May 15, 2004 - At their March 29^th, 2004, meeting, the CAAS Panel of Commissioners granted accreditation to twenty agencies. Monmouth Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) of Eatontown, New Jersey, became the first CAAS-accredited agency in the state of New Jersey, and Apex Emergency Medical Service, Inc., became the sixth agency to accredit in the state of North Carolina.

Reaccrediting agencies included Trans Am Ambulance Services, Inc., of Olean, New York; Professional Med Team, Inc. of Muskegon, Michigan; American Medical Response of Las Vegas; National Emergency Medical Services, Inc., of Conyers, Georgia; Life EMS Ambulance, Inc., of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Life EMS of Kalamazoo, Inc., of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Life EMS of Lansing, LLC, of Lansing, Michigan; Life EMS of Ionia, Inc., of Ionia, Michigan; Life EMS of Newaygo County, Inc., of Fremont, Michigan; Life EMS of Lake County, Inc., of Fremont, Michigan; Eagle County Ambulance District of Edwards, Colorado; Plano Fire Rescue of Plano, Texas; Huron Valley Ambulance of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Lenawee Community Ambulance, of Adrian/Tecumseh, Michigan; Jackson Community Ambulance of Jackson, Michigan; Albion Community Ambulance of Albion, Michigan; MEDIC EMS, of Davenport, Iowa. F-M Ambulance Service, Inc., of Fargo, North Dakota, moved to a full three-year accreditation. There are currently 89 CAAS-accredited agencies in 29 states across the country with over 130 agencies now working on new applications in the U.S. and Canada.

Agencies wishing to learn more about the benefits of CAAS accreditation may register on-line at www.caas.org for the next CAAS Accreditation Seminar, scheduled for July 24^th, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Marriott Boston Copley Hotel. Agencies may also order standards from the CAAS web site or request a free copy of “What Is the Value of Ambulance Accreditation?” from staff headquarters by writing to CAAS, 1926 Waukegan Road, Suite 1, Glenview, IL 60025.