Featured in the best practices compendium are the award-winning submissions of the three fire departments presented with the 1st Annual Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award in April 2011. Each fire department included in this inaugural collection of best practices demonstrated ingenuity in pursuing improvements in the level of medical care delivered in an emergency.
“Our goal in launching the Excellence Awards program is two-fold. We want to recognize and applaud the outstanding accomplishments of forward-thinking fire departments and we want to share these achievements with other fire departments around the country that are working to enhance EMS practices and programs,” explained Bill Webb, Executive Director of CFSI.
“Each fire department shared innovative best practices that have had remarkable results in their communities,” said Andrew B. Wigglesworth, President and Chief Executive Officer of MedicAlert Foundation. “By making these best practices available to fire departments around the country, we hope to help accelerate the process for implementing EMS advances.”
The 2011 Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Awards were given to three fire departments that showed leadership in establishing innovative programs and practices that have advanced the quality of emergency medical services within its communities. The Awards program honored fire departments in three categories – Volunteer, Combination and Career Fire Department. The 2011 award winners were Odessa (DE) Fire Company, Volunteer; Friendswood (TX) Volunteer Fire Department, Combination; and Northwest (Tucson, AZ) Fire/Rescue District, Career.
To learn more about the Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Awards program, and to download the best practices compendium, visit www.medicalert.org/award.
About Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)
Established in 1989, the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy institute that works with members of Congress in promoting fire and life safety issues. Working with other national fire service organizations, the Institute focuses its attention on issues that benefit all first responders. Members of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, the largest caucus in Congress, look to CFSI for guidance and information to enhance their level of understanding about the challenges and needs of our nation’s fire and EMS communities. For more information on CFSI, visit www.cfsi.org.
About MedicAlert Foundation
Established in 1956, the nonprofit MedicAlert Foundation pioneered the use of medical IDs and delivers the most dependable, the most responsive, the most intelligent and the most trusted Emergency Identification and Medical Information Network. MedicAlert provides the functionality of an e-health information exchange through an innovative combination of a unique patient identifier linked to a PHR and a live 24/7 emergency response service. MedicAlert Foundation International medical IDs alert emergency personnel to a member’s primary health conditions, medications or implanted medical devices. In addition to its 24-hour emergency response service, MedicAlert Foundation International also provides family and caregiver notification so that members can be reunited with their loved ones. Visit www.medicalert.org for more information.