Fire Commission backs $125,000 CareStar Foundation grant for EMS data symposium

The San Francisco Fire Commission voted on Nov. 8 to recommend the Board of Supervisors authorize acceptance of a $125,000 grant from the CareStar Foundation to fund an EMS data equity symposium and related work to align data across community paramedicine programs.

Director of Finance and Planning Mark Corso told the commission the grant will support a one-day symposium and a year-long community of practice with San Jose State University to help EMS providers create uniform definitions and data practices.

Assistant Deputy Chief Simon Pang, who leads community paramedicine, said a major goal is answering basic definitional questions that currently vary among providers: "How do we define someone who is homeless?" he asked. "We all do it different ways." Pang said more than 30 providers across California had already signed up and that the symposium aims to produce shared data elements and analysis methods so jurisdictions and providers can compare results.

Commissioners asked about the sufficiency of the grant and data-sharing mechanics. Pang said EMS data must be NEMSIS and CEMSIS compliant but that community paramedicine lacks agreed-upon NEMSIS data points, so the symposium will focus on what additional elements should be tracked and how to share them.

Motion and vote: Commissioner Marcy Frasier moved that the commission support acceptance of the CareStar Foundation grant and Vice President Armee Morgan seconded. The commission voted unanimously to recommend the Board of Supervisors accept the grant.

Next steps: The commission will transmit the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for formal acceptance and the department will proceed with planning the January symposium and follow-up meetings with statewide partners.