EMS Capacity Assessment

The State of Mississippi, through the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), seeks proposals from qualified vendors to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Mississippi's statewide prehospital medicine environment (emergency medical services - EMS) and to develop a practical, evidence-informed plan for regionalized EMS services. The assessment shall inform future policy, funding priorities, quality improvement, workforce strategy, medical oversight, data modernization, and implementation strategies consistent with the Rural Health Transformation initiative. MSDH seeks actionable guidance for expanding successful in-state strategies and identifying applicable national models suitable for a rural environment with a large underserved and medically vulnerable population. The selected vendor shall provide recommendations that preserve county contractual autonomy while advancing cross-county response capabilities, strengthening physician medical control, improving coordination for interfacility transfers, enhancing emergency medical dispatch operations, and supporting sustainable EMS delivery statewide. The State intends to develop and implement a regionalized approach to EMS and prehospital medicine that supports the following goals: • Improve the quality, reliability, and consistency of EMS and prehospital health care services; • Reduce avoidable health care costs, unnecessary transfers, unnecessary emergency department utilization, and preventable readmissions; • Strengthen the rural health care workforce and improve access to trained EMS personnel; • Improve regional coordination across counties, EMS providers, hospitals, emergency communications centers, and state oversight entities; • Develop data-driven quality, performance, and funding models that support sustainable EMS operations; and • Establish a phased, scalable implementation pathway that reflects Mississippi's geography, service models, county authority, and rural health needs.