Emergency Medical Services Divisions

Operations

Paramedics at Hennepin EMS are highly experienced and are afforded a high degree of autonomy and aggressive treatment guidelines thanks to rigorous training, a high call volume, and physician support.  More than that, our patient outcomes are exceptional, with cardiac arrest survival rates well beyond the national average. We believe in providing our paramedics with the proper tools and training necessary to provide the highest level of care to our customers. Our paramedics routinely initiate Cath Lab activation from the field; and every ambulance carries LUCAS, Intra Osseous access equipment, King Vision, Zoll X series, CPAP, electronic patient charting, liquid oxygen, and more.  We believe strongly in teaching, research, and innovation and are always looking to advance patient care by assessing where we are currently and where we can improve.

Beyond patient care, Hennepin EMS places great emphasis on skill in scene management and the Incident Command System. Through lessons learned during the 35W Bridge collapse, an active shooter response, large commercial fires, and natural disasters, Hennepin EMS trains every paramedic for service in various command roles to ensure effective operations and the rapid transport of victims from large scale operations.

We are committed to the safety of our staff as well as our customers.  This commitment is evidenced by Hennepin EMS being the first large EMS service in the world to install Stryker Power-LOAD® in our entire fleet of ambulances.  It is further evidenced in our continued drive toward innovation and change in both ambulance design, as well as medical equipment and technology. We achieve this by working closely with ambulance and medical equipment manufacturers, to ensure we are always moving forward in the areas of safety and efficiency for the staff and customer experience. Our fleet of Road Rescue ambulances are fully compliant to SAE and CAAS v.1, and we utilize the newest technology to ensure our staff have the tools they need to provide exceptional care to the customers we serve.

Special Operations

Event Medicine

As the 911 EMS provider for Hennepin County, our Special Operations Division provides customized medical plans and coordinates response with local public safety agencies. Our team of EMTs, Paramedics, and Physicians are able to adapt to any venue and provide experienced, professional, and customer service based event medicine. Our capabilities include Basic Life Support EMTs (BLS), Advanced Life Support Paramedics (ALS), and Emergency Medicine Physicians (MD).

We provide medical coverage for professional and collegiate sports, marathons/triathlons/10Ks/5Ks, music festivals, parades, and other community gatherings. Hennepin EMS is the medical provider for US Bank Stadium.

We have coordinated medical services for events ranging from the Super Bowl, Final Four, and X-Games, to local 5ks. Our staff trained in Emergency Management are ready to help you develop a plan that will make your event a success.

Community Outreach & Relations

Our Special Operations Division also provides equipment and staffing for public relations events such as National Night Out, Touch-A-Truck, Neighborhood Watch events, CPR Training, Stop the Bleed Training, and more.

Communications

The Hennepin EMS Emergency Communication Center (ECC) operates out of HCMC/Hennepin Healthcare Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hennepin EMS ECC also operates the West Medical Resource Control Center (WMRCC) as part of daily operations. Staffed with 22 full-time Emergency Medical Dispatchers, 2 Battalion Chiefs, and 1 Deputy Chief, the center provides dispatching services, pre-arrival instructions, resource coordination, and information to the citizens and visitors of Hennepin County, Hennepin EMS paramedics, the Hennepin County EMS System, the region, and the State of Minnesota. The Hennepin EMS ECC employs an Incident Dispatch Team (IDT) made up of specially trained dispatchers who respond to the scene of large scale events or incidents and provide on-scene communications, taking the load off of the ECC during these events.

Education

Hennepin EMS Emergency and Critical Care Education provides over 10,500 hours of education per month, including many facets of continuing education, basic EMT education, American Heart Association courses, Tactical Emergency Peace Officer (TEMPO) program, and one of the state’s largest accredited paramedic programs.

We are a division within Hennepin EMS located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our department consists of 7 full-time educators, 50 casual educators, a Staff Captain/Paramedic Programs Principal, a Battalion Chief, and a Deputy Chief who coordinate and teach all our programs under the guidance of Chief Medical Director Nicholas Simpson MD, FACEP, FAEMS. We are authorized by the National Association of EMT’s, the American Heart Association, the Emergency Nurses Association, and the American College of Surgeons as a training center. We provide a range of courses including PHTLS, AMLS, ACLS, PALS, CPR, TCCC, ENPC, TNCC and ATLS. As a division of Hennepin EMS, we also provide continuing education to our paramedics, and the many first responder agencies throughout Minnesota.

Medical Direction

Hennepin EMS operates under the collaborative medical direction of several nationally known Emergency Medicine faculty physicians who have a combined total of over 55 years of EMS experience. The Medical Director Division is responsible for establishing, approving, and maintaining all aspects of quality pre-hospital patient care delivered by Hennepin EMS. In addition to working closely with 911 services, the Medical Director Division is actively engaged in all areas of the Hennepin EMS operation including research, aeromedical operations, disaster preparedness, technical rescue operations, tactical medicine, community paramedicine, outreach, special event operations, and continuing education and training. The Medical Director Division also oversees an ACGME approved EMS Fellowship as a pathway for qualified physicians in training to begin a career in EMS medicine.

Meet Chief Medical Director Dr. Nick Simpson

Community Programs

The Community Paramedic program is best described as “care where you are”.  We act as a liaison between the patient and their healthcare team to achieve the best outcome for the person’s overall health and wellness.  We meet with a patient anywhere they might reside:  houses, apartments, homeless shelter, under a bridge/outdoors, coffee shop and restaurant.  Our focus has always been on the patient that does not qualify for a visiting nurse for various reasons, to fill that gap in healthcare.

The primary goals of the program are:

  • Connect patients with primary care
  • Reduce reliance on emergency services
  • Reduce hospital re-admissions
  • Reduce overall healthcare cost
  • Liason between patient and primary care team for overall health and wellness