Emergency Medical Services

Through its ongoing relationship with the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH),  Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s (NMH) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program continues to provide leadership and support in the oversight of pre-hospital medical care for Chicagoans. The CFD responds to over 250,000 EMS- related calls annually. As 1 of only 3 resource hospitals for the Chicago metropolitan area, NMH shares authority and responsibility for all aspects of pre-hospital medical care. Our EMS personnel consist of an EMS Medical Director, EMS/Trauma Manager, EMS Coordinator, EMS Educator, and EMS Patient Care Coordinator. Together they develop policy and procedures, direct quality assurance, develop and provide continuing education, and oversee general operations. We meet weekly with EMS leadership throughout the city under the auspices of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC). Since the tragic events of September 11^th, our EMS program has increased planning and integration with city, state, and federal governments with the goal of defining roles and responsibilities to ensure a cohesive response to a large-scale biological and/or highly contagious event.

Changes in Illinois law via the EMS Act and the IDPH rules and regulations have expanded the role of EMS Medical Directors to include medical supervision of all 911 Dispatchers and EMT-Basics. This has greatly increased the number of supervised EMS personnel, as all new CFD hires are now trained to an Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B) level and many existing CFD firefighters electively pursue EMT-B training.

Our EMS program currently supervises approximately 800 personnel, including Dispatchers, EMT-Bs and Paramedics (EMT-Ps). We are actively involved in the medical education and orientation of all new CFD employees that are hired through the Chicago Fire Academy. Continuing education sessions are provided to maintain licensure of these personnel. Additionally, the EMS office oversees education and licensure/re-licensure for Emergency Communications Radio Nurses (ECRNs) employed by resource and associate hospitals within EMS Region XI.

There are 60 Advanced Life Support (ALS) and 12 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances serving metropolitan Chicago. Paramedics also serve on approximately 40 of the city's fire engines allowing for advanced medical stabilization to begin earlier than ever before.  Four Segways, staffed by paramedics, were recently introduced in the fall of 2005 in the City of Chicago. These “people movers” allow for rapid access to patients during high volume public events (i.e. Taste of Chicago, Festival of Lights, etc.) in very crowded conditions.

Our EMS program along with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and the University of Chicago oversees a successful paramedic training and three EMT-Basic programs offered in conjunction with Malcolm X College of the Chicago City Colleges System. Annually, these programs produce a nearly 100% success rate on the state licensing exam. The EMS Coordinator and EMS Educator, Carolynne Flint (cflint@nmh.org), provide direct supervision of the field training of these future paramedics as well as didactic instruction in the classroom setting.

We look forward to continuing to work closely with city and state EMS leaders as we strive to ensure quality pre-hospital medical care for all Chicagoans. 

Bioterrorism and Disaster Drills

The Emergency Department (ED) at NMH serves its neighbors residing in the heart of Chicago. Because of its integral location, there is a need for on-going preparation for disasters, terrorist events, mass casualty situations, or hazardous chemical or biological exposures. The Department of Emergency Medicine’s ongoing training programs focus on the management of multiple mass-casualty incidents. These include incidents of criminal violence, mass-gathering injuries, motor vehicle accidents, hazardous materials dispersals, and terrorist actions.

A curriculum for ED staff, residents, nurses, and physicians has been developed to introduce these topics and to detail how the ED is equipped to meet these challenges. The evolving curriculum consists of didactic lectures, practical training exercises with live simulated patients, and weekly e-mail updates of basic topics such as nerve agents, hospital mass casualty plans, and common bioterrorism-related diseases. Senior physician and nursing leadership has been integral in developing and implementing this training curriculum. The input of our emergency medicine faculty and their years of experience were invaluable in helping the Department and NMH prepare for such worst-case scenarios. It is our hope that these highly trained and prepared personnel will not need to be called to action; however, intensive preparation will minimize potential adverse effects if they are.

For more information on our bioterrorism and mass-casualty training initiatives, please visit our Bioterrorism and Disaster Initiatives webpage.