Big push for paramedic background checks

In New Jersey, EMTs and people applying to become emergency responders are not required to undergo criminal background checks — the only emergency health professional that escapes this kind of scrutiny. “We do these checks of police and firefighters. We shouldn’t put people in positions of incredible trust without some sort of check on that,” said David Knowlton, president and CEO of New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a research and consumer advocacy group. The Legislature last year passed a bill overhauling the state’s emergency response system that would have required background checks for all emergency responders and given the department more authority to more closely monitor EMTs on the job. But Gov. Chris Christie vetoed it in January, saying he was concerned about costs and the impact on volunteer squads whose leaders fear more restraints could put them out of business. The bill (S1650) has been reintroduced and passed one round of committees. Implementation of paramedic background screening  Art Hsieh from EMS1.com poses the right question in this situation: “In this day and age, can there be any argument for not conducting them? We go into people’s lives at a moment’s notice, often when they are at their most vulnerable. Members of the public must have full faith in public safety providers since they don’t get to choose who comes to their aid when they call.” Art goes on to suggest that a proposed cost of “$1.4 million for 20,000 personnel, or $70 per EMT…seems like a pretty cheap investment to maintain public confidence.” And we agree. First responders deal with the most vulnerable people in our society  – the old, the young, the incapacitated. And we as the public are forced to put our complete faith in the virtue and trustworthiness of these public servants. While we have no doubt that the vast majority of paramedics and EMT’s  have clean backgrounds, it only takes one bad apple to damage the perception of the whole industry. For more information on background checks, reach out to us today. We’ll be happy to answer your questions.  ]]>