Austin-Travis County EMS has personnel assigned to the Austin Center for Events (ACE) to work with you and plan resources based on your event’s needs. Our goal is to minimize or eliminate your event’s impact on our community’s 911 EMS system.

Required medical assets are based upon the specifics of the special event, the temperature, the health risks and the anticipated crowd size. Additional risk indicators include marketing, advertising, and promotion of event, location of venue, weather, and time of day/year, indoor/ outdoor, access/egress, historical perspective, call volume, and public safety intelligence. All events must have assets in place to provide for the safety and reduce the health risks of the participants and attendees should there be an illness and/or injury. The resources required for a special event are determined using the ATCEMS Resource Matrix (pdf). While staff work collaboratively with applicants to find solutions that meet their event’s needs, the EMS personnel assigned to ACE will make the final decision on required resources.

Austin-Travis County EMS provides care at the Advanced Life Support (ALS) level. Our medics working your event are capable of performing 12-lead ECG’s, starting IV lines for rehydration or medication administration, performing advanced airway control measures, etc. These medics work routinely in a busy urban 911 system and receive regular education updates to keep up with changes in standards of care.

Medical Assets

For small events with no required assets, you simply fill in the template by indicating no medical assets are needed. However, it is helpful for you to list medical assets which are available, even if they are not required. This might include a person on staff who knows first aid and/or CPR, or an AED.

The following medical assets are required depending on the type and size of your event. It is important to note that this document serves as a guide and ATCEMS may require additional information and/or modifications to these assets on a case by case basis.

  • 9-1-1 Access - Event staff and/or safety personnel must have the capability to directly notify 9-1-1 via telephone in the event of any medical emergency. Knowledge of Take 10 CPR and access to an AED is highly recommended and preferred.

  • First Aid Stations - ATCEMS requires at least one staffed Basic Life Support (BLS) First Aid Station for many events with crowd expectations of 5,000 or greater (please consult the matrix to identify which events qualify). The plan should indicate who will provide medical staffing of the First Aid Stations. Examples of a Medical First Aid Station are a tent, a clinic, or vehicle of some type (this does not include transport vehicles such as an ambulances). The First Aid station must have 9-1-1 communications capability. The location of the first aid station must be clearly marked on any event map and the medical plan. It is expected that First Aid Stations will have adequate supplies (in accordance with any applicable regulatory requirements) to address the size and nature of the event.

  • ALS Ambulance - An ALS Ambulance provided by Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

  • Mobile Teams - Mobile teams consist of two or more personnel, one of whom must be an EMT or higher level provider (i.e. Paramedic, Registered Nurse, etc.) with treatment supplies necessary for the provider’s skill level, and communications capability with at least the Aid Stations at the event. The use Medical Bike Teams, Polaris Rangers, Golf Carts, or Foot Teams are all recommended options.

Using Non Austin-Travis County EMS Assets

By City Charter, only Austin-Travis County EMS can provide transportation away from the scene – you cannot hire a private ambulance service to complete any transports. However, you might be allowed to  contract with a private medical provider to provide on-site medical/First Aid care. Examples of this include: Finish Line Medical Tents, On-site First Aid Stations, etc. Austin-Travis County EMS maintains a collaborative relationship with most local private EMS Standby providers in order to seamlessly integrate the care your attendees receive.  

Based on the specifics of your event, you might be required to only use Austin-Travis County EMS resources. 

Non Austin-Travis County EMS Medical Asset REQUIRED Information

  • The number of first-aid personnel and times that first-aid will be available.

  • A description of the level of care that can be provided (e.g. ALS or BLS).

  • A description of the level of certification each provider holds.

  • The number of personnel scheduled per shift and the hours for each shift, if there is more than one start or end time for first aid personnel.

  • The location of each fixed first-aid tents and the number of personnel staffing each location.

  • The number of mobile first-aid teams and the number of personnel staffing each team.

  • The number of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) that will be present at each first-aid location (fixed and mobile).

  • A written plan to contact Austin-Travis County EMS for offsite transport needs (e.g. 9-1-1 or through the command post).

The final EMS information must be submitted to ACE-EMS at least 7 days before the event begins.

EMS Follow Up Report

Within 30 days from the end of an event, an event organizer must provide the following information to ACE-EMS on a form provided by ACE-EMS:

  • The number of patients evaluated.

  • The primary complaint of each patient (e.g. chest pain or injury).

  • The number of patients transported to the hospital via EMS.

  • The number of patients referred to further care that were not located at a hospital.

An event organizer shall not include patient identifying information (e.g. name, home address, or social security number).

For more information, please email ATCEMS.SpecialEvents@austintexas.gov or call 512-972-1044.