Central Shenandoah EMS Council (CSEMS) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit corporation which provides regional EMS planning and technical support services and American Heart Association First Aid, CPR and AED training to its five cities and five counties, eleven towns and many public agencies within it boundary. Localities served by the Council include: the cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro and the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Rockbridge and Rockingham. The region mirrors the boundaries of Virginia’s Sixth Planning District which covers a geographic area of 3,439 square miles with a population of over 278,000. This makes the region the Commonwealth’s largest planning district, geographically speaking, and fifth largest in terms of population. The 65 member EMS agencies are a mix of non-profit, government and private, for-profit services with a mixture of both paid and volunteer staff. Council funding is largely based upon a contract with the Virginia Department of Health’s Virginia Office of EMS for those services provided to the region that fall within their statewide plan and role. Other funding comes from the Council’s American Heart Association Community Training Center which provides First Aid, CPR and AED training to the local community as well as oversight of a large AHA CPR Instructor based which stretches from the Northern Shenandoah Valley to Roanoke and Danville in the south and over the mountain into Albemarle, Charlottesville, Green and Madison counties. Established in 1979, the Council has provide facilitation for regional planning and implementation of the regional EMS system in the Central Shenandoah Valley for over 38 years.