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Virginia’s Office of Emergency Medical Services is considering several reforms to get the agency back on track, following an audit that confirmed a deficit of $33 million and over $4 million in fraudulent charges from a former director in the department.
OEMS is currently part of the Virginia Department of Health and oversees funding and programming for Virginia’s emergency medical services. This includes purchasing and maintaining equipment and ambulances as well as training first responders. As a result of financial issues in recent years, some trauma centers have received state funding late.
Key findings in the audit revealed in a presentation on Wednesday included multi-million dollar contracts that bypassed state procurement rules by being routed through a Regional EMS Council and dedicated rescue squad funding used to cover costs for a symposium, inflated operating expenses and EMS-related technology. Seven laptops were purchased outside of procurement processes and have since been lost, the audit revealed.