Latest CAAS Accreditations Include First in Canada - November 04

At their September 28th, 2004, meeting, the CAAS Panel of Commissioners granted accreditation to EMC Emergency Medical Care Inc. of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.

November 15, 2004 -  At their September 28th, 2004, meeting, the CAAS Panel of Commissioners granted accreditation to EMC Emergency Medical Care Inc. of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Covering the entire Province of Nova Scotia, EMC Inc. is a subsidiary of Atlantic Blue Cross Care, a leading provider of health benefits in Atlantic Canada. EMC Inc. manages a high performance ambulance service for Nova Scotians under a long-term contract with Emergency Health Services. Together, EMC and Emergency Health Services ensure coordinated and integrated services and professional delivery of paramedic services throughout the Province. The agency manages 62 paramedic base locations plus field posts throughout the province, operates and maintains a fleet of 157 vehicles and employs over 900 personnel. Speaking at the agency’s November 3rd accreditation celebration in Halifax, CAAS Executive Director Meredith Hellestrae noted, “EMC, Inc. is to be congratulated for an incredibly strong performance throughout the accreditation process. It is amazing that an agency covering such a wide geographic area can provide the exact same management, service, and care to each.”

East Baton Rouge Parish Department of EMS, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also received CAAS accreditation in September. An outstanding ambulance provider, East Baton Rouge Parish EMS recently received the National Association of EMTs’ 2004 EMT Paramedic Emergency Medical Service of the Year award at EMS EXPO in Atlanta. East Baton Rouge Parish EMS is the only agency to have won this honor twice, the first time in 1995.

Medshore Ambulance Service of Anderson, South Carolina; Rural/Metro, MedStar of Ft. Worth, Texas; Medical Transport of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Oak Park Fire Department of Oak Park, Illinois all received three-year reaccreditations from the Commission in September, as well. The latest accreditations bring the total number of CAAS-accredited agencies in North America to 94 with well over 130 additional agencies currently working on applications.