HB2616 was unanimously passed out of the subcommittee on Tuesday and supported by the entire committee, we would greatly appreciate your support as it moves through the Appropriations Committee this afternoon. Tidewater Emergency Medical Services Council (TEMS) provides EMS support for 10 local governments in Southeastern Virginia, and TEMS was just recently recognized with a Joint Resolution for providing service to the Commonwealth for over 50 Years! Regional Councils are listed in the Code of Virginia under 32.1-111.11 and provide a vital role in ensuring regional EMS delivery system is provided in a high quality and effective manner for the Commonwealth. TEMS Council is a non-profit organization that only receives a portion of our funding from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), but is critical for our sustainability. VDH’s plan is to terminate all 11 EMS Councils and replace them with 4 – 5 State Offices that are not able to attract funding from other sources threatens the services that we currently provide. A great example of this is TEMS Whole Blood program that is being delivered by EMS agencies in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. This program has reduced traumatic injury death; patients that receive a blood transfusion by EMS have a 73% chance of surviving to hospital discharge. The creation of state offices only requires more money for state offices and adding state employees to payroll and benefits. TEMS receives $475,000 from VDH-OEMS but has an operating budget of roughly $2,000,000. This plan is not supported by the non-profit EMS Councils including TEMS Council. We are asking that you support HB2616 (Regional Emergency Medical Services Councils) to ensure EMS Councils exist in the future to provide the necessary services that our EMS agencies require to successfully fulfill our mission of reducing mortality and morbidity.

We need more training for youth and adults on basic understanding of mental health and mental illness, however, I'm not sure why we need to develop a new program when the nationally recognized Mental Health First Aid curriculum has been around for many years. It is evidence-based and already used in many Virginia schools, helping staff and students spot warning signs of mental distress. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ There are other models out there as well. We need more people to receive training and increase public awareness, so we support the intent, and perhaps there are other reasons for a new program that we are not aware of.

I am the co-founder of Birth Local, a grassroots organization created out of necessity when our sole local Health System stripped women of the dignity of being seen as worthy enough to receive health care. The certificate of public need process is flawed. It doesn't guarantee public needs are being met; it creates medical monopolies. In my own community, the COPN report provided by the Virginia Department of Health to a local Health System urged them repeatedly to continue to provide women's care as there was a clear need and women and babies would be put at risk. Valley Health refused to heed those warnings. As i said, the COPN doesn't provide for the needs of the people, just for the profit wants of big pharma. This has resulted in a crisis with effects farther reaching than one can imagine. This situation harms more people than just women and their babies. It harms low income and minority women. It adds a burden to all taxpayers due to the added expense to Medicaid. It harms employers and employees (especially the female public school teachers) who have to take off a full day of work to drive far distances to doctors appointments. It places added burdens on our first responders. And it sends a very negative message to our daughters that they are somehow less than as human beings. I ask you to please vote in favor of HB2698

Rural EMS resources are burdened by local hospitals inability to provide care for labor and delivery emergencies. When these emergencies occur, EMS units have to transport to hospitals outside of our jurisdiction which increases patient transport times and increases recovery time on the EMS unit returning to serve the citizens for subsequent calls.

28 miles; 36 minutes; that is the gap between the local hospital center located in our community to the closest is hospital center which provides maternity care. 23; the number of obstetrics related incidents Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to in CY-2024 throughout our community, 13 of which were transported our of our community to the hospital center which provides these care services. This resulted in that respective EMS unit being out of the community for an extended period of time, unable to provide care services for other persons seeking EMS response. Increased risk in prolonged transport to the hospital center for potently the mother and child. HB 2698 can only strengthen the medical services provided to a community; as such, we encourage you to support this measure. Gerry Maiatico, Assistant Fire Chief Warren County Fire and Rescue