Pictured at the April 25 meeting of the Center for Community and Public Safety’s EMS Advisory Committee at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus are, from left: EMS Program Coordinator Jill Oblak, CCPS Director Ted Mellors, Associate Medical Director Dr. Michael Bradmon, and Medical Director Dr. Cataldo Corrado.
LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. — The Center for Community and Public Safety’s (CCPS) paramedic program at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), it was announced at the April 25 meeting of the Penn State Fayette Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee.
The EMS program at the Fayette campus is a preeminent provider of EMS education in the region, and one of only 17 in Pennsylvania to have been accredited by CAAHEP.
Paramedics who take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians’ (NREMT) credentialing exams, which are required for certification in Pennsylvania, must first have CAAHEP accreditation. This is made in conjunction with the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP), the nation’s only accrediting agency for emergency medical services.
According to CCPS Director Ted Mellors, CAAHEP accreditation is a validation of a commitment to quality in paramedic education. “It means that Penn State Fayette has a credible reputation among fellow institutions, that we abide by and maintain strict academic standards by monitoring, assessing, and evaluating our EMS programs, and that we emphasize quality assurance and have committed to continuous quality enhancement,” he said.
Mellors noted that other benefits of accreditation for paramedic educational programs include keeping the curriculum up-to-date and increasing opportunities for graduates to obtain employment. Also, research indicates that graduates of accredited EMS education programs perform better on the NREMT exam.
