CAAS Announces Its Fall 2006 Accreditation Seminar:
Prepare for Accreditation Using the Revised CAAS Standards

October 3, 2006
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Caribe Royale All-Suites Resort
Orlando, Florida
Hotel Reservations: 1-800-823-8300

Scheduled Presenters:
Chief Will Chapleau, III, EMT-P, RN, TNS, Presenter
Sarah McEntee, BS, NREMT-P, Presenter

Learn How To:

• Plan and budget for accreditation
• Motivate staff for accreditation
• Prepare your application
• Develop application documentation
  

Course Description

This full-day seminar is the ideal forum to assist you in planning for your accreditation or re-accreditation using the CAAS Gold Standards. It will provide an overview of the application process and clearly define what can be expected throughout. Faculty will address the benefits of accreditation and identify ways in which you can maximize your market position as a result. The interactive format provides an opportunity to ask and receive expert answers to all your most important accreditation questions from an experienced on-site reviewer. Course books and materials are provided as part of the registration fee.

Who Should Attend

CAAS accreditation is open to all private, public, fire-based, inter-facility, volunteer, or hospital-based agencies providing ground medical transport. The practical information provided in this course will save countless hours of time, answer questions, and assist managers, QI supervisors, or other designated accreditation coordinators to plan and execute an effective accreditation program within their own agency.

How to Register and for More Information

The fee to attend the seminar is $295 (and $275 for each additional attendee).

Please note that the registration fee includes all course materials as well as a copy of the CAAS Standards and CAAS Application - a $125 value.

To register, print and complete the  CAAS October Seminar Registration Form and fax it back to CAAS.

For more information on the CAAS Seminar (hotel address, hotel phone number, conference hotel room rate and registration deadline, etc.), please contact Marcie McGlynn at CAAS Headquarters (847) 657-6828, Ext. 3016 or email Marcie.

Hotel Reservations

The CAAS seminar is being held in conjunction with the American Ambulance Association’s Annual Convention and Trade Show at the Caribe Royale Resort located at 8101 World Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32821. The hotel reservation number is 1-800-823-8300. For information on the AAA Conference and fees, please call 1-800-523-4447 or visit www.the-aaa.org.  Please note: You do not have to attend the AAA Conference to attend the CAAS Seminar.

Transportation

The Caribe Royale Resort is located about 15 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO). A taxi ride to the hotel will cost approximately $50 one way. Mears shuttle service is also available in the lower level of the airport to take guests to and from the hotel. Shuttle costs are $18 one-way; $30 roundtrip. Contact Mears for reservations at (407) 423-5566.

Special Offer to All Seminar Attendees

All seminar attendees will be entered in a drawing to win a new Apple iPod Shuffle. 

About the Course Faculty

Will Chapleau, III, EMT-P, RN, TNS, has been a paramedic for 30 years and a trauma nurse specialist for 17 years.  During his career, he has worked on ambulances, in trauma centers, and has been an EMS educator for more than 20 years. He currently serves as Chief of Chicago Heights Fire Department and is on the Board of Directors of the National Association of EMTs, the National Association of EMS Educators, and the Society of Trauma Nurses. Chief Chapleau has published numerous texts and journal articles and has lectured all over North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has been an active site reviewer for over ten years.

Sarah McEntee, BS, NREMT-P, the current Helpline Manager for CAAS, is the former Program Director for the New England EMS Institute in Manchester, NH, where she was responsible for the management and direction of three concurrent CAAHEP-accredited paramedic programs. Prior to her work with NEEMSI, Sarah worked for more than ten years with Rockingham Regional Ambulance, New Hampshire’s largest pre-hospital provider. While at Rockingham, Sarah served as Field Supervisor and Accreditation and Quality Assurance Coordinator, assisting Rockingham to become the first CAAS-accredited service in the state. A career paramedic since 1989, Sarah has over 14 years of clinical and leadership experience with hospital- based, private, and municipal EMS systems, is an active CAAS site reviewer, and is a frequent presenter at the CAAS accreditation seminars.

What the Seminar Will Cover

I. Introduction:
Welcome / Seminar Objectives / Introduction of Faculty / Brief History of CAAS / CAAS Organization / Five Reasons Why an Ambulance Service Should Be Accredited / Types and Sizes of CAAS Accredited Ambulance Services / Process vs. Outcome - "What Do Standards Measure?"

II. Overcoming the Challenges to Becoming Accredited:
Thumbnail Sketch of Application Process / Organizational and Administrative Readiness for the Application Process / Application Fees and the Real Cost of Preparation / Alternative Methods of Funding for Not-for-Profit Services / Policies, Procedures and Documentation - "Walking the talk"/ Organizing to Complete the Application / Organization and Distribution of Policy and Procedures Manuals / Getting Organizational Buy-in to the Accreditation Process - "What's in it for me?" / Audience Questions

III. CAAS Standards Pertaining to Clinical Operations:
Communicating with Field Staff - Training, Orientation, Documentation / Clinical Standards / Other Standards of Operations / Equipment & Facilities / Audience Questions

IV. CAAS Standards Pertaining to Human Resources, Communications, and Inter-Agency Relations:
Challenges of Accreditation with a Union Work Force / Personnel and the Personnel Process / Inter-agency Relations / Communications / Avoiding the Pitfalls - Seek legal review of personnel policies / Audience Questions

V. CAAS Standards for Boards, Managers, and PR:
Formalizing What Management Does - It's probably in your head / Organizations - Knowing who you are / Management - Knowing where you want to go / Financial Management - Finding the resources to get you there / Community Relations and Public Information - Putting your best foot forward / Audience Questions

VI. Now That the Application Is with CAAS:
What Happens to Your Box Loads of CAAS Application Forms and Documentation? / Anxieties of a Site Review - Understanding the Process Works Better Than Taking a Valium / Preparing Recommendations for the CAAS Commissioners / The Commission's Possible Outcomes for Your Ambulance Service

VII. Appeals, Maintaining a Three-Year Accreditation, Significant Organizational Changes:
Steps Which Can Be Taken to Appeal Office or Site Reviewer Recommendations / What Does a "Provisional" Accreditation Mean and How Can "Full" Accreditation Be Gained? / Steps Necessary to Maintain a Three-Year Accreditation / What Is Involved with Re-Accreditation? / What Happens When Significant Organizational Change Occurs - Purchases, Mergers, Expansion, New CEO, etc?

VIII. Celebrating Success:
Celebrating with Your Employees / Featuring Your Company in the Media / Promoting Accreditation in Your Community / Five Ways to Kick Back and Enjoy the Moment

IX. Wrapping It Up- Faculty and Audience:
Written Evaluations and Audience Questions

What Previous Seminar Attendees Have Said

"I gained a lot of information and feel confident that we can & should be accredited."
-Attendee (Atlanta)

"Great presentation. This application will assist organizations in becoming quality systems."
-Attendee (Weston)

"Informative, a must if you are planning to be accredited."
-Attendee (Atlanta)