Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Okaloosa County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is committed to providing prompt medical service and transport for patients in need. Our team is made up of highly-trained medical professionals who maintain certifications, receive advanced life-saving education and stay current with new and emerging patient services.

Each Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic adheres to rules governing privacy and the ethical standards necessary to treat patients in their greatest need 24 hours a day. Our mission is to protect the health, safety and welfare of our community with pride and professionalism.

EMS Resources

Your feedback matters to us. It helps us improve our services to the community and provides the opportunity to address individual concerns as they arise. Please take a moment to tell us about your EMS experience. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OCEMSCARES

COUNTY STAFF TRAINING

The Okaloosa County EMS training section is responsible for the continuing education of the department’s Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s), paramedics and on-boarding education for new employees. This is critical to ensure the EMT’s and Paramedics of Okaloosa County are providing the highest level of care to its patients.

AUTHORIZED TRAINING SITE FOR COMMUNITY

The training section also organizes and provides first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) education to our community. Okaloosa County EMS is an authorized training site for the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Association of EMT’s (NAEMT). We are proud to provide Professional Provider courses to first responders, nurses, and other professional medical personnel. We also offer Community Education courses for individuals who are not professional providers or medically trained.

View our training calendar and register for one of our courses>>

COURSE LIST

Professional Course - AHA Advanced Cardiac Life Support Provider (ACLS) Refresher

This course is intended for healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies and for personnel in emergency response and need to complete a refresher course to renew their ACLS provider card.

The ACLS course teaches:

Basic life support skills, including effective chest compressions, use of a bag-mask device, and use of an AED
Recognition and early management of respiratory and cardiac arrest
Recognition and early management of peri-arrest conditions such as symptomatic bradycardia
Airway management
Related pharmacology
Management of ACS and stroke
Effective communication as a member and leader of a resuscitation team

After successful completion of this course, you will receive a course completion card that is valid for 2 years. Your card will be promptly sent to you via your provided email address (usually the same day as your course!).

Professional Course-AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers

The AHA’s BLS Course is designed for healthcare professionals and other personnel who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings.

The Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers class provides information on adult, pediatric and infant CPR, including two-rescuer scenarios and use of the bag-valve mask. The class also covers automated external defibrillation for adults and children, foreign-body airway obstruction (conscious and unconscious), special resuscitation situations, and other cardiopulmonary emergencies.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a course completion card that is valid for 2 years. Cards will be sent to you via your provided email address (usually before the end of the day of your class!).

NOTE: If you currently have an AHA BLS for Healthcare Provider card and are needing to renew, you will likely want to attend one of our BLS Refresher courses.

Professional Course - AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers Refresher

This course is a refresher course and is designed for those that have a valid AHA BLS card and need to complete a refresher course to renew.

This course is designed for healthcare professionals and other personnel who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings.

The BLS for Healthcare Providers class provides information on adult, pediatric and infant CPR, including two-rescuer scenarios and use of the bag-valve mask. The class also covers automated external defibrillation for adults and children, foreign-body airway obstruction (conscious and unconscious), special resuscitation situations, and other cardiopulmonary emergencies.

Professional Course - AHA Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) Refresher

The American Heart Association (AHA) Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) refresher course is designed for healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units. This refresher course is for individuals who have already taken and completed an AHA PALS course and need to complete a refresher course for a renewed card.

The PALS Provider Course aims to improve outcomes for pediatric patients by preparing healthcare providers to effectively recognize and intervene in patients with respiratory emergencies, shock, and cardiopulmonary arrest by using high‐performance team dynamics and high‐quality individual skills. The course includes a series of case scenario practices with simulations that reinforce important concepts. Upon successful completion of all the patient cases, students must pass the multiple-choice exam with a minimum score of 84%.

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to

Perform high‐quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) per American Heart Association (AHA) basic life support (BLS) recommendations
Differentiate between patients who do and do not require immediate intervention
Recognize cardiopulmonary arrest early and begin CPR within 10 seconds
Apply team dynamics
Differentiate between respiratory distress and failure
Perform early interventions for respiratory distress and failure
Differentiate between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock
Perform early interventions for the treatment of shock
Differentiate between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias
Describe clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias
Implement post–cardiac arrest management

Upon successful completion of this course, you will receive a course completion card that will be valid for 2 years. Your card will be sent to you via your provided email address (usually the same day you complete the course!).

Professional Course - NAEMT Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS)

NAEMT's Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is recognized around the world as the leading continuing education program for prehospital emergency trauma care. The mission of PHTLS is to promote excellence in trauma patient management by all providers involved in the delivery of prehospital care. PHTLS is developed by NAEMT in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons' Committee on Trauma. The Committee provides the medical direction and content oversight for the PHTLS program.

PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care and decrease mortality. The program is based on a philosophy stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS practitioners are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. The course utilizes the internationally recognized PHTLS textbook and covers the following topics:

PHTLS is the global gold standard in prehospital trauma education and is taught in 64 countries. PHTLS is appropriate for EMTs, paramedics, nurses, physician assistants, physicians, and other prehospital providers. PHTLS is accredited by CAPCE and recognized by NREMT.

Professional Course - NAEMT Tactical Emergency Tactical Care (TECC)

The 2^nd edition of NAEMT's Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) course teaches EMS practitioners and other prehospital providers how to respond to and care for patients in a civilian tactical environment.

The course presents the three phases of tactical care and integrates parallel EMS nomenclature:

Hot Zone/Direct Threat Care that is rendered while under attack or in adverse conditions.
Warm Zone/Indirect Threat Care that is rendered while the threat has been suppressed but may resurface at any point.
Cold Zone/Evacuation Care that is rendered while the casualty is being evacuated from the incident site.

The 16-hour classroom course includes all new patient simulations and covers the following topics:

Hemorrhage control including immediate action drills for tourniquet application throughout the course;
Complete coverage of the MARCH assessment;
Surgical airway control and needle decompression;
Strategies for treating wounded responders in threatening environments;
Caring for pediatric patients;
Techniques for dragging and carrying victims to safety; and
A final, mass-casualty/active shooter event simulation.

NAEMT's TECC course is endorsed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, is consistent with the current guidelines established by the Committee on TECC (Co-TECC), and meets all of the updated National Tactical Emergency Medical Support Competency Domains. This course is accredited by CAPCE for 16 hours of continuing education credit, and recognized by NREMT.

NAEMT is a recognized education partner of the Co-TECC. The Co-TECC establishes guidelines for the provision of prehospital care to injured patients during a tactical incident. The Co-TECC neither creates curriculum for the prehospital provider, nor does it endorse the curriculum of other organizations.

Public Course - First on the Scene

First on the Scene (FOTS), developed by NAEMT and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), is designed to teach the general public basic emergency response to life-threatening emergencies until EMS arrives on the scene. Through lesson presentations and hands-on skill stations, participants will learn how to access help in the event of a life-threatening emergency and what to do until EMS arrives.

This course covers:

This course is intended for individuals who want to know what to do if they encounter an emergency. It is NOT intended for those that require a First Aid/CPR certification/card for employment. If you need First Aid/CPR for your employer, we recommend the AHA Heartsaver First Aid with CPR & AED course.

Public Course - AHA Heartsaver First Aid with CPR & AED

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED course trains participants to provide first aid, CPR, and use an automated external defibrillator (AED) in a safe, timely, and effective manner. This course reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).

Who should take this course? The AHA’s Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED Course is designed for anyone with little or no medical training who needs a course completion card for their job, regulatory (e.g., OSHA), or other requirements, or anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency in any setting.

What does this course teach?

First aid basics
Medical emergencies
Injury emergencies
Environmental emergencies
Preventing illness and injury
Adult CPR and AED use
Opioid-associated life-threatening emergencies
Optional modules in Child CPR AED and Infant CPR

Upon the successful completion of this course, participants will earn a course completion card that will be valid for 2 years. The cards will be sent electronically to your provided email shortly after the completion of the course--usually by the end of the day of your course (no long wait for your card!).

Public Course - AHA Heartsaver CPR & AED

This course is a video-based, instructor-led course that teaches adult and child CPR and AED use, infant CPR, and how to relieve choking in adults, children, and infants. This course teaches skills with the AHA’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which allows instructors to observe the students, provide feedback, and guide the students’ learning of skills.

Is AHA Heartsaver CPR AED the right course for me?

Heartsaver CPR & AED is geared for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card in CPR and AED use to meet job, regulatory, or other requirements. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

What does this course teach?

Describe how high-quality CPR improves survival
Explain the concepts of the Chain of Survival
Recognize when someone needs CPR
Perform high-quality CPR for an adult
Describe how to perform CPR with help from others
Give effective breaths using mouth-to-mouth or a mask for all age groups
Demonstrate how to use an AED on an adult
Perform high-quality CPR for a child*
Demonstrate how to use an AED on a child*
Perform high-quality CPR for an infant*
Describe when and how to help a choking adult or child
Demonstrate how to help a choking infant*
*Child and infant modules are optional.

Public Course - AHA Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid, CPR, & AED

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR & AED course trains participants how to respond to and manage illnesses and injuries in a child or infant in the first few minutes until professional help arrives. This course reflects science and education from the American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) and the 2015 AHA/Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid.

Who should take this course?

The AHA Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED Course is designed for anyone involved in childcare who have a duty to respond to illnesses and injuries in a child or infant in the first few minutes until professional help arrives. This typically includes childcare workers, teachers, camp counselors, baby sitters, etc. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.

What does this course teach?

First aid basics including medical, injury, poison, and environmental emergencies
Preventing illnesses and injuries
Controlling bleeding & bandaging
CPR, AED use, and choking for children and infants (adult CPR optional)

This course covers topics like using a tourniquet, shock, internal bleeding, burns and electrical injuries, allergic reactions, breathing problems & dehydration, diabetes & low blood sugar, heat-and cold-related emergencies, drowning, amputations, bites and stings, broken bones and sprains. Also covers splinters, nose bleeds, fainting, seizures, and injuries to the head, eyes, neck, spine, mouth, and teeth.

Your EMS Team In-Depth

Okaloosa County Emergency Medical Services is a Division within the Department of Public Safety under the authority and supervision of the Board of County Commissioners. Until 1992, the functions of Emergency Management (which includes 911) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were separate. These two departments were consolidated in 1992 to form the Department of Emergency Services, later renamed the Department of Public Safety in 2001.

Our employees mainly consist of Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians, but we employ several other skill sets as part of our team. Aside from our EMT’s and Paramedics, our staff is comprised of Paramedics, Captains, Lieutenants, Administrative Staff, Division Management/Leadership and Co-Medical Directors. Many of these team members are assigned to specialized assignments such as Field Training Officer, Tactical Response Team, Critical Care Transport and Community Paramedicine, among others.

Emergency Medical Technicians

Emergency Medical Technicians work alongside the Paramedics to assist with care and provide for and transport patients who require basic life support functions. As all of our ambulances are dual stickered for ALS and BLS staffing/response our EMT’s play a critical role in the assessment and treatment of patients at the Basic Life Support Level. The EMT’s also operate under expanded protocols to include the delivery of simple medications to patients.

Paramedics

Paramedics are state-licensed and trained to provide advanced life support. All of our ambulances are staffed and equipped to provide advanced life support (see our FAQ for an explanation of Basic and Advanced Life Support).

Captains

The Captains oversee the Logistics, Operations, and Training/Compliance Sections of the Division. The Captains are also Paramedics and often provide additional medical assistance on-scene during critical incidents. Additionally, they are responsible for scheduling employees, payroll administration, ensuring compliance with rules and protocols, and ensuring the continuing education required for certification is completed and of the highest quality. They are responsible for the day-to-day quality assurance of the organization including strict parameters identified within the organization as well as the new state-mandated data reporting requirements. They also provide the department's middle management representative on-scene in significant or critical incidents.

Lieutenants

Lieutenants are responsible for ensuring the continuity of day-to-day operations and the readiness of the system as first-line supervisors. These individuals are assigned either to the North Branch or South Branch of the County and have direct responsibility for those areas as well as combining and covering for one another as call volume and circumstances command. Critically, the Lieutenants are also responsible for the timely delivery of life-saving blood products to scenes that require them and to handle the minute-to-minute status of the system. Lieutenants assist the Captains with the day-to-day quality assurance of the organization in compliance of the strict quality parameters and state-mandated data reporting requirements.

Administrative Staff

Administrative staff includes an administrative assistant whose duties include coordination of accounts payable, payroll, and maintenance of accounts receivable; this individual also monitors all Department and Division Contracts. The billing clerk works closely with the contracted billing software company to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of all claims generated by calls for service. The individual works closely with the EMS Chief, EMS Training and Compliance Captain, and the EMS Logistics and Finance Captain to ensure accounts are properly documented and submitted for reimbursement. The logistics supervisor works closely with the supply clerk EMS Logistics and Finance Captain to ensure that accountability and cost control measures are maintained.

Division Leadership

The Public Safety Director and the EMS Division Chief comprise the division's leadership. The Director provides overall management of the entire Public Safety Department, while the EMS Division Chief has specific functional responsibilities for managing the day-to-day response, planning, and administrative operations of the EMS Division.

Co-Medical Directors

Co-Medical Directors are physicians who exercise supervision and quality assurance over our medical practices and protocols as required by Florida Statute. The Medical Directors are contracted to provide these services and are not County employees.

Mental Health Resilience Director

Okaloosa EMS contracts with a licensed psychologist to provide resiliency training and mental health support to our staff. This mental health professional provides monthly education to all staff with the goal being to increase their. mental health resiliency to provide mechanisms to experience a long, healthy career and good work-life balance.

Patrick Maddox

Director of Public Safety

90 College Boulevard East
Niceville, FL 32578
Phone: (850) 651-7150
Fax: (850) 651-7170