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COVID-19 Resource Center

GEMSA has been working closely with national, state, and local partners to navigate guidance and resources for the COVID-19 response. Below are resources, documents, and links that may be useful to your agency. Please remember things change quickly and all treatment guidelines and/or protocols would need to be approved at your local level. We will continue to add resources here instead of sending out emails for every resource added.

Newest Additions

CMS FAQ - Selected Ambulance Topics: alternate destinations, co-pays, and in-home services provided by ambulance personnel under arrangement with a physician, or non-physician practitioner. (Updated 6/16/20)

GENERAL LINKS/RESOURCES

NAEMSP.org
--COVID-19 Resource Page with sample protocols for leave in place.
EMS.gov / COVID-19 Resource Page
CDC
FEMA.gov
NAEMT
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation - Projections
Impact Planning for COVID-19 (by county)
IAFC COVID-19 Fire & EMS Personnel Impact Dashboard

Georgia Links

Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma COVID-19
GEMSA Letter to Mr. Frank Berry, DCH Commissioner,
re: assistance with COVID-19 (transports, prior authorization and mileage reimbursements)
Governor Executive Order to Ensure Healthy Georgia (3/14/20)

CDC Links

PPE Requests

Make Requests Here - This link is to request PPE for any healthcare provider who is NOT a hospital (e.g., EMS, Skilled Nursing, and Public Health). Please be sure to read the request process update that is available here and reference the map to find your correct public health district.

N95 Resources - Usage/Re-Use

CMS Links

CMS FAQ - Selected Ambulance Topics: alternate destinations, co-pays, and in-home services provided by ambulance personnel under arrangement with a physician, or non-physician practitioner. (Updated 6/16/20)
CMS FAQ Document for Ambulance Services (Updated 5/27/20 - See pages 22-29)
CMS FAQs (4/9/20)
CMS Allows for "Verbal Consent" by COVID-19 Patients
Medicare Coverage and Payment of Virtual Services
Lessons from The Front Lines: COVID-19 (recorded conference call)
COVID-19: Expanded Use of Ambulance Origin/Destination
Ambulances: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 (3/30/20) - temporarily expanding the list of allowable destinations for ambulance transports, and more.
CMS Takes Action Nationwide to Aggressively Respond to Coronavirus National Emergency (3/13/20)
COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet (3/13/20)

CARES Act Grant/Stimulus Updates

HHS Portal - ambulance providers/suppliers will need to submit their revenue information using an online portal with payments to follow on a rolling basis once the ambulance provider/supplier’s information has been validated. The portal is now open. Please visit: https://covid19.linkhealth.com/docusign/#/step/1.
HHS formula for $20 billion in CARES Act provider grants prompts questions (4/24/20)
What EMS Needs to Know About the Latest Round of HHS COVID Funds (4/24/20)
Surprise Billing Banned for Providers That Get CARES Act Grants (4/9/20)
Relief payments under the CARES Act begin for ambulance services (4/10/20)
Relief Fund Payment Terms and Conditions

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Check back for updates.

Funding for EMS - Action Needed today!

4/23/20 - While EMS agencies have received some relief through the passage of the CARES Act, the needs of our EMS agencies and personnel serving on the frontlines of this pandemic war were not adequately addressed through the CARES Act legislation. All EMS systems, whether they are public, private or a combination of both, are struggling.

Please ask Congress to provide direct funding relief for EMS in Phase 4 COVID-19 legislation to ensure that we can safely continue to serve our communities! It takes less than a minute!

TAKE ACTION HERE. It only takes a few moments.

Advocacy

NAEMT letter to Congressional leadership requesting CMS to reimburse all ground ambulance providers for performing protocol-driven treatments in place (TIP) without transport during the COVID-19 pandemic response. (5/4/20)
NAEMT Phase 4 Letter to Congress (4/21/20)
NAEMT - National Survey on COVID-19 Impact (4/21/20)
NAEMT CMS Request for Clarification of COVID Patients (4/21/20)
NAEMT’s comment to the final interim rule on the Temporary Expansion Sites for alternative destinations (4/20/20)

Other Resources

Mental Health Awareness

Documents

Recorded Webinars/Online Training

PWW Webinar, "COVID Coding - What Ambulance Revenue Cycle Professionals Need to Know" - For the FULL 75-minute webinar video, use this link: https://youtu.be/xJk4IjifTc8
Free online training about COVID-19 from Lexipol for EMS, Fire, and Law Enforcement
Crisis Standards of Care and COVID-19: What EMS Needs to Know - EMS Focus Webinar (3/26/20)

Georgia Emergency Medical Services Association