Pine State News

Washington, DC – On June 15, 2023, U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) announced the SIREN Reauthorization Act was favorably reported out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee by a 20-1 vote. This legislation, which Senator Collins authored with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), would reauthorize the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) grant program to support rural EMS agencies for five years through fiscal year 2028. The current 5-year authorization for SIREN ends September 2023. This funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), supports EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting certification courses, and purchasing equipment. It also helps small, rural EMS agencies be prepared and able to respond to drug overdoses and mental health crises in emergency situations.

“This program has made a real difference. If you talk to rural communities in your state, inevitably, you're going to find that they're having difficulty in recruiting and retaining EMS personnel,” Senator Collins remarked. “And yet, those personnel are a lifeline for local communities, and this federal investment is working. It's working to strengthen and increase the EMS workforce.”

Congress passed the SIREN Act as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The law created a grant program for public and non-profit EMS agencies and fire departments in rural areas to support the recruitment, retention, education, and equipment needs of EMS personnel. Rural EMS agencies and fire departments often lack the resources to pay for even basic operational needs, and this program is aimed at helping meet some of those needs. Since then, Collins and Durbin have led the appropriations effort to grow the program to $10.5 million in fiscal year 2023. Funding through this program has supported several EMS agencies across the State of Maine, including those in Franklin County, Presque Isle, and Brooks.

A decline in primary care and hospital service availability, workforce shortages exacerbated by the pandemic, great distances between health care facilities, and low insurance reimbursement for transport and emergency treatment have all strained rural EMS agencies. At the same time, EMS agencies today are tasked with ever-greater responsibilities— preparing for natural and manmade disasters and bioterror threats, supporting the chronic and emergency care needs of an aging population, and responding on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. These first responders are often the only health care providers in their area and face difficulty in personnel recruitment and retention and securing expensive equipment.

The SIREN Reauthorization Act is endorsed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Rural Health Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and National Fire Protection Association.

Original source can be found here.