March 6th, 2019 by WCBC Radio
Pre-conference courses for the 17th annual Miltenberger Emergency Services Seminar kicked off Wednesday at the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services- Frostburg Station with the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute EMS Operations Quality Assurance Officer course.
“We are extremely excited and happy to be aiding and hosting some of the Miltenberger Emergency Services Seminar courses at our Frostburg Station and PPG Road locations this week,” Allegany County Department of Emergency Services Director James Pyles said. “Continuing education of our dispatchers, fire and EMS providers is vital to keep providers current with the ever changing world.”
The MFRI EMS Operations Quality Assurance Officer course was first introduced in 2006 to ensure EMS operations in the state of Maryland were in compliance with COMAR Title 30 regulations.
Since the course was introduced, hundreds of EMS providers have completed this training, preparing them to function as QA/QI officers within their organizations. With input from QA officers from across the state, this course has evolved to include these essential elements of QA/QI including due process, conducting incident inquiries, case review and electronic reporting QA/QI.
“Quality assurance is an important part of any EMS operation. We have to be able to identify trends, problems and accomplishments,” Interim EMS Chief Christopher Biggs said. “Providers immediately think that QA/QI has to be a negative process, but having a process in place will allow DES to identify providers or departments that are going above and beyond with the patient care they provide.”
Wednesday’s portion will focus on the essentials of QA/QI and QA officer regulations, roles and responsibilities. Thursday will focus on applying QA principles learned on day one, conducting incident inquires and using the states electronic charting system for QA.
“We take pride in providing our staff with time to obtain continuing education throughout the state and with other partner agencies,” Pyles said.
Todd Bowman is the public information officer for Allegany County Department of Emergency Services. He can be reached by email at tbowman@alleganygov.org or by phone at 240-609-8861.
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