American Ambulance Celebrates being Accredited
Oct. 09--SOMERSWORTH -- American Ambulance, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider for Somersworth, Berwick, Kittery and Eliot Maine, celebrated a milestone that's been more than a year in the making.
They received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) after meeting 169 standards. CAAS bestowed the honor following an intensive examination of business practices.
American's Operations Manager, Scott Schuler said this makes it the only agency in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts to earn certification in all three states.
At a ceremony Tuesday, Mayor Dana Hilliard joined with Berwick, Maine Town Manager Patrick Venne in unveiling the new seal on the side of one of American's fleet of ambulances. Hilliard is proud of the accreditation and that Somersworth is its home base.
"You have just been amazing practitioners, amazing partners and great friends since you opened your doors and that first ambulance rolled into the bay," Hilliard said. "And I want to say how truly blessed we are as a community to have you here."
Berwick Town Manager Patrick Venne says they are very, very pleasant to work with and have been professional from day one.
"We haven't had any complaints about response time; we haven't had any complaints from our first responders. In terms of working with these folks, they stop by town every now and then just to check in. They keep their ear to the street to see what they can do to improve," Venne said.
The accreditation follows a yearlong application process that's valid for three years. Accreditation Coordinator Christopher Gamache had to complete thousands of documents, submitting everything from manuals to policies to procedures.
"We started in April of last year and submitted in March, then resubmitted about 20 documents completing the process in April," Gamache said.
They look at every aspect of the organization, "day-to-day operations, how we ensure the trucks are safe, and the equipment is safe. We have certain things that we have to do to make sure that people aren't tampering with stuff. When we use a needle on a person we need to be sure that needle is safe," Gamache said.
In addition to the recognition accreditation brings the CAAS certification means American can network with other agencies around the country, gaining access to the latest training and equipment methods, recommendations and standards.
Schuler pointed out that ambulance design has not changed in three decades, but a company cannot simply change it.
"We're overdue for that design change but you can't simply go out and make it, there needs to be an industry standard," Schuler said.
American Ambulance is also looking to begin a new outreach effort aimed at reducing the rate that chronically ill patients are readmitted to the hospital. State Senator David Watters worked with American and the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services to facilitate this new service.
"They are now prepared to provide services for people who have been released from hospital care and they can now potentially do the follow up to make sure people are taking their medication, getting to their doctor's appointments and to avoid unneeded trips to the emergency room," Watters said. "In terms of cost savings in the future and providing another transitional layer of service it will save a lot of money."
American also provides hospital-to-hospital care for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and York Hospital along with a number of skilled nursing and correctional facilities in the area.
Copyright 2014 - Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.
