17607_PMAA_Authority_June_2024

58 The Authority | June 2024 A uthority N ews McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority and Ross/West View Emergency Medical Services Authority awarded Highest Honor for National Accreditation The Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) has announced that the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority (MCFPAA) and Ross/ West View Emergency Medical Services Authority (RWVEMSA) have both earned national accreditation through CAAS. Currently there are over 14,000 EMS agencies in the United States with 182 EMS agencies meet the CAAS accreditation standards, “The Gold Standard of the Ambulance Industry”. The number just increased by two for the neighboring EMS agencies located in Northern Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Over the past month CAAS inspectors have spent numerous hours at each EMS agency. As part of the CAAS inspection, the reviewers focused on patients receiving cutting edge medical care, response times, efficient management practices, safety, and educational training for continuous quality improvement. CAAS reviewers also worked directly with the EMS agencies medical directors Dr. Alan Shapiro and Dr. Adam Frisch from UPMC, and Dr. Chad Nesbitt from AGH. Both MFPAA and RWVEMSA have met the CAAS standards of excellence. The initial submission for CAAS had over 1,200 documents for review. The CAAS on-site inspection had a checklist of 1,000 items. The application and the review process took over one year to complete. “The process to become CAAS accredited is lengthy. It became apparent early on that the staff was excited to participate and took ownership of different tasks throughout the course of the year and during inspection. Our entire staff and board of directors want to show the residents and businesses that we are making every effort to provide the highest level of prehospital care for the communities we serve,” stated Greg Porter Executive Director of Ross/West View EMSA. Both MCFPAA and RWVEMSA were thankful for a small grant provided by the Allegheny County EMS council which was used to fund part of the organization and development of the CAAS application and submission. S