For the next month, more than a million soccer fans will move through New Jersey’s transit system and roadways to attend each game of the FIFA World Cup events at MetLife Stadium.
In the stadium, outside of it and en route, they’ll pass highly trained emergency medical services teams ready to help.
It’s a safe bet that most people seeing the ambulances, specialty vehicles, or medical tents won’t spend much time thinking about who is paying for EMS today, tomorrow or six months from now.
They should.
It’s a key issue weighing heavily on every EMS agency throughout the state and could, someday, lead to agencies folding and response times increasing.
Consider this: New Jersey statutes deem police, fire, and sanitation essential, but not EMS.
The EMS providers don’t just show up at random locations for the World Cup festivities. They’re part of a multi-agency, multi-level preparedness plan that has been in the works for more than two years.
However, when it comes to EMS providers, there’s no law or requirement that men and women be there when you dial 911. There’s also no legal requirement that the state — or local communities — provide these vital services.
Consider this: New Jersey statutes deem police, fire, and sanitation essential, but not EMS.
Think about that for a second. There is nothing in New Jersey’s state or municipal laws requiring communities to provide emergency medical services. Not one word. Instead, it’s treated as extra, something not required to be funded or even provided.
Being deemed essential isn’t a magic fix. It’s not a Harry Potter-like magic wand. Without a financial support system in place, the label has little meaning.
EMS in New Jersey has been delivered by a mix of volunteer organizations — now declining — and career services, which are on the rise. For decades, the cost of providing EMS in communities across the state has been covered with a blend of grants, donations and potluck dinner fundraisers. On the career side, EMS providers are at the mercy of insurance providers, Medicare and Medicaid, donations and grants.
Most New Jerseyans have no idea how this works. What they need to know is that it’s an unsustainable formula that puts everyone in New Jersey at risk.
And it must change.
With the world spotlight on us, now is the time for all state and local officials to come together and find funding for this vital service. EMS providers have been working side-by-side with law enforcement, emergency management officials, fire and hospitals, planning, training, and considering what-ifs they hope don’t happen during the tournament — and are ready if they do. If all goes to plan, attendees will enjoy the festivities without worrying about the things that keep us up at night.
What we don’t want is a future where people thinking about coming to New Jersey say, “My God, I hope I don’t have an emergency there.”
It’s time the decision-makers in Trenton step up and secure funding to ensure that those of us out there this month have the resources we need to ensure someone responds every time a resident of this great state dials 911. The World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime event for many. For us, finding funding to maintain equipment, purchase medical supplies, train staff, and answer calls for help happens every day, and that duty deserves Trenton’s financial support now.
Michael Bascom is the State Leader and Nonprofit Chairman of the New Jersey Emergency Medical Services Task Force, one of the key agencies involved in planning for the World Cup and involved with all of the state’s emergency plans.
