Harrisburg, PA – Officials with the State of Pennsylvania Department of Health are strangely finding themselves at odds with the headquarters of the National Ski Patrol System (NSP).nThe state Department of Health is considering classifying ski patrollers in Pennsylvania along with other emergency care responders, including paramedics and other first responders, in an effort to ensure uniformity and quality of care. Officials at the Denver headquarters of the non-profit National Ski Patrol, however, argue that such a certification process would subject Pennsylvania’s 2,000 ski patrollers, most of whom are volunteers, to unnecessary regulation and drive up ski area costs. NSP asserts that its Outdoor Emergency Care certification and annual refresher training required of all ski patrollers represents the highest standard available on the slopes.

The NSP has previously dealt with similar initiatives in both Washington and Idaho, but oddly the process in Pennsylvania reportedly began when Gerit Lewisch, regional director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Region Ski Patrol, approached Joseph Schmider, director of the state’s emergency medical services bureau, about the state offering certification to patrollers. The state has already certified approximately 60 percent of the state’s ski patrollers.

The Department of Health expects to complete its revision of Pennsylvania’s emergency medical service regulations, a draft of which now runs some 142 pages long, next year.