Regional Plans

REMS Council Operations

Strategic EMS Plan

The Regional Strategic EMS Plan was developed as part of the effort to standardize long-range planning across the eleven EMS regions in Virginia, along with the long-range statewide EMS plan developed by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. The plan is very broad in scope. It is not intended to address ongoing and day-to-day work initiatives. These strategies and initiatives help guide the council into areas which need improvement or require new council involvement over a multi-year period. The next major revision will occur in 2016. This plan is required to be reviewed annually and revised triennially, or as needed. Council staff and members of the Regional Strategic Planning Committee share the responsibility for development and annual review of the plan. The current plan represents a review of the mandates set forth in the Code of Virginia and the Rappahannock EMS Council contract with the Virginia Office of EMS. At its December 2010 meeting, the Board of Directors discussed the plan’s components and conducted an analysis (SWOT – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) which resulted in several minor changes to the current plan. The vision of the Rappahannock EMS Council through the work of our Strategic Planning Committee and Board on the EMS Plan is to be a catalyst for effective regional Emergency Medical Services system development and delivery for our service area.

Continuity of Operations Plan In addition to being part of good business practice, the OEMS annual contract requires that we have a functional continuity of operations plan to minimize disruptions to the services that we provide.  The COOP Plan was developed as part of the effort to maintain the integrity of the REMS council in the event of interruption or inability to provide services at our Fredericksburg office.  In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, or other event which precludes use of the building we have established an alternative for business operations. The plan is specific to our operation and includes integration/overlap with the five council regions that we border.  We conduct an exercise related to the COOP plan yearly to ensure that it remains updated and operational.

Record Retention Policy The REMS Council is guided by the standards set forth by the Commonwealth of Virginia  and has developed a formalized plan for the retention of both business and training records.

Refund Policy The REMS Council Board of Directors and the Regional Finance Committee have established a refund policy for the all activities at the REMS Council.  If you have paid for a class or other activity and you are interested in knowing the policy for refunds of monies, please review this document.

Medication Narcotic Accountability SOG

In order to provide a region wide medication and narcotics accountability and control system, the Rappahannock EMS (REMS) Council and their OMD Committee has adopted the following standard operating guideline (SOG). This SOG shall establish regional guidelines for medication and narcotics exchange, security and storage.

Regional Hospital Diversion Plan

The Regional Hospital Diversion Plan lays out the steps to maintain an orderly, systematic and appropriate distribution of emergency patients transported by ambulances during a single or multiple hospital diversion situation within the Rappahannock EMS Council region.

Regional MCI Plan

The goal of the Rappahannock Emergency Medical Services Council (REMS) Mass Casualty Incident Plan is to prepare on a regional basis for a unified, coordinated and immediate emergency medical services (EMS) mutual aid response by pre-hospital and hospital agencies to, and the effective emergency medical management of, the victims of any type of mass casualty incident (MCI). It includes patients who are involved in any emergency evacuation of any health care facility in the REMS region and/or any such facility outside the region. This document, hereinafter referred to as the MCI Plan, should be the primary reference and standard operating guidance for in-hospital and out-of-hospital training and response to regional MCI’s in the 3,071 square mile REMS Council region, Planning Districts 9 and 16, and Colonial Beach. This document also addresses the field criteria that must be employed when the number of patients exceeds immediately available resources.

Performance Improvement

The Rappahannock EMS Council Performance Improvement Committee operates under the Regional EMS Performance Improvement Plan & the Regional Trauma Performance Improvement Plan. When requesting an EMS call review, please use the EMS Incident Review Request Form for system and medical call reviews, and the Trauma Incident Review Request Form for trauma call reviews.

REMS Protocols

Please consult your local Agency OMD for further guidance.

State Plans