The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) announced today that its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Branch has been named the 2026 National State EMS Office / Agency of the Year by the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials.

This national recognition honors Hawaiʻi’s leadership in advancing innovative, community-centered emergency medical care and reflects the collective efforts of EMS personnel, healthcare providers, public health professionals and partners statewide.

Over the past year, Hawaiʻi EMS has been driving a significant transformation from a traditional emergency response model to a comprehensive Emergency Medical Systems of Care approach. This shift emphasizes community-based care, prevention and addressing the root causes of 911 system utilization. Under the leadership of recently appointed DOH State Chief of Emergency Medical Services Garrett D. Hall, the EMS Branch has accelerated efforts to modernize and better align emergency care across the state. His leadership has strengthened system integration, advanced data-driven decision-making and expanded cross-sector collaboration to support Hawaiʻi’s evolving healthcare landscape.

Key initiatives contributing to this recognition include the expansion of mobile integrated health and community paramedicine programs, as well as the development of the Emergency Medical Services transformation into Community Anchored Rural EcoSystems of Care (EMS CARES) initiatives. These efforts are supported through the DOH Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program and the Rural Infrastructure for Care Access (RICA) initiative, helping bring healthcare services directly into communities across the islands.

The DOH is also advancing landmark legislation to modernize EMS into a statewide systems-of-care model. Once enacted, the EMS branch will transition into the Emergency Medical Services Systems of Care Branch, encompassing EMS systems, acute care systems such as trauma, stroke, cardiac, pediatric and burn care, injury prevention and healthcare preparedness.