(b) Contractor shall assess the current
capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, coverage gaps, and workforce shortfalls of
the entire emergency medical services system within the proposed service area.
(i) The assessment shall include the
collection of data using common quality and performance improvement benchmarks,
indicators, and scoring formats.
(A)
Benchmarks, indicators, and scoring formats to be utilized by the contractor
for the needs assessment shall be determined by the Division prior to engaging
the contractor to conduct the assessment.
(ii) The assessment may build upon but not
duplicate the findings in the Rural Policy Research Institute's "Status and
Future of Health Care Delivery in Rural Wyoming, June 2007" report to the
Wyoming Healthcare Commission.
(iii) The assessment shall address the
following components and relevant sub-components within the current emergency
medical services delivery system:
(A) System
design and delivery model to include:
(I)
Local authority structure, ordinances and integration with and support from
other local healthcare and emergency response entities;
(II) Human resources including EMS leadership
and administration and management practices;
(III) The level of volunteerism and the
potential for sustainment;
(B) Response time reliability to include:
(I) The total demand for service upon the
system by type, including historical demand and projected trends;
(II) A fractile measurement of the systems
response times;
(III) The system's
ability or inability to respond to every request for service and the causative
factors;
(C) Fiscal
structure and stability in accordance with standard business practice
benchmarks to include:
(I) Current system
finances;
(II) Billing
practices;
(III) Funding sources
within the service area, including the third-party payor mix within the service
area and the relative need for subsidy;
(D) The delivery and quality of clinical care
and the use of quality improvement processes to include:
(I) The current level of care authorized and
provided based on the scopes of practice established within the Wyoming EMS
system;
(II) Medical direction
including the level of involvement and expertise of the local Medical
Director;
(III) Education and
training status;
(E)
Public education and outreach efforts to include the support and perception of
the local community.
(F) Public
access to the emergency response system.
(G) Communication systems to include the EMS
agency's ability to communicate with hospitals, local and state emergency
management, air medical ambulances, emergency response agencies and the support
and involvement of the local dispatch entity or public safety answering point
(PSAP).
(H) Integration and
involvement with other components and activities of the comprehensive,
statewide, emergency medical system, such as the trauma plan and program, or
the cardiac or stroke patient programs.
(I) The level of emergency preparedness of
the system and its ability to respond to a disaster or public health
emergency.
(J) The Division, at its
discretion, may choose alternate components to be addressed in the assessment
on a case-by-case basis.
