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EMS Community Health Outreach Program (ECHO)
EMS Community Health Outreach Program (ECHO)
Our EMS Community Health Outreach Program (ECHO) empowers communities to actively engage with EMS agencies by providing training and education to trusted community organizations and providing translated materials of key EMS resources.
EMS careers in King County
Explore Roles. Build Skills. Start serving your community. Check out our career exploration toolkit, created in partnership with Northwest Center for Public Health.
Learn more about EMT and paramedic employment opportunities with King County Medic One.
Our partners
We work with emergency response organizations and trusted community partners including St. Vincent de Paul Centro Rendu, Chinese Information and Service Center and the Somali Health Board to ensure EMS provides the best possible care to all King County residents, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, culture, gender, or spoken language.
ECHO was founded with support from the University of Washington's School of Public Health.
Our approach
Discrimination, poverty and limited English proficiency (LEP) contribute to disparities in health care access and health status for King County residents. In 2024, 25.8% of King County residents were foreign-born and 31.1% of those age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home. Research shows LEP communities face distinct barriers to accessing 9-1-1 due to language and cultural differences.
ECHO uses a train-the-trainer model and teaches community organizations educational topics including:
- Calling 9-1-1
- Bystander CPR
- Fall prevention
- Mental health
- Stroke
- Hypertension
- Career opportunities
We also partner with local fire departments for fire-based pilot studies aimed at reducing inequities in access to health services and health outcomes.
