State EMS System’s Mission
Our Mission:
Emergency Medical Services – Since 1978, the mission of this program has been to administer, maintain, and operate a State comprehensive emergency medical services system throughout Hawaii that is designed to reduce medical emergency deaths, injuries, and permanent long-term disability through the implementation of a fully integrated cohesive network of related components. The state system provides for the arrangement of personnel, facilities and such equipment, primarily in the pre-hospital setting, for the effective and coordinated delivery of health care services under emergency conditions whether occurring as a result of the patient’s condition, natural disasters, or other causes. [Hawaii Revised Statutes §321-221]
Injury Prevention – In early 2001, the Department of Health’s Injury Prevention and Control Program was officially moved to the Emergency Medical Services System Branch as one of three sections. By incorporating injury prevention into EMS, the Department joins a national trend and fulfills the vision of an expanded role for EMS as first articulated in the “EMS Agenda for the Future” released in 1996 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Agenda makes clear that injury prevention is an “essential” activity for EMS because of EMS’ unique role, which involves individual health care, public safety and public health.
The Injury Prevention and Control Section (IPCS) is the Department’s focus for injury prevention in communities throughout the state, and provides statewide coordination and collaboration in all areas of injury prevention for all age groups.
IPCS is responsible for coordinating, planning, conducting and evaluating injury prevention interventions, policy development and advocacy, collecting, analyzing and disseminating injury data, and technical support and training.
Please visit our Injury Prevention and Control Program’s website.