[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 121 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IMPROVING EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE AND RESPONSE ACT

 Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, today I wish to discuss the 
Improving Emergency Medical Care and Response Act of 2007, which I 
introduced yesterday. I am joined in this effort by Representative 
Henry Waxman, who introduced a companion bill in the House.
  This bill focuses on improving communication systems used in 
emergency care response and provides financial support for research in 
emergency medicine. Disasters that strike our Nation, be it manmade or 
natural, can have catastrophic effects on the health and well-being of 
our citizens. The ability to provide adequate, timely health care 
following these ``sudden-impact'' events--or any emergency situation, 
for that matter--relies heavily on an effective and comprehensive 
emergency communication system. However, recent studies show that 
various emergency medical services throughout the country are 
struggling to efficiently handle just the day-to-day operations. 
Therefore, the concern is even greater when disaster does strike and 
the struggle becomes grossly amplified, ultimately exposing the gaps in 
our emergency care and response infrastructure. There was no clearer 
example of this than the flawed response to the devastating effects of 
Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
  Patients waiting in the emergency department, ED, for extended 
periods of time or, potentially worse, patients leaving the ED before 
medical evaluation because of these long wait-times are both strong 
indicators that improved strategies and systems are needed to reduce 
the burden on our emergency medical services across the country. 
Extended offloading times and diversion of ambulances are also 
contributing factors to a slow emergency response, which can have a 
fatal impact on prehospital care. Unfortunately, we do not have to look 
far to see what tragedies will come from not addressing these issues. 
In fact, just months ago, tragedy struck Edith Isabel Rodriguez, a Los 
Angeles woman who made national headlines after she was ignored by 
hospital personnel, dismissed by 9-1-1 dispatchers, and denied 
immediate care despite vomiting blood and writhing in pain for 45 
minutes until she died. How does this happen in a country that boasts 
one of the highest standards of living of any nation in the world? Ms. 
Rodriguez's death is unacceptable and is a harrowing reminder of the 
ultimate penalty our citizens are paying for a fractured emergency care 
system.
  For these reasons, my bill establishes demonstration programs 
designed to coordinate emergency medical services, expand communication 
and patient-tracking systems, and implement a regionalized data 
management system. The types of information garnered from such 
demonstration programs will contain vital information such as the 
impact of emergency care systems on patient outcomes, program 
efficiency, financial impact, and identification of remaining barriers 
to developing regionalized, accountable emergency care systems. Of 
equal importance is the bill's support for research in the field of 
emergency medicine and emergency medical care systems. Specifically, 
funds are requested to support research in the basic science of 
emergency medicine, model of service delivery, and incorporation of 
basic scientific research into day-to-day practice.
  Improving and identifying the best practices of emergency medical 
care is necessary to ensure high-quality, efficient, and reliable care 
for all who need it. I ask my fellow colleagues to support this 
legislation so that we can better prepare for emergencies and future 
disasters.

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