Emergency Medical Services Week, 2010

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Part III

The President

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Proclamation 8519--Emergency Medical Services Week, 2010

Executive Order 13542--Providing an Order of Succession Within the
Department of Agriculture

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8519 of May 13, 2010

Emergency Medical Services Week, 2010

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Every day of the year, at all hours of the day and
night, we rely on emergency medical services (EMS)
professionals and volunteers for critical care in our
homes, on our roads, in our hospitals, and wherever
needs exist. EMS teams serve all Americans, standing
ready to respond at a moment's notice, and tirelessly
enhancing our country's preparedness and resilience.
During Emergency Medical Services Week, we recommit to
supporting all EMS providers, and we celebrate their
selflessness and courageous contributions to our
Nation.

Our EMS system includes a wide array of dedicated
specialists, including emergency medical technicians,
9-1-1 dispatchers, paramedics, firefighters, law
enforcement officials, educators, nurses, and
physicians. From rural regions of our Nation to our
busiest urban centers, EMS teams provide access to
quality care when unforeseen illness, injury, or
disaster strikes. The aid they administer cuts across
various disciplines and often requires split-second
decisions, essential to preventing disability or death
among their fellow citizens.

My Administration is committed to supporting EMS
providers and their important mission. The Affordable
Care Act, which I signed into law this year, authorizes
innovative new emergency care and trauma systems, and
improves and expands EMS for children. It also
prohibits insurance companies from imposing prior
authorization requirements or increased cost-sharing
for emergency services.

EMS providers spend long hours to further their medical
education, train themselves on the latest life-saving
techniques, and maintain vital emergency equipment,
often choosing to do so on their own time and at their
own expense. Many communities rely heavily, or even
exclusively, on committed volunteers to provide out-of-
hospital EMS. The role of EMS providers extends beyond
performing services themselves, however. They also act
as instructors to train ordinary Americans, because
bystanders are often the first to arrive at the scene
of a crisis. These heroic professionals, volunteers,
and citizens form a network that has long supported our
health care system, and their example is an inspiration
to us all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 16 through May
22, 2010, as Emergency Medical Services Week. I
encourage all Americans to observe this occasion with
programs and activities to support their local EMS
workers and to improve their own safety and
preparedness skills.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.