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Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs
for the Emergency Medical Services Professions



___________________

UPCOMING EVENTS

NOVEMBER 2
CoAEMSP Quarterly Board Meeting,
Teleconference

NOVEMBER 16
CAAHEP Board of Directors Meeting,
Teleconference

DECEMBER 1
Annual Reports Due

Response to Site Visit Findings Due

Progress Reports Due

JANUARY 1, 2013
Accreditation Initiative Goes into Effect
News from the CoAEMSP 
A COMMITTEE ON ACCREDITATION OF CAAHEP

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73 Days and Counting...
Are your Potential Students at Risk?

hourglass
Students enrolling in a Paramedic program that does not hold the CoAEMSP Letter of Review or CAAHEP accreditation after January 1, 2013 will not be eligibile to sit for the National Registry exam for Paramedics. Submitting the CAAHEP Request for Accreditation Services (RAS) is NOT sufficient.

The CoAEMSP is receiving submissions of LSSRs and ISSRs daily, as well as dozens of inquiries. The fact is, MANY programs are waiting to file and either hope the CoAEMSP can turn them around quickly or the programs believe their submissions are okay.

 

With 2-5 submissions daily, the turn around time slows down.  Other causes for delay include incomplete self study reports and programs not meeting the standard for sponsorship.
  
Where do YOU begin?
  • Determine if you need to submit an ISSR for CAAHEP initial accreditation OR a LSSR for CoAEMSP Letter of Review here.
  • Read Getting Started: an Action Plan here.
  • Download the LSSR or ISSR documents here.
  • Submit a completed LSSR or ISSR ASAP with the appropriate fees. The invoice request form is available here. Complete and return it as directed to Ruth Crump, who will then create the invoice and email it to the program.
  • Have questions? Call the CoAEMSP at 214-703-8445.
Remember:
  1. Submitting the CAAHEP Request for Accreditation Services (RAS) is NOT sufficient. The RAS initiates the process but does NOT meet the criteria for submitting the LSSR or ISSR.
  2. Sponsorship MUST meet the CAAHEP Standards. If sponsorship is not in compliance, then it automatically halts the process until sponsorship is met.
  3. A complete ISSR is the ISSR documents, completed student questionnaires, fees and RAS. A complete LSSR is the LSSR documents, fees and RAS.   
2012 Annual Report Now Available!

Support is available by email and phone: Lynn Caruthers at [email protected] or 214-703-8445, ext 115.

If you are a program that is CAAHEP-accredited or holds the CoAEMSP Letter of Review (LoR), you received an email earlier this month informing you that access to the annual report is available for data entry, along with your program's user name and password. The filing deadline is December 1, 2012. (For programs that hold the LoR, the filing deadline is March 1, 2013.)

IMPORTANT NOTES TO REMEMBER:
  1. You can log in here.   
  2. Complete directions are here.  
  3. Consult the Instructions on the CoAEMSP web site here.  
  4. If you already filed a 2012 Annual Report, you must update that report and re-submit it. 
KEY POINTS TO THE ANNUAL REPORT:
  • Enrollment & Retention: continue adding enrolled classes up through December 1, 2012.
  • Survey Worksheet: Survey results for the graduates of 2011 are to be entered.
Who to Contact at CoAEMSP

contact
Have a question and wonder who would be the best person to ask? For your convenience, we've compiled a list of staff, their contact information, and their respective responsibilities. Find it here.
Congratulations!
Thirteen Paramedic Education Programs Become Accredited by CAAHEP 

During its September Board meeting, the CAAHEP Board of Directors voted to award initial accreditation to the following 13 Paramedic Programs:
  • Athens Technical College - Athens, GA
  • Blessing Hospital - Quincy IL
  • Crowder College - Neosho, MO
  • Fortis Institute - Erie PA
  • Garrett College - McHenry, MD
  • Herzing University-Birmingham - Birmingham, AL
  • Illinois Central College - East Peoria, IL
  • Lancaster General College of Nursing and Health Sciences - Lancaster, PA
  • Methodist Dallas Medical Center - Dallas, TX
  • McCook Community College / Mid-Plains Community College - McCook, NE
  • North Central Texas College - Corinth, TX
  • Northeast Wisconsin Technical College - Green Bay, WI
  • PERCOM / Kilgore College - Abilene, TX  
Number of Accredited Programs Continues to Grow

With the Accreditation Initiative just around the corner, Paramedic education programs across the country are busy working towards accreditation.

As of this posting, there are now 334 CAAHEP-accredited programs, and 50 additional programs hold the CoAEMSP Letter of Review (LoR)*.

See a complete list of CAAHEP accredited and CoAEMSP LoR programs here.

*Letter of Review is NOT a CAAHEP accreditation status, it is a status granted by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) signifying that a program seeking initial accreditation has demonstrated sufficient compliance with the accreditation Standards through the Letter of Review Self Study Report (LSSR) and other documentation. Letter of Review is recognized by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) for eligibility to take the NREMT's Paramedic credentialing examination(s). However, it is NOT a guarantee of eventual accreditation.


Volunteers: they ARE CoAEMSP

The Committee on Accreditation for the EMS Professions is dependent upon its more than 130+ volunteers. Without its volunteers, the CoAEMSP would not exist.

The 28 board members who represent the 14 sponsoring organizations all donate their time to attend two 3-day meetings of the board, participate on six conference calls, and review 240+ programs each year.  The average time each individual contributes is more than 110 hours, which is 3080 hours as a Board. That's 1� full-time equivalent employee! This does not include the additional time spent on committee work in between meetings or the time spent representing the CoAEMSP at professional meetings such as the NREMT, NAEMSE, NAEMT, etc. Read more...

Complete list of volunteer board members and site visitors.

CAAHEP Webinar Now Available:
Your Advisory Committee: Meeting Expectations and Beyond
 
CAAHEP Webinars
The following information is taken from the CAAHEP website.


On October 8, Joseph Long conducted the session Your Advisory Committee: Meeting Expectations and Beyond. The session was recorded and posted to the CAAHEP website, along with a document of questions and answers from the session, and the PowerPoint presentation.

Advisory Committees are vital to the success of your program, but can be difficult to manage. This webinar gives you insight on meeting the expectations of an advisory committee and beyond, with information on everything from setting up an advisory committee to the roles of its members, to the committee's functions and requirements. Take-away tools such as sample invitation letters, agendas, meeting material, and more was shared by a seasoned program director, Joseph Long, PhD, CST/FAST (surgical technology).

Access this webinar and more here.
Site Visitors - What Makes Them Credible?

Credibility 2 So, how does one become a site visitor? What makes a person eligible to be a part of this choice bunch? What must a person do to continue as a site visitor?

These are all good questions! Site visitors are experts in their field. Their credentials have been vetted and they have participated in an extensive training program before they even visit their first program. For eligibility, individuals must be either a paramedic educator or a physician and meet site visitor qualifications. Read more...

Meet Board Member
Joseph Mistovich, MEd, NREMT-P
Mistovich
Joe is the Department Chair for the Department of Health Professions, and Professor in the Bitonte College of Health and Human Services at Youngstown State University (YSU) in Youngstown, Ohio. Joe has been an educator in EMS for nearly 30 years. He is currently completing his 17th year as chairperson of the Department of Health Professions, and has been a professor at YSU for 27 years. Read more...

Meet Site Visitor
Mike Miller, RN, NREMT-P
Miller2
Mike is the Paramedic Program Director for EMS Education at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been with Creighton University since 2002, serving in educational positions. He has also worked in hospital and medical settings as EMS System and Trauma Program Manager, Paramedic Education Program Coordinator, and other roles. Read more... 
 
 
Quote From a Program Director

"
The accreditation is a great thing for many reasons but to me, the biggest reason is consistency among programs.  All schools must be held to a certain standard and it almost safeguards the students' investments into the schools they attend.  Without accreditation, there would be little structure forced upon EMS schools, or any school for that matter."


-- Daniel Cavin, BS, NREMT-P, Program Director
Paramedic Program, IHM Health Studies Center, St. Louis MO

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Sincerely,

 

Jennifer S. Anderson Warwick, MA
CoAEMSP