Thomas Decker
EMS Director
610-865-7335
TDecker@bethlehem-pa.gov
Jeannette Oaten
Administrative Assistant
610-865-7118
JOaten@bethlehem-pa.gov
Bethlehem EMS is designated as the primary emergency medical service for the City of Bethlehem. Bethlehem EMS is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) to the sick and injured. The Service operates eight fully equipped Advanced Life Support ambulances and two QRS support vehicles with a staff of 23 full-time and 35 part-time state certified paramedics 24 hours a day 7 days a week, responding to nearly 12,000 emergency calls per year. Bethlehem EMS operates out of two stations at 540 Stefko Blvd. and 201 Dewberry Ave.
The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Service received the Gold Standard of Excellence recognition in 2012 by the Eastern PA EMS Council for exceeding minimum state requirements for an EMS agency.
A Paramedic is an individual having special, well-defined skills and knowledge in emergency medicine, one who is concerned for the health and well-being of others and who exercises in his or her daily work painstaking attention to all assigned tasks in order to promote the well-being of others. Paramedics treat the sick and injured while transporting them to the most appropriate hospital within the service response area.
The EMS system begins by the early recognition of an emergency and activation of the EMS system by dialing “911”. Specially trained communications technicians will confirm the location of the call and ask key questions that enable them to determine the appropriate response for the EMS unit utilizing Emergency Medical Dispatch. Police Officers and/or Firefighters are dispatched along with EMS to provide early first aid and to relay vital patient information to responding paramedics. Police and Firefighters carry first responder kits and automated external defibrillators (AED’s) to aid in the initial treatment of the sick, injured, and victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
Bike Team
The Bethlehem EMS Bike Team was formed in 2013 to provide quick medical response and care during certain special events within the City of Bethlehem. Team members are certified by the International Police Mountain Bike Association as an EMS Cyclist. The team can maneuver through obstacles and crowds faster than a traditional EMS vehicle. Team members carry Advanced Life Support equipment and can initiate care until an ambulance arrives.
Tactical EMS
The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services has six trained tactical paramedics who provide Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) to the City of Bethlehem Police Department’s Emergency Response Team on high-risk warrants, barricaded subjects and hostage situations. These paramedics provide emergency medical care while dealing with the complexities of a potentially austere and hostile environment.
The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services participates in many public relations events and standbys such as Boy Scout and Girl Scout education for merit badges, Vile of Life program, Hands Only CPR training, Students Against Drunk Driving, and special events such as Musikfest, Celtic Classic, Runner’s World 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon, and Bethlehem Area School District and Bethlehem Catholic High School Varsity football games.
Bethlehem EMS serves as a paramedic student field internship site for the George E. Moerkirk Emergency Medicine Institute. This gives paramedic students a chance to put their didactic education and clinical practice into use under the close supervision of Bethlehem EMS paramedics in real-world settings.
City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services
This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information.
Please read carefully. Effective Date April 14, 2003
The City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services is required by law to protect the privacy of your protected health information (PHI) and provide you with the Notice of Privacy Practices. This notice outlines our legal duties in respect to your PHI. It also describes our privacy practices and your legal rights, but lets you know among other things, how Bethlehem EMS is permitted to use and disclose PHI about you, how you can access information, how you may request amendment of information, and how you may request restrictions on our disclosure of your PHI.
City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Services
540 Stefko Blvd.
Bethlehem, Pa. 18017
610-865-7111
IMPORTANT: THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
City of Bethlehem Emergency Medical Service is committed to protecting your personal health information. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of health information that could reasonably be used to identify you, known as “protected health information” or “PHI.” We are also required by law to provide you with the attached detailed Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) explaining our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.
We respect your privacy, and treat all healthcare information about our patients with care under strict policies of confidentiality that our staff is committed to following at all times.
PLEASE READ THE ATTACHED DETAILED NOTICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, PLEASE CONTACT Jeannette Oaten or Thomas Decker, OUR HIPAA COMPLIANCE OFFICERS, AT 610-865-7111 or JOaten@bethlehem-pa.gov or tdecker@bethlehem-pa.gov
Non-Emergency
610-865-7111
OPERATIONS
Jeffrey Fritz
Paramedic Supervisor
610-865-7283
JFritz@bethlehem-pa.gov
Edward J. Coleman
Paramedic Supervisor
610-865-7198
ecoleman@bethlehem-pa.gov
Stefko EMS Station
610-865-7290
Dewberry EMS Station
610-865-7197