Cooper Celebrates National EMS Week

May 21 through May 27, 2023, is National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week. In 1974, President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week to celebrate EMS practitioners and the important work they do in our nation’s communities.

Cooper University Health Care’s EMS comprises both ground and air operations. For more than 12 years, Cooper’s Air Medical Service has been serving the South Jersey region, providing rapid transport to those who need it the most. This experienced team not only responds to on-scene traumatic injuries, they also retrieve critically ill patients from outlying hospitals and transport them back to Cooper while providing high-level inflight critical care.

Recently, Cooper’s ground EMS celebrated its seventh year of service in the City of Camden. Since January 2016, Cooper EMS has responded to more than 299,000 calls, launched several new community initiatives, and served as a trusted community resource. Most importantly, Cooper EMS has responded to more than 90% of advanced life support calls within the critical eight-minute benchmark.

Cooper EMS has also been instrumental in spearheading new services to address the opioid crisis. In 2019, Cooper EMS, in conjunction with Cooper’s Addiction Medicine program, developed a first-in-the-nation pilot program whereby paramedics are authorized to administer buprenorphine to treat acute withdrawal symptoms after patients have been revived from an opioid overdose with naloxone. Based on Cooper’s efforts, the program was approved by the New Jersey Commissioner of Health and has served as a model across the United States. Through the buprenorphine program and outreach efforts, Cooper EMS provides a frontline bridge to assist those suffering from opioid-use disorder to obtain effective treatment services.

Cooper EMS also provides community outreach, education, and training services, including the national Stop the Bleed training to other local first responders, agencies, schools, and area residents. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team participated in dozens of annual community events and continues to provide education via virtual learning and events.

The National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) partners with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) to lead annual EMS Week activities. Together, NAEMT and ACEP are working to ensure that the important contributions of EMS practitioners in safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of their communities are fully celebrated and recognized.

EMS Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of medicine’s “front line.” EMS Week is the perfect time to recognize EMS and all that its practitioners do for our nation.

This week, we thank all our partner public safety agencies, our community stakeholders, and our mission support vendors for helping to make #CooperEMSStrong.

To learn more about our Emergency Medical Services, please click here.