United Ambulance earns reaccreditation‏

Lewiston, Maine - United Ambulance Service has recently earned full reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS). To date, United remains as the first and only nationally accredited ground ambulance service in Maine.

This designation was awarded after United participated in a voluntary review process by nationally-recognized experts representing CAAS. As part of the review process, United’s entire operation was evaluated and critiqued based upon national standards set forth by the reviewing agency. Areas such as employee education, patient care, response times, community integration and education, policies/procedures and financial practices were extensively reviewed to ensure United was eligible for the highest designation in the industry, CAAS Accreditation.

In many instances the commission’s standards exceed state and local licensing requirements making designation increasingly difficult. There are currently 154 ambulance services across the United States and in other parts of the world that meetthese standards.

“United was first accredited in 2006 and has undergone three review processes sincethat time. With each review CAAS has performed thorough inspections of our entire operation. We were very pleased when CAAS announced that we earned a perfect score for our recent onsite inspection that occurred in November. This review comment is truly remarkable and speaks volumes for the quality care and pre-hospital interventions that our employees provide each and every day”, said Paul Gosselin, United’s Executive Director.

United is jointly owned by Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.

United’s Board of Directors is comprised of leadership team members from both organizations who remain proud of the diligent and professional efforts that United employees apply toward quality patient care delivery. By maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry, United assists these hospitals and other local health care facilities to ensure the continuum of health care initiatives for patients being transported into or out of each of these facilities during emergent or medical transfer services.

Accreditation is an ongoing commitment and requires services to participate in reaccreditation processes every three years. With constant changes in health care standards and business requirements, United works tirelessly to ensure that the organization remains on the forefront. “Remaining stagnant in the emergency medical services (EMS) industry is not an option for us. Since United’s inception we have worked to be one of the top EMS agencies while providing the highest quality of pre-hospital care for the communities we serve. CAAS has provided continued developmental structure and direction as our employees work collaboratively with our parent companies, health care providers, and other organizations to improve patient outcomes during each and every transport”, replied Brad Gilbert, United’s Development and Compliance Manager.

United operates from locations based in Auburn, Bridgton, and Lewiston and provides ambulance services, wheelchair transportation, and medical training education services throughout Central and Southern Maine.  Though recent reaccreditation is exciting for United, the organization is also developing other programs and initiatives to include an In-Home Fall Prevention Program, Home Visit Program, and Paramedic Diploma Program. More information on these programs will be released within the next few months.

For more information, call United Ambulance Service Executive Director Paul Gosselin at 777-6006, extension 203, or visit www.unitedambulance.com