For years Apex Emergency Medical Service personnel firmly believed they were among the best in the nation.
Now, they can prove it.
Apex EMS recently received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), a non-profit organization that has established the national standards of excellence.
The impressive achievement allowed Apex to join an elite group of 88 ambulance services nationwide that have received accreditation.
Apex is also just one of six organizations in the state to earn the honor and joins Cary EMS as the only two recipients in Wake County.
“It’s all about proving that you are a top-level service,” said Apex EMS Captain Jon Wallace. “It took us two years to complete but it was a worthwhile two years. It proved the level of service we provide.
“There’s a lot of pride here. There are over 800 licensed providers in North Carolina alone and there’s only six that are accredited. So there are bragging rights and people should feel proud.”
Apex EMS Chief Nicky Winstead said it is the group’s commitment to excellence that sets them apart from others. “It’s an elite group that wants to be the best at everything they do,” said Winstead. “They have worked hard for this and they have a lot to be proud of. This is quite an accomplishment and I’m real proud of them.”
CAAS was formed in 1990 in order to encourage quality patient care in the medical transportation field. The commission set national standards that focus on patient care, total operational procedures and an organization’s relationship with the public, medical community and other agencies.
Those standards exceed both current state and county standards.
“With their expertise they came to review how we deliver our business and deliver patient care to the citizens,” said Wallace. “(CAAS) sets the standards. Obviously, we have standards for medical care delivery on the local level but there are not many national standards.
“(CAAS) is pretty much the agency and thoroughfare we take to set ourselves on a national level.”
During the two-year process, Apex EMS staff had to complete a 1,200-page application and undergo a two-day on-site review by national experts.
Wallace said the process helped lead to some revisions in organizational policy.
“It forced Apex to take a hard long look at how we do things,” said Wallace. “A lot of times we looked at some old policies and procedures and decided they were past their time. We did a lot of updating and revisions.
“We revised our corporate bylaws and worked from there. So we changed down to the fundamental way that we conduct our business and we (adopted) a modern business model.”
CAAS officials were impressed that an ambulance service as small as Apex was able to earn accreditation.
With just 39 people on staff, including eight full-time members, Apex is one of the smaller groups to accomplish the feat.
“One of the reviewers told me that we should be commended that such a small group of people could put all of this together and pull it off,” said Winstead. “We have some very committed people here and I give them all the credit.”
The accreditation will need to be renewed after three years. |
