Eagle County Paramedic Services receives CAAS accreditation for 10th time

Eagle County Paramedic Services on Thursday issued the following press release on receiving CAAS accreditation for 10th time:

Eagle County Paramedic Services, which serves Eagle County with five stations from Vail to Gypsum, has received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) for its compliance with national standards of excellence. EC Paramedics is one of more than 180 ambulance services in the country to successfully complete the voluntary review process which included completion of a comprehensive application and on-site review by national experts in emergency medical services. With this achievement, EC Paramedics is one of six ambulance services to be accredited in the state of Colorado; it was one of the first to achieve accreditation in 1996.

CAAS is a non-profit organization which was established to encourage and promote quality patient care in America’s medical transportation system. The primary focus of the Commission’s standards is high-quality patient care. This is accomplished by establishing national standards which not only address the delivery of patient care, but also the ambulance service’s total operation and its relationships with other agencies, the general public and the medical community. The Commission’s standards often exceed state or local licensing requirements.

“Achieving CAAS accreditation is a lengthy, arduous process but it represents our firm commitment to our patients and community,” said Jim Bradford, COO and co-CEO of Eagle County Paramedic Services. “We continuously strive to not only achieve our goals but to surpass them; we view accreditation as another step toward excellence.”

The accreditation process includes a comprehensive self-assessment, which includes compiling documentation to support the more than 100 standards outlined by CAAS, and an independent outside review of the District. This independent process provides verification to the EC Paramedics Board of Directors, local government, the medical community and others that quality care is provided to the community. 

Eagle County Paramedic Services received a perfect score.

“Our staff has been key to our successful completion of the process. I think it gives the feeling of prestige and pride to work in an accredited ambulance service,” said Amy Gnojek, CFO and co-CEO of Eagle County Paramedic Services. “Our entire team played a valuable role in our ability to meet the Commission’s high standards. We have once again achieved accreditation but it’s only a stimulus for continued improvement.”