When the world descends on the area for the FIFA World Cup, the New Jersey EMS Task Force will have been working for more than two years alongside the NJ Department of Health, the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management, and the All Hazards Incident Management Team to ensure the safety of attendees and residents throughout the state.

​​The NJ EMS Task Force expert planners and team leaders were integral in developing the state’s EMS Mass Casualty/Surge Plan, which will be in place throughout the event. Team members have been embedded in every meeting leading up to the first whistle.
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“Our team members are just as prepared to ensure the safety of those going to the games as those playing in them,” said Michael J. Bascom, president of the NJ EMS Task Force. “We’re honored to be a part of it.”

The NJ EMS Task Force, created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, consists of more than 225 highly trained EMS providers who respond to large-scale man-made and natural disasters, such as wildfires, hospital evacuations, and other incidents that overwhelm local communities. Members come from more than 60 career and volunteer host agencies from every county in the state.
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Now, with the matches just days away, our team members will be deployed throughout the events 24/7.

​“We are a full-scale preparedness organization,” said Bascom. “We have focused on these events for more than two years, in addition to responding to events throughout the state. We look forward to working side by side with our colleagues in the NJ Department of Health, law enforcement, fire, and EMS."

McCarthy’s unwavering commitment to EMS and her impact reaches throughout the state – and the country. In addition to teaching classes at the conference, McCarthy oversees and manages the team that develops, produces, and stages the annual SIMS competition. Under her leadership, she has integrated NJEMSTF’s Mental Health Resilience Officers program to deepen the impact of the debriefing process and support competitors throughout it. This initiative has helped to normalize mental health services within the EMS community.

Our planners and members of the NJEMSTF also had a big week at the conference, providing classes on leadership and planning for disaster topics. The courses included expertise instruction on coordinating EMS during wildland fires, training new EMS providers in resilience strategies, uses and lessons learned from our Medical Ambulance Bus fleet deployments, and a day-long staging area manager program.

As a strong partner of the NJ Department of Health, the NJEMSTF stands committed to serving and protecting the residents and visitors of our state.

For more information about the NJEMSTF message us here or visit www.njemstf.org.

October was a busy month with training and exercises for the New Jersey EMS Task Force (NJEMSTF), each one designed to increase the organization’s readiness, collaboration, and coordination with agencies across the state.
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On Oct. 8, 90 highly trained members of the NJEMSTF participated in a full-scale exercise at Liberty State Park alongside our partners in law enforcement and EMS from New Jersey and New York. The exercise was a collaborative, multi-agency effort that spanned nine months to bring to fruition and was designed to test the region’s emergency preparedness ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup.

A day later, the NJEMSTF incident advance team participated in an Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) exercise to test the response to fictional explosions and Sarin Gas exposures at a mall in Passaic County and a Union County train station along the Morris/Essex line.

And on Oct. 14 and 15, members of the NJEMSTF, alongside McCabe Ambulance, University Hospital EMS Special Operations Group and Rescue Division, participated in the UASI Metro Urban Search and Rescue (MUSAR) full-scale exercise in Bayonne, NJ.
The simulated scenario involved a terror attack at a commuter rail station, resulting in mass casualties and structural collapse. NJEMSTF personnel integrated directly with MUSAR rescue teams, delivering on-site triage and medical care to simulated victims trapped throughout the incident area.

The multi-layered drills and training were in addition to the organization’s planning for the potential of a Nor’easter and the dispatch of NJEMSTF assets to events throughout the state, including football games at MetLife Stadium, a woodland rescue in Cedar Grove, and fires in Middletown, Newark, and Woodbridge.
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These exercises continue to test our systems, engage our members, and assure that we are ready for potential deployments, should they occur.

​The Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management requested help from the NJ EMS Task Force to work alongside local EMS, fire, law enforcement, and emergency management officials to safely move 149 patients to 13 facilities across the state. Twelve counties participated in the response, demonstrating a robust mutual aid system in action.

Using the statewide nursing home evacuation plan created and honed by the NJ EMS Task Force, leadership activated its Incident Advance Team, Medical Operations, Staging, Logistics and Planning modules, as well as the Task Force Operations Center was activated to manage and track resource requests, maintain situational awareness, and ensure communication with the New Jersey Department of Health and other key agencies. The organization also dispatched 11 Medical Ambulance Buses, 14 BLS ambulances, one SCTU, one MAV, a van, and 39 NJEMSTF team members to the scene.

Team members worked with local providers throughout the night to safely transport patients.
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This response underscores the vital role of the NJEMSTF in supporting healthcare facility evacuations and complex EMS operations. Leveraging statewide coordination, specialized resources, and a proven evacuation framework, the Task Force remains committed to protecting New Jersey’s most vulnerable populations during critical incidents.

Read the full article on NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS

or the next week, your social media feeds will be filled with messages about EMS Week and honoring our profession. That’s a good thing.While it’s essential to bring attention to our work to the general public, there’s not a day that goes by that I, the board of directors, and the leadership don’t consider ourselves privileged to be surrounded by you, our NJ EMS Task Force family.

Two decades after a small group of us got together to discuss a vision for the NJ EMS Task Force, you all have made it a reality – a reality far beyond anything we envisioned at the time.

The organization has changed, grown, and evolved in ways none of us could have predicted when we began. Back then, we were focused on preparing for the big one — the next 9/11. Now, we are truly a full-scale, multi-dimensional emergency response organization that can handle anything, from floods and fires to pandemics and helping hospitals avoid evacuations by providing plans, people, and equipment to keep their doors open.

We’re ready for the big one, but we can, and we do a whole lot more.

This year, you have been tested in every way, and your drive, determination, and dependability have propelled us ahead every time. It has become clear that if grit were currency, we’d be billionaires.

We are committed to keeping the NJ EMS Task Force moving forward. The leadership team continues to fight for you and for sustainable funding to keep this mission alive and thriving. The people of this state depend on us being there when something bad happens. You can help, too. Reach out to your state legislators and let them know how important it is for them to fund this mission. You can reach them here: https://bit.ly/42SVhXI.

Day after day, year after year, you have all shown a focused commitment to give your time to help others as part of this team. You’ve sacrificed a lot to do that. You’ve given up time at home, time with your families, and time out of your life to make New Jersey a better, safer place.

For that, all of us in leadership here are incredibly grateful for all of you and for everything you do.

Happy EMS Week,

Mike Bascom,
State Leader / Non-Profit Chairman
New Jersey Emergency Medical Services Task Force