Accreditation

 

                               

 

Village Ambulance Service is accredited by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Office of Emergency Medical Services to teach initial EMT-Basic and EMT-Intermediate programs.

 

What is Accreditation?

  

Training Institution Accreditation Overview 

Accreditation is both a status and a process. As a status, accreditation provides public notification that an institution or a program meets standards of quality set forth by an accrediting agency. As a process, it consists of ongoing evaluation, and frequent program improvement. Accreditation is a signature of training excellence achieved through strict compliance to the highest standards. [Massachusetts] OEMS mandates accreditation compliance for all initial Emergency Medical Technician training programs conducted in the Commonwealth. 

 

Type of Accreditation and Eligibility 

Since OEMS accreditation is programmatic, it examines the activities of programs utilizing a program system approach. Accreditation will examine and evaluate resources, processes, outputs, and outcomes of existing programs, departments, or schools that are parts of an institution following Department standards. A training institution is defined as an established organization or foundation that gives practical, vocational, and technical instruction. The accredited unit may be as large as a college or a school within a university. An accredited unit may also be as small as a curriculum within a discipline, or even EMT training programs within professional schools or other specialized or vocational institutions. Some accredited programs may be free-standing in their operations, as well as EMT educational programs within non-educational settings such as hospitals are also eligible to apply for accreditation.  

Goals 

  

  • To assure the educational community and the general public that an EMT training institution or program has clearly defined and appropriate objectives, and maintains conditions under which their achievement can reasonably be expected.   
  • To provide reassurance to EMT students that the program in which they are enrolled, or are considering enrolling, is engaged in continuous review and improvement of its quality. To provide a formal process for ongoing evaluation and improvement of accredited EMT training programs, their faculty, and to ensure quality delivery of prehospital patient care techniques. 
  • To provide public accountability of an EMT program or institution that has the means and demonstrates the outcomes for an educational process that is consistent with its goals and objectives.  

 

Note: As of June 30, 2005, only training institutions accredited by the Massachusett's Office of Emergency Medical Services will be authorized to conduct initial EMT-Basic, Intermediate, and Paramedic training in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

© 2006 Village Ambulance