountyems.org

Asotin County
Hunter, Jay
208-799-5457
jhunter@moscow.com

Garfield County
Black, Elisabeth
(509) 751-5500
tarakyan@gmail.com

Lincoln County
Appel, Anthony
725-1887 
no email

Spokane County
Nania, James
(509) 625-6290
ems@spokanecounty.org

Benton County
Hodges, Kevin
(509) 737-0911
bfcountympd@gmail.com

Grant County
Murphy, Terry
(509) 760-3349 / 793-9730 tmurphy@samaritanhealthcare.com

Mason County
Hoffman, Joseph
(360) 789-1960
hoffmanjoe@aol.com

Stevens County
Artzis, Sam
(509) 684-3701 u.got.ringworm@hotmail.com

Chelan County
Jobe, Lance
(509) 665-6163
ljobe.ems@gmail.com

Grays Harbor County
Canfield, Daniel
(360) 533-6038
ghems@techline.com

Okanogan County
Craig, Bradley
(509) 826-7664
bcraig@mvhealth.org

Thurston County
Pellicer, Joseph
(360) 704-2785
joe_pellicer@medic-one.thurston.wa.us

Clallam County
Churchley, Steve
(360) 417-7724
isaidnocpr@yahoo.com

Island County
Zaveruha, Paul
(360) 678-6433
zaverp@whidbeygen.org

Pacific County
Smith, Kim
(360) 244-4432
kimsmithmd1@gmail.com

Wahkiakum County
Schneider, Paul
(360) 636-4818
capehorn4.0@netzero.com

Clark County
Wittwer, Lynn
(360) 487-7348           (360) 931-9213  wittwermpd@iinet.com

Jefferson County
Smith-Poling, Sandra
(360) 379-0841
spoling@olympus.net

Pend Oreille County
Kraus, Angelika
(509) 447-2169 435-3435 brigitte46@aol.com

Walla Walla County
Underhill, Gary
(509) 520-0527
underhgt@ah.org

Columbia County
Luce, Michael
(509) 382-3200 michaell@cchd-wa.org

King County
Eisenberg, Mickey
(206) 263-8569 mickey.eisenberg@kingcounty.gov

Pierce County
Waffle, Clark
(253) 798-7722
cwaffle@co.pierce.wa.us

Whatcom County
Wayne, Marvin
(360) 778-8454
mwayne@cob.org

Cowlitz County
Mc Coy, Matt
(360) 425-7866 msmst25@cni.net

Kitsap County
Bennett, Martin
(206) 384-7635 martin.bennett@comcast.net

San Juan County
Sullivan, Michael 
360-317-8111
emsmd@comcast.net

Whitman County
Caggiano, Richard
(509) 336-7370 richard.caggiano@pullmanregional.org

Douglas County
Jobe, Lance
(509) 665-6163 ljobe.ems@gmail.com

Kittitas County
Horsley, Jackson
(509) 674-2932
kcems@qwestoffice.net

Skagit County
Slack, Don
(360) 770-8271
donslack@mac.com

Yakima County
Johnson, Robert
(509) 966-5175 bob_johnson_11@yahoo.com

Ferry County
Al Rashedy, Farhad
(509) 775-3153 alrashF@fcphd.org

Klickitat County
Smith, Russell
(503) 754-7843
drrmsmith@go.com

Skamania County
Hoskins, Greg
503 219-8689
greghoskins@mac.com

 

 

Vaccine Administration

 

The following licensed health care providers may administer vaccines as part of their normal scope of practice:
Physicians
Osteopathic Physicians
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners
Naturopaths
Physician Assistants – under a practice plan with a physician
Osteopathic Physician Assistants – under a practice plan with an osteopathic physician
Pharmacists – under a collaborative agreement with a physician
Registered Nurses – under an order of a prescriber
Licensed Practice Nurses – under an order of a prescriber
Health Care Assistants – With a delgator on record and a supervisor on site.

  • Categories C and E can perform injections
  • Categories A through J can perform nasal administration (such as flu mist)

EMS Personnel
The normal scope of practice for emergency medical system personnel (EMS) is limited to the pre-hospital setting.  Some EMS personnel, however, have the training and skills to perform injections.  These are:

  • Paramedics
  • Intermediate Life Support Technicians, and
  • IV technicians.

These EMS providers may only administer vaccines when all of the following exist:
1.  There is a local or state declaration of an emergency under the provisions of RCW 38.52. A local declaration must be by the local executive,
2.  An emergency incident mission number has been issued,
3.  The EMS providers are registered as emergency workers under state law (RCW 38.52), and
4.  The EMS providers are acting under the direction of the director of local or state emergency management or the appointed incident commander.

Other providers
Other health care providers, such as Dentists and Podiatrists, have the skills and training to perform injections.  Immunizations are not in their normal scope.  However, these providers could administer vaccines if they are acting under a local or state declaration of emergency under RCW 38.52.  All four conditions listed above for EMS personnel must be in place.

For questions or additional information, contact Board of Pharmacy staff at 360-236-4946.

 

 
 

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Office of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma System
P.O. Box 47853,
Olympia, Washington, 98504-7853
Phone: (360) 236-2800
(Fax: 360) 236-2830

Last Update : 10/23/2009 02:46 PM
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