01.06.2010
New Haven, Conn., January 6, 2010 – American Medical Response's (AMR) Connecticut statewide Communication Center has received re-accreditation as an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of Excellence from the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED). Of the 92 NAED accredited communication centers around the world, the AMR Connecticut center was the twenty-third to receive initial accreditation in 1998. The center received re-accreditation for its comprehensive implementation and compliance with the NAED's Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) and associated "20 Points of Excellence."
The MPDS is the world's most widely used 911-type pre-arrival instruction and dispatchlife- support protocol system. With scripted telephone instructions for CPR, airway obstruction relief, hemorrhage control and childbirth assistance, the MPDS has been credited with helping save thousands of lives. In addition to requiring proper system oversight, medical control and quality improvement programs, re-accreditation demands careful MPDS compliance and certification for all emergency call-takers and medical dispatchers.
Earning this re-accreditation award is voluntary and involves completing a detailed selfstudy and analysis in conjunction with submission of a comprehensive re-accreditation package to NAED. This accomplishment demonstrates that AMR Connecticut's Statewide Communications Center is compliant with all international practice standards for emergency medical dispatch.
The AMR Connecticut Statewide Communications Center is one of AMR's largest dispatch centers, processing more than 200,000 ambulance transports, 100,000 wheelchair transports and over one million phone calls annually. The Center coordinates AMR's ambulance services to the cities of, Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury Connecticut as well as many surrounding communities. The center is staffed by 26 call takers, 45 dispatchers and seven supervisors.
With headquarters based in Salt Lake City, Utah, the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization comprised of three allied Academies with related programs and standards for emergency Medical, Fire, and Police dispatching. The IAED regularly reviews and updates the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) protocols for EMD and also maintains protocols and certification standards for Fire and Police Dispatch based on the time-proven MPDS logic structure. The NAED is the public-safety dispatch industry's leading certifying and standard-setting body, with over 30,000 members in 20 countries.
American Medical Response Inc. (www.amr.net), America's leading provider of medical transportation, provides services in 38 states and the District of Columbia. AMR's 18,500 paramedics, EMTs and other professionals transport more than four million patients nationwide each year in critical, emergency and non-emergency situations. Operating a fleet of approximately 4,500 vehicles, AMR, a subsidiary of Emergency Medical Services Corporation, is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo.