CAAS Accredits 15 Agencies in September 2008

CAAS Panel of Commissioners grants accreditation to seven new agencies and awards re-accreditation to eight agencies

CAAS Accredits 15 Agencies

Seven ambulance agencies gained CAAS accreditation from the CAAS Panel of Commissioners during its September 2008 meeting.  They are Action Ambulance, Wilmington, Massachusetts; American Medical Response Dona Ana County, Las Cruces, New Mexico; Cetronia Ambulance Corps, Allentown, Pennsylvania; Northeast Regional Ambulance, Peabody, Massachusetts; North Ottawa Community Hospital, Grand Haven, Michigan; Siouxland Paramedics, Sioux City, Iowa; and United Ambulance Service-Bridgton Division, Bridgton, Maine.

The panel also took action and granted re-accreditation to the following eight agencies, including; Advanced Medical Transport of Central IL, Peoria, Illinois; American Medical Response, San Diego, California; Centre Lifelink EMS, State College, Pennsylvania; Derry Fire Department, Derry, New Hampshire; Doctor’s Ambulance, Laguna Hills, California; Mecklenburg EMS, Charlotte, North Carolina; Medical Transport, Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Platte Valley Ambulance, Brighton, Colorado.

The CAAS-accredited agencies appear on the CAAS Web site Google map at www.caas.org. The site also allows the viewer to ask and receive answers to frequently asked questions about accreditation, view in-depth profiles of CAAS-accredited agencies and register for CAAS seminars and events online.

There are currently 120 CAAS-accredited agencies in 36 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, Nova Scotia and Alberta, and one in Trinidad, West Indies.  More than 100 agencies are working on new applications. The CAAS Panel of Commissioners meets quarterly to consider submissions from those agencies which are seeking three-year accreditation for the first time and those seeking three-year reaccreditations. Dates for the panel meetings for the balance of 2008 are December 8.

About CAAS: The Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) was formed in 1990 as a not-for-profit agency to be a standard bearer for medical transportation systems. It is sponsored by the American Ambulance Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the National Association of EMS Physicians, the National Association of State EMS Officials, the National Association of EMTs, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, with liaison representation from The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Accreditation signifies that ambulance services have met the "gold standard" determined by the ambulance industry to be essential in a modern emergency medical services provider.

For more information contact:
Sarah L. McEntee
Executive Director
Phone: (847) 657-6828
Fax: (847) 657-6825
Email: sarahm@tcag.com