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The delivery of emergency medical services in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) Office of Emergency Medical Services. M.G.L. Chapter 111c, the enabling legislation, empowers DPH to create and enforce the Commonwealth's EMS regulations, 105 CMR 170.000. Amongst the requirements outlined in those regulations is the designation of Regional EMS Councils.
The Metropolitan Boston Emergency Medical Services Council, Inc. (MBEMSC), EMS Region IV, is the agency designated by the DPH to coordinate the delivery of emergency medical services, as defined by 105 CMR 170.100 - 170.106, within the sixty-two cities and towns comprising the Metropolitan Boston Area. The Region, which extends north as far as Wilmington and Littleton, west as far as Marlborough and Hopkinton, and south as far as Wrentham and Hanover, serves as residence to over 2 million people, and accounts for close to 1 million emergency department visits in the Region's hospitals each year.
The Regional EMS Councils are governed by the Regional Board of Directors, the composition of which is defined in regulations. These Advisory Councils are a diverse group of individuals representing the many various sectors of the EMS system. There are representatives from hospital administration, State and local government, surgeons, nurses, paramedics, representatives of the fire service, private ambulance service, a consumer, and more. It is this body which shapes the agenda and policy of each of the Regional EMS Councils. Meetings of the Regional Board of Directors take place quarterly. These, as well as each of the Council's Committee meetings, are opened to the public, and are posted on this web site, as well as with the Commonwealth's Office of the Secretary of State.
Serving the sixty-two cities and towns are 70 licensed ambulance services. Among these, there are 35 paramedic level services, including one helicopter service, and 4 intermediate level services. These ambulance services comprise a mixture of private, and public (both Fire and Police Department and third service EMS), as well as a number of volunteer services. Each of these agencies works in conjunction with one another in providing emergency medical care to the residents and visitors of the Metropolitan Boston area. Each community within the Region receives a multi-tiered response of both BLS and ALS.
These services, in conjunction with the Region's twenty-five acute care hospitals (including 5 level I and 1 level II trauma centers), are coordinated in an effort to provide the best possible out-of-hospital emergency medical care to the residents and visitors of the Metropolitan Boston Area.