National Certs, Closer to Home

EMS personnel in rural Western New York can now attain national paramedic certifications in Jamestown, rather than having to drive two hours to classes in Buffalo. This is because the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA regional paramedic program received approval from the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the EMS Professions (CoAEMSP) in August that allows it to offer national-level courses.

The final accreditation to offer these courses will be issued following a successful CoAEMSP review six or more months from issuance of the initial approval letter. But the fact that the process has gone this far makes it likely this will happen.

Assuming all goes to plan, “This accreditation will allow us to offer better and more credible education to local EMTs and paramedics,” says Brian Wilcox, program director for the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA paramedic program. “We now have agreements in place that will allow our students to pursue degrees. The [approval] will also allow us to offer training to students in neighboring Pennsylvania, where they also have to travel long distances to attend a program.”

Because the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA  program serves rural Western New York, having national certification courses available in Jamestown as well as Buffalo won’t entirely eliminate student drive times. But the move is definitely an improvement. 

“Some in our outer rural areas may still need to drive about an hour, but a majority of our students—probably 90%—will only have to drive a half hour or less,” says Wilcox. “Distance has always been the biggest factor everybody here had to face in upgrading their EMS skills.”

Professional Education in Rural Area

The regional paramedic program was founded in 2013 to bring EMS education to the most rural areas of Western New York. 

“This regional approach brings only the best resources to students who would otherwise be traveling long distances to get the educational skills training needed to become a paramedic,” Wilcox says. 

Since 2013 the program has helped about 100 EMS personnel achieve state accreditations. “Classes are held in Olean and Jamestown, where each student has the convenience of taking the class locally and can receive the same high-quality level of education,” Wilcox says. Classes are usually held two nights a week for three hours each. 

That the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA  program lacked national accreditation limited the range of courses and certifications students could achieve through its classes. 

“Our students could achieve their critical care certifications with us,” Wilcox says, “but they couldn’t become paramedics, except in New York state.”

Opportunities for EMS Personnel

Now that the program is on its way to officially offering national-level courses, new career opportunities have opened up for people like Greg Breene. He is an EMT-B who has been working for Alstar EMS and the Clymer Volunteer Fire Department since 2017.

“Personally, I was very happy about this news, as I was already inquiring about the bridge class to get on the National Registry,” Breene says. “This will definitely make things go a lot easier and faster.

“I have also been thinking of eventually becoming a flight medic and/or an instructor,” he adds. With the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA  paramedic program now to offer national certification courses, “this will help… I will probably not need to await reciprocity from other states my company will fly in and out of. 

“As for becoming an instructor, the more experience, the better.”

Gearing Up

Today the UPMC Chautauqua @ WCA  regional paramedic program is preparing to offer national-level courses in line with its new CoAEMSP approval. 

“We’ll be delivering a more organized and streamlined program that meets the national standards and will provide equal education to other programs,” says Wilcox. “We’ll also be able to bring in more medical experts from the cities that border us on both sides to help our students become flight medics, critical care paramedics, and other nationally certified professions.”

This is great news for local EMS personnel and the communities they serve in Western New York and Western Pennsylvania. “Everyone we work with is extremely excited,” says Wilcox. “They’ve known we’ve been working on this for a while, and when the word came down that we had the letter of approval, it was very well received.” 

Sidebar: About Accreditation

Accredited paramedic programs are sponsored by colleges, universities, hospitals, clinics, medical centers, U.S. armed forces, governmental educational or medical services, and by consortia. Programs can vary in length and must include an appropriate sequence of classroom, laboratory, hospital, and field internship activities.

If a program is seeking accreditation with a sponsor that is a post-secondary academic institution, the sponsor needs to be accredited by a regional or national institutional accrediting agency (or equivalent) that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

At the National Association of State EMS Officials’ 2010 Annual Meeting, NASEMSO membership voted to support CAAHEP (the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs) as the national EMS programmatic accreditor.

In related action, the NREMT announced eligibility requirements for paramedic testing based on graduation from a nationally accredited EMS program, which went into effect in 2013. The review of programs seeking accreditation is based on the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines for Educational Programs in the Emergency Medical Services Professions.

—Source: www.coaemsp.org 

James Careless a freelance writer and frequent contributor to EMS World.