MPC Research Reports |
Title: | Improving Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) through Transportation System Enhancements |
Authors: | Haifa Samra, Xiao Qin, and Zhaoxiang He |
University: | South Dakota State University |
Publication Date: | May 2014 |
Report #: | MPC-14-267 |
Project #: | MPC-399 |
TRID #: | 01527893 |
Keywords: | emergency medical services, emergency response time, improvements, needs assessment, rural areas, traffic safety, trip length |
Improved emergency medical services (EMS) will impact traffic safety and public health in rural communities. Better planned, designed, and operated roadway networks that connect hospitals with communities in need will enhance EMS performance. To provide safe, timely and quality services, it is necessary to obtain a realistic estimate of the medical demand and the capacity of current transportation infrastructure pertaining to the services. The gaps between service providers, patients, and transportation network connecting the two need to be identified and filled to support better EMS. The goal of this project was to identify issues with respect to the delivery of quality EMS to rural residents in South Dakota (SD) and to conduct a needs assessment from the rural transportation system perspective.
Samra, Haifa, Xiao Qin, and Zhaoxiang He. Improving Rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) through Transportation System Enhancements, MPC-14-267. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium, 2014.