Recommended Essential Equipment for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Ground Ambulances 2020 - A Joint Position Statement

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

This joint position statement supports periodic review and revision to maintain standards of care for ground ambulance services. The 2020 update is built on a structured review of the National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines Version 2.2 to identify the equipment needed to deliver guideline-defined care. The equipment list is differentiated into BLS and ALS using National Scope of Practice EMR/EMT for BLS and AEMT/Paramedic for ALS, with items crosschecked to ensure appropriate categorization. Some items may be optional locally based on agency scope and clinical guidelines. All EMS programs should stock quantities determined by the medical director, service level, and available certified EMS personnel as established in approved protocols.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Standards of care and periodic review

Foundation documents and guiding concepts

Prehospital Emergency Care ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: [https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ipec20](https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ipec20) Recommended Essential Equipment for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Ground Ambulances 2020: A Joint Position Statement John Lyng, Kathleen Adelgais, Rachael Alter, Justin Beal, Bruce Chung, Toni Gross, Marc Minkler, Brian Moore, Tim Stebbins, Sam Vance, Ken Williams & Allen Yee To cite this article: John Lyng, Kathleen Adelgais, Rachael Alter, Justin Beal, Bruce Chung, Toni Gross, Marc Minkler, Brian Moore, Tim Stebbins, Sam Vance, Ken Williams & Allen Yee (2021) Recommended Essential Equipment for Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Ground Ambulances 2020: A Joint Position Statement, Prehospital Emergency Care, 25:3, 451-459, DOI: 10. 1080/10903127 .2021.1886382 To link to this article: [https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2021.1886382](https://doi.org/10.1080/10903127.2021.1886382) Published online: 09 Apr 2021. Submit your article to this journal | Article views: 2972 | | --- | | View Crossmark data | | View related articles | | --- | | Citing articles: 3 View citing articles | Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at [https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ipec20](https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=ipec20) RECOMMENDED ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT FOR BASIC LIFE SUPPORT AND ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT GROUND AMBULANCES 2020: A JOINT POSITION STATEMENT John Lyng, MD, NRP, Kathleen Adelgais, MD, MPH, Rachael Alter, BA, Justin Beal, PHRN, Bruce Chung, MD, Toni Gross, MD, Marc Minkler, BS, NRP, Brian Moore, MD, Tim Stebbins, MD, Sam Vance, MHA, EMT-P, Ken Williams, MD, Allen Yee, MD ABSTRACT In continued support of establishing and maintaining a foundation for standards of care, our organizations remain committed to periodic review and revision of this position statement. This latest revision was created based on a structured review of the National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines Version 2.2 in order to identify the equipment items necessary to deliver the care defined by those guidelines. In addition, in order to ensure congruity with national definitions of provider scope of practice, the list is differentiated into BLS and ALS levels of service utilizing the National Scope of Practice-defined levels of Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) as BLS, and Advanced EMT (AEMT) and Paramedic as ALS. Equipment items listed within each category were crosschecked against recommended scopes of practice for each level in order to ensure they were appropriately dichotomized to BLS or ALS levels of care. Some items may be considered optional at the local level as determined by agencydefined scope of practice and applicable clinical guidelines. In addition to the items included in this position statement our organizations agree that all EMS service programs should carry equipment and supplies in quantities as determined by the medical director and appropriate to the agency’s level of care and available certified EMS personnel and as established in the agency’s approved protocols. Keywords: EMS; equipment; ambulance; ALS; BLS PREHOSPITAL EMERGENCY CARE 2021;25:451–459 Received January 30, 2021 from National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP), Overland Park, Kansas (JL, TG, TS); American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Itasca, Illinois (BM); American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT), Chicago, Illinois (BC); Emergency Medical Services for Children Innovation and Improvement Center (EIIC) (KA, RA, SV); Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), Schaumburg, Illinois (JB); National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO)(MM, KW) . Accepted for publication February 1, 2021 . Address correspondence to John Lyng, MD, FAEMS, FACEP, NRP National Association of EMS Physicians, 4400 College Blvd Suite 220, Overland Park, [KS 66211. E

FAQs

What is the purpose of this joint position statement for ground ambulances?

It provides periodically reviewed guidance on essential equipment needed to deliver EMS care according to national clinical guidelines and care standards.

How does the statement divide equipment between BLS and ALS?

It differentiates equipment levels of service using National Scope of Practice-defined levels: EMR/EMT for BLS and AEMT/Paramedic for ALS.

Can some listed equipment be optional at the local level?

Yes. Some items may be considered optional locally based on agency-defined scope of practice and applicable clinical guidelines.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk