CAAS Awards Accreditation to 11 Agencies in February
Includes 4 New Agencies

Four new ambulance services were granted accreditation by the CAAS Panel of Commissioners at its February 22, 2010, meeting.  Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department (Wisconsin Rapids, WI); Humboldt General Hospital EMS (Winnemucca, NV); East Texas Medical Center (Tyler, TX) and Leon County EMS (Tallahassee, FL) were all granted CAAS accreditation by the Panel.

In addition, seven other agnecies were granted re-accreditation by the Panel: Professional Med Team (Muskegon, MI); MONOC (Neptune, NJ); AMR Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV); Huron Valley Ambulance (Ann Arbor, MI); LifeNet (Texarkana, TX); AMR Northwest (Portland, OR) and Life EMS (Grand Rapids, MI).

Please take a moment to reach out and congratulate these agencies on their successful accreditations.

CAAS Rolls Out Education Programs to Support Standards v3.0 Release
New Online Webinar Series to Complement In-Person Seminar

With the release of the new standards, CAAS will offer new educational opportunities to prepare applicant and re-accrediting agencies for submission using the new v3.0 standards.

CAAS Launches *New* Accreditation Webinar Series

Four-part Webinar Series begins March 31, 2010
This four-part webinar series is the newest CAAS educational program designed to assist you in planning for your accreditation or re-accreditation using the CAAS Gold Standards. The program consists of FOUR 60-90 minute live online sessions.  It provides an overview of the application process and clearly defines what can be expected throughout. Faculty address the benefits of accreditation and identify ways in which you can increase operational and clinical performance, reduce risk and liability and maximize your market position as a result. The online format provides you the opportunity to participate without leaving your office.  Each of the four live sessions are recorded, allowing registered attendees access to the archived sessions as early as 24 hours after the live event.  Watch a missed session, or share the recorded sessions with other members of your agency involved in the CAAS process.

The series consists of four 60-90 minute sessions over two weeks.   Live sessions are scheduled for:

Session 1- March 31, 2010
Session 2- April 1, 2010
Session 3- April 5, 2010
Session 4- April 7, 2010

All Sessions begin at 11am Pacific-- 12 pm Mountain-- 1pm Central-- 2pm Eastern

The registration fee for the online series is $325.  Registration fee includes live access with opportunity to particpate in question and answer forums.  In addition, registered attendees recieve free bonus materials including sample documents, the CAAS Standards Guide (a $25 value), the CAAS Application Package (a $100 value) and access to the recorded CAAS Accreditation Webinar series (a $225 value), so you can share your learning experience with your staff after the series is over.  To assist CAAS in planning and preparation, please register before March 24, 2010.  Early registration is encouraged as class size will be limited. Fill out the Webinar Series Registration Form. 

Confirmation details, materials and login information will be distributed to registered attendees via email prior to the first session.

Next CAAS In-Person Seminar Is Fast Approaching - Register Now

CAAS Accrediation Seminar April 19, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV
This full-day seminar held in conjunction with the American Ambulance Association Regional Workshop is the ideal forum to assist you in planning for your accreditation or re-accreditation using the CAAS Gold Standards. It  provides an overview of the application process and clearly defines what can be expected throughout. Faculty address the benefits of accreditation and identify ways in which you can increase operational and clinical performance, reduce risk and liability and maximize your market position as a result. The interactive format provides an opportunity to share ideas and best practices, and receive expert answers to all your most important accreditation questions.  Course books and materials are provided as part of the registration fee.

Registration fees are $425 for a single registration or $375 each for multiple registrations from the same company. Registration fee includes course materials (CAAS standards and application), continental breakfast, and coffee breaks. Lunch is on your own. In addition, attendees will also recieve free bonus materials, including: sample documents, the CAAS Standards Guide (a $25 value), the CAAS Application Package (a $100 value) and access to our new online CAAS Accreditation Webinar series (a $225 value), so you can  review program materials after the seminar, and share your learning experience with your staff. 

To assist CAAS in planning and preparation, please register before March 26, 2010.  Early registration is encouraged as class size will be limited. Fill out the Seminar Registration Form.

CAAS Continues to Grow Despite Challenging Economic Times 

As of  March 2010, CAAS continues to grow, with 134 accredited agencies representing 38 US states, Canada and the West Indies.  CAAS accredited agencies report that during times of economic challenge, becoming nationally accredited is more important than ever before. Agencies indicate that the value in obtaining and maintaining accreditation is: increased operational, financial and clinical performance and decreased risk and liability. Agencies report fewer employee injuries, fewer clinical errors, reduced occurance of vehicle accidents and reduced patient-related incidents that could expose the agnecy to liability.

Release of Standards v3.0 Complete

The distribution of the new CAAS standards v3.0 is complete.  All applicant and accredited agencies should have received v3.0 standard packets in December 2009.  If you did not recieve a standards package from CAAS, please contact the office right away.  All agencies will be required to submit applications using v3.0 after December 31, 2010.

CAAS Board of Directors and Respective Roles Finalized at Annual Meeting

The CAAS Board of Directors held its annual meeting this past January in Phoenix, Arizona.  Joe Penner (AAA), Randy Howell (IAFC) and Dr. Jim Cusick (ACEP) were reappointed to the board for another term. In addition, Jon Howell (AAA) was re-elected board Chair, Randy Howell was re-elected Vice-Chair, Joe Penner was re-elected Treasurer and Fergus Laughridge (NASEMSO) was re-elected Secretary.  Completing existing terms are: Mark Postma (AAA), Dr. Ed Racht (NAEMSP), Mark Meijer (AAA) and Patrick Moore (NAEMT). Susan McHenry continues to serve as board liasion for NHTSA. 

Watch Your Inbox - Time to Complete Your CAAS 2009 Annual Agency Report

Over the next two weeks CAAS will begin distributing the CAAS Agency Report form.  This mandatory reporting form will be distributed electronically to the CAAS coordinator listed for each accredited agency by April 1, 2010.  Agencies are required to complete the report in its entirety and submit it to CAAS no later than Friday, April 16, 2010.  Completion of this report is mandatory and vital to maintaining your accreditation status, so complete and return your report right away!

If you do not recieve your electronic link via e-mail by April 1, please contact the office at 847-657-6828.