EMS Practitioners

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) practitioners should refer to this page for COVID-19 information and guidance. Practitioners should also consult the latest EMS provider advisories from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and RIDOH, as well as CDC’s guidance for healthcare workers. For the latest information on Rhode Island specific COVID-19 numbers, please see the Rhode Island Department of Health's (RIDOH) COVID-19 Data Tracker.

Returning to Work

Follow CDC’s Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

EMS practitioners who test positive for COVID-19, can end isolation and leave home if they:

  • Have no symptoms, or their symptoms have improved and;
  • Are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and;
  • Did not have severe illness

If they test positive and are moderately to severely ill with COVID-19, they should isolate at least 10 days and consult their primary care physician (PCP). If they test positive but never have symptoms, they should isolate for 5 days from the date that they were tested. If they are immunocompromised, they should isolate at least 10 days and consult their PCP.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE consists of respirators (N-95 masks), facemasks (surgical masks), face shields and other eye protection, gowns, and gloves.

Educational videos on PPE produced by the Rhode Island Disaster Medical Assistance Team (RI-DMAT):

EMS Protocols

Publications and Resources for EMS Providers

Factsheets

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)PDF file

Videos

Safe Re-use of the N-95 Mask Web page

Wearing and Removing Personal Protective Equipment in a Covid-19 Environment Web page