We are incredibly proud of UMC EMS and their dedication to being the best emergency medical services agency they can be! After a multi-year process, they have been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS).
In order to be accredited, UMC EMS needed to prove what we already knew: our EMS practices exceed federal and state standards and meet the highest standards in the industry.
There are five major steps in the CAAS accreditation process. First, a self-assessment was conducted where UMC EMS’ practices were compared to the Commission’s standards and any necessary changes were implemented. Next an application was submitted. The Commission evaluated UMC EMS’ application and conducted an off-site review, in which EMS prepared nearly 1,000 pages of documentation for. After that, an on-site review, consisting of facility, vehicle and equipment inspections, as well as observations and interviews with communications, clinical, maintenance, training and leadership staff, was conducted to verify UMC EMS met the standards. UMC EMS received perfect scores on all elements of the review!
“Leading requires the courage to evolve. Becoming a CAAS Accredited agency wasn’t easy, but it was worthwhile,” said Thomas Moore, Director of UMC Emergency Medical Services. “It demonstrates that we meet the highest professional standards while providing quality patient care to our community.”
This new accreditation is a distinction that places UMC EMS among the very highest performing EMS agencies in the world; we now enter the ranks as only 1 of 46 agencies worldwide to be a CAAS accredited agency and an International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) Accredited Center of Excellence. Way to go UMC EMS!