Basic Life Support (BLS) is the level of pre-hospital medical care provided by Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) which is used for victims of potentially life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be cared for by an advanced provider or delivered to the care of a hospital. BLS skills include basic management of a patient’s breathing and airway, control of bleeding, management of fractures and spinal injuries, CPR, and assessment of vital signs to name a few. In the ALSTAR EMS system BLS providers are teamed with an advanced provider on an ambulance. They assist the advanced provider in caring for the patient, and then function as the ambulance driver. Training to become an EMT is approximately one college semester long. BLS providers are crucial to patient care. Advanced life support cannot take place until basic life support has been initiated.
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