Bonamici Asks for Timeline on Medical Equipment Upgrades for National Guard Ambulance Fleet - Failure to Meet FEMA Standards Limits Disaster Readiness
July 30, 2013
Washington D.C. – Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and a bipartisan group of her House colleagues today asked General Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to provide a timeline for the completion of medical equipment set (MES) upgrades for 500 new M997A3 HMMWV ambulances. The ambulances are deployed throughout the United States, but presently lack important lifesaving equipment like cardiac monitoring and resuscitation devices.
“We rely on the National Guard for its operational responses during emergencies, and it is imperative that members of the Guard are equipped with the most advanced medical equipment and tools available to respond in support of all types of emergencies,” Bonamici and her colleagues wrote in a letter to Grass. “FEMA requires its contract-supplied ambulances to be equipped with advanced cardiac monitoring and resuscitation equipment. A ground ambulance MES that does not have this advanced and essential capability will be unable to provide life-saving response and hinders interoperability possibilities with commercial ambulances.”
Bonamici first drew attention to the failure to properly equip the new ambulance fleet in 2012 with an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Appropriations bill. The amendment would have required the National Guard to assess what medical equipment upgrades were necessary for Humvee ambulances used in federal and state missions. The provision passed the House with strong bipartisan support.
Cosigners of the letter to Grass include Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), and Paul Tonko (D-NY). The text of their letter follows:
July 30, 2013
General Frank J. Grass
Chief, National Guard Bureau
111 South George Mason Drive
Arlington, VA 22204
Dear General Grass,
We are pleased with your recent success in modernizing a portion of the National Guard ground ambulance fleet with 500 new M997A3 HMMWV. We are concerned, however, that these new ambulances are not configured with upgraded and modernized Medical Equipment Sets (MES) aligned with the standards of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the National Association of EMS Physicians. One of the most important roles of the National Guard within the guidelines of Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) is to provide immediate and responsive support at the local, state, and federal levels during natural or man-made disasters.
We rely on the National Guard for its operational responses during emergencies, and it is imperative that members of the Guard are equipped with the most advanced medical equipment and tools available to respond in support of all types of emergencies. FEMA requires its contract-supplied ambulances to be equipped with advanced cardiac monitoring and resuscitation equipment. A ground ambulance MES that does not have this advanced and essential capability will be unable to provide life-saving response and hinders interoperability possibilities with commercial ambulances.
This capability shortfall and the need for MES modernization have been identified by the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) and its member states for two consecutive years. We understand that one of the Army National Guard’s top 25 equipment priorities is to “Modernize Medical Equipment Sets,” and we respectfully request answers to the following questions:
What is the status of completion of a newly configured and modernized MES through your Surgeon General’s office and the Army’s Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System?
What is the expected time of completion for the medical equipment set upgrade for the 500 new Domestic Operations Ground Ambulances?
In addition, do you intend to procure a modernized MES and, if so, what funds will be used to do so?
An advanced, modernized Medical Equipment Set is key to the National Guard’s ability to save lives during disaster response. We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Bonamici
Member of Congress