Senator Collins’ Bipartisan SIREN Reauthorization Act Signed into Law

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, announced that her bipartisan Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Reauthorization Act, which she co-authored with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), has been signed into law. The legislation will extend funding for five additional years for SIREN Act grants to rural fire and EMS agencies nationwide. This funding from the the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) supports rural EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting certification courses, and purchasing equipment, including naloxone to address the opioid overdose epidemic.

“It is vital that Americans who live in rural parts of Maine and across the country have access to lifesaving emergency medical services, which is why I have long advocated for funding to support access to quality rural health care,” said Senator Collins. “I thank my colleagues for supporting this critical bipartisan legislation that will help to alleviate staffing shortages, upgrade training and equipment, and ultimately boost response times when seconds count. This program will continue to make a real difference for recruiting and retaining EMS personnel in Maine’s rural communities.”

The bipartisan SIREN Act was initially signed into law in 2018 as part of the Farm Bill. Since then, Senators Collins and Durbin have led the appropriations effort to grow the program from $5 million annually to $11.5 million this year, resulting in a total of $40 million in grants nationwide to 42 states. The SIREN Act has resulted in new funds to rural EMS/fire agencies in Maine, most recently for the Brooks Ambulance Service, MaineHealth, the Northern Oxford Regional Ambulance Service, and the United Ambulance Service.

A decline in primary care and hospital service availability, workforce shortages exacerbated by the pandemic, great distances between health care facilities, and low insurance reimbursement for transport and emergency treatment have all strained rural EMS agencies. At the same time, EMS agencies today are tasked with ever-greater responsibilities— preparing for natural and manmade disasters and bioterror threats, supporting the chronic and emergency care needs of an aging population, and responding on the front lines of the opioid epidemic.  These first responders are often the only health care providers in their area and face difficulty in personnel recruitment and retention, and securing expensive equipment.

The SIREN Reauthorization Act is endorsed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Rural Health Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and National Fire Protection Association.

The complete text of the legislation can be read here.

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