Kent Shutt is a MEMSA member working in Odessa and Kansas City.  Shutt got his EMT license in 1989 and his paramedic license in 1991.  Back then Shutt says MEMSA’s role in Missouri EMS didn’t particularly mean much to him – he was new and besides passing his practical tests, which MEMSA had some involvement in, his attention was primarily on starting his new career.  Eighteen years later, Kent says his outlook on MEMSA has changed quite a bit, partly because he’s much more involved in his industry now and because his initial incorrect impression of MEMSA was corrected a few years ago.

“When you’re new in the EMS world, you’re not focused on the bigger picture of how the industry works and why,” says Shutt.  “In the early days of my career, I didn’t see or didn’t know to see a distinction between MEMSA and the state bureau of EMS.  They just appeared to be one in the same.”

Now a flight paramedic with LifeFlight Eagle as well as a sheriff in Lafayette County, Missouri, MEMSA’s role in Missouri EMS naturally became more important to Shutt and more apparent due to his interaction with the organization.

“It’s been a while since we’ve focused on the basics of who we are and what we do,” says Ruby Mehrer, past MEMSA president and director of business affairs at LifeFlight Eagle.  “As new professionals continuously come into the Missouri EMS system, it’s important to be sure they understand why we are here for them. 

It was Shutt’s ability to interact as a manager with Ruby Mehrer at LifeFlight Eagle that gave him a much clearer understanding of MEMSA’s role in Missouri EMS.  It was also an eye opener in 2004 – 05 to see MEMSA lobbying for Missouri EMT’s and paramedics when the state considered imposing licensing fees.  MEMSA worked hard to determine if the fees were necessary and, if imposed, fair.  Ultimately the legislative efforts to establish licensing fees failed, saving many thousands of dollars for EMS professionals.

A bit of history:  MEMSA began in 1983 as the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Alliance.  Its predecessor, the Central Missouri Emergency Medical Services Regional Council (CMEMS), was made extinct in 1982 when the federal government changed how it funded grants.  Block grants became the norm, where states receive money from the federal government to be issued to various organizations according to certain guidelines.  MEMSA’s corporate structure as a 501 (C) 4 nonprofit organization allowed for better organization and lobbying in order to obtain funds for Missouri EMS needs.

The first issue of CODE 3 was issued on June 22, 1983 and by 1985 MEMSA had over 1100 individual and 150 organizational members, with regional seminars and annual meetings at the Lake of the Ozarks.  The annual Combined Clinical Conference held each year was originally a MEMSA sponsored conference.  Later the Missouri EMT Association and the Missouri Ambulance Association joined MEMSA, which changed the last word in MEMSA’s name to the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association.

Specifically, MEMSA is not a government agency, but rather a stand-alone nonprofit organization.  MEMSA’s volunteer board of directors is made of fifteen people who manage seven regions in Missouri. 

What may cause some EMS professionals to perceive that MEMSA is a governmental organization, as Shutt did originally, is the fact that MEMSA has had involvement with the practical EMT and paramedic exams for the state of Missouri – at first coordinating fees and expenses related to the testing process and later the State Bureau of EMS authorized MEMSA to administer exams on its behalf.

“This may be giving MEMSA a ‘governmental flavor’”, says Mehrer.  “It’s fair to say that over the years MEMSA hasn’t done a lot to make the proper distinctions between our organization, its services to EMS professionals and the State Unit  of EMS.”

In reality, MEMSA provides leadership and lobbying for legislative issues as well as education, training, testing and news and information.  In effect, MEMSA exists to act as the voice, ally and advocate for EMS pre-hospital professionals across Missouri.  The goals are to be sure that patient care is appropriately addressed in the state of Missouri and to enhance the EMS industry for the professionals in it.

Mehrer says that MEMSA plans to work harder in communicating the value the organization brings to EMS professionals.   The new and improved website, www.memsa.org, is helping to raise the level of awareness by providing consistent information on legislative issues, testing, membership and insurance, industry opportunities, networking and more.

“We’re also hoping for more feedback and communication from EMS professionals all over the state,” Mehrer says.  “It is tremendously helpful when people keep in touch with their local or regional representatives and legislative issues and report back to us so we can be involved where necessary.  Questions and concerns are always welcome – we want Missouri EMS professionals to see MEMSA as their advocate and resource.”

Shutt says he believes it is very important to be a member of MEMSA. 

“As a dues paying member I believe it’s important to support the one association in the state that supports my industry,” Shutt says.  “For nothing more than a $25 annual fee, MEMSA’s value is found in its lobbying efforts on my behalf, in its efforts to maintain a network of EMS professionals, in the ICE and Combined Clinical Conferences it sponsors and in its commitment to educating instructors.  It’s well worth it.”

For more information contact the MEMSA office at 573-761-9911 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it