Senate committee hears plan to improve EMS response to people with Alzheimer’s; sponsor seeks nonlegislative pathway for training and protocol adoption

Senator Sue Prentiss introduced Senate Bill 202, which seeks to improve emergency medical services’ interactions with people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The sponsor described a collaborative approach that would use existing state infrastructure instead of imposing a new statewide, legislatively mandated training requirement for EMS providers.

Prentiss said the original proposal had sought a minimum biannual, one-hour training for EMS professionals but that New Hampshire’s system already relies on the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and state medical-control and coordinating boards to set clinical protocols and continuing-education expectations. She proposed three steps: (1) use existing infrastructure (the medical-control board and the Emergency Medical Services Coordinating Board) to consider and adopt a medical operational protocol for Alzheimer’s-related emergency response; (2) add an EMS representative to the Department of Health and Human Services Alzheimer’s Disease subcommittee (RSA 126-A:15-a) so EMS and law enforcement would both have seats at the table; and (3) pursue education through the board and protocol-adoption process rather than a statutory training mandate.

Jenny Horgan of the Alzheimer’s Association and other advocates described the scale of Alzheimer’s in New Hampshire and the types of behaviors first responders encounter: confusion, agitation, uncooperative reactions, and occasional aggression. They said the policy intent is to reduce distress by improving communication and de-escalation options for EMS professionals.

Prentiss outlined a planned next step to present the proposal to the EMS medical-control board on March 20 to seek placement on the board’s docket for a possible medical operational protocol; she said protocols typically carry associated educational rollouts, which would allow the state to implement practice changes without imposing a new statutory education mandate.

Megan Wentworth, who testified in support, described on-the-ground encounters in memory-care settings where EMS presence can escalate patient distress and said training and protocol changes help responders use nonpharmacologic de-escalation strategies. The sponsor and witnesses emphasized collaboration with EMS leadership and the National Registry rather than an unfunded legislative training requirement.

The committee moved SB 202 out with an ought-to-pass recommendation by consent.

Ending: Sponsors and advocates framed SB 202 as a practical path to improve EMS care for people living with dementia by adding EMS input to the Alzheimer’s subcommittee and using existing EMS control-board channels to develop protocols and associated training, rather than imposing a standalone, statutory training requirement.