Best Practices for Protecting EMS Responders during Treatment and Transport of Victims of Hazardous Substance Releases

摘要

OSHA has developed a guide for emergency medical service (EMS) responders who provide medical assistance release. This guide is intended for employers of EMS responders and discusses the measures these employers need to take to protect their EMS responders from becoming additional victims while on the front line of medical response. EMS responders are broadly defined here as the individuals who provide pre-hospital emergency medical care and patient transportation, Some EMS responders are also assigned duties that support patient care, including patient decontamination. For the purpose of this guide, the term EMS responder refers to all levels of emergency medical personnel involved in incident response (e.g., emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and others who perform similar duties). While many EMS responders are cross-trained (e.g., EMT and firefighter), this guide applies to these workers only when they are functioning as EMS responders.