The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City, Inc. is a not-for-profit, tax exempt corporation whose function is to improve emergency medical services in New York City.

The primary goal of the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City, Inc., since its inception in 1974, has been to coordinate the emergency medical services of New York City in order to decrease the excessive death rates and disability caused by sudden accident and illness, and to further assure all persons living, working and visiting New York City the availability of prompt and effective emergency care.

In 1976 the Council was designated by the Commissioner of Health of the State of New York as the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York City under Article 30 of the Public Health Law. The Board of Directors, chaired by Walter F. Pizzi, M.D., established three free-standing committees as follows:

The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York, responsible to the State of New York for coordinating medical services in all five boroughs of New York City, consists of 30 members. One third of the membership is comprised of representatives of ambulance services, including the United New York Ambulance Network (private sector), the Greater New York Hospital Association (voluntary sector), the NYC Fire Department EMS (municipal sector), and the New York State Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Association (volunteer sector). The remaining membership consists of representatives of existing emergency medical care committees, physicians, public health officers, NYC Police Department, NYC Office of Emergency Management, and the general public all of whom are residents of New York City. The Council was established and designated to be the policy and administrative authority within the New York City region.

In addition, the Council and its sub-committees have developed, implemented and maintained a comprehensive system for coordination of all training for ambulance personnel, determination of public need for new ambulance services, procedures for transfer of operation authority for existing ambulance services and the development of a regional quality improvement program for pre-hospital care providers.

The Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC) was established to provide medical control for the EMS System. Its membership consists of physician representatives from emergency departments of New York City Municipal and Voluntary Hospitals, Police, Fire-EMS, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and Trauma Pediatric Specialists.

REMAC develops policies, procedures and triage, treatment and transportation protocols which are consistent with the standards of the New York State Medical Advisory Committee but address the specific needs of New York City.

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The CPR Committee was established when the New York Heart Association determined that its demonstration project in Basic Cardiac Life Support was complete and requested that the Regional Council, Inc. accept the responsibility for standards, certification and coordination of this program in 1977. The Regional Council, Inc. appointed a free-standing committee to coordinate the training network, encourage training CPR for the general public, and to establish special pilot projects for under-served areas or populations. Presently, the Regional Council, Inc., in its capacity as a Community Training Center for the American Heart Association, provides training for Instructors and providers of Basic Cardiac Life Support through its network. The CPR Committee established several special projects, including training for family members of persons at high risk of having a cardiac emergency, pediatric training for parents, CPR in the Schools (commenced in 1988), Public Access Defibrillation, and a Save-of-the-Month club.

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Board Of Directors

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 Members Of The Board

Rafael I. Castellanos, Esq., EMT
Expert Title Insurance Agency, LLC

Arthur Cooper, MD, MS, FACS, FAAP, FCCM, FAHA
American College of Surgeons
Committee on Trauma

Lorraine M. Giordano, MD, FACEP
Medical Society of the State of New York
Board of Directors, Queens County Medical Society

Michael P. Jones, MD
Central Park Medical Unit

Lewis Marshall, MD, JD
Chairperson, Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee

Steve Zakheim
Chair, Development Committee
Metropolitan Home Health

Nancy A. Benedetto, MS, AC
Executive Director, Administration

Marie Diglio, EMTP
Executive Director, Operations

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