WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the National Association of Counties presents its annual achievement awards, and Okaloosa County EMS will be one of the recipients.
Okaloosa County EMS has earned the association's Achievement Award for its Comprehensive Quality Assurance and Training Program in the category of Health. Nationally, awards are given in 21 categories including, among others, children and youth, criminal justice, county administration, environmental protection, information technology, health and civic engagement.
Okaloosa's program fosters participation between local fire departments, hospitals and EMS in developing and implementing new quality standards, pre-hospital medical performance measures, resource and data sharing procedures, and comprehensive training that provides realistic classroom and skills lab training modules based on local treatment protocols rather than commercially available web-based programs.
The results have shown objective, measurable improvement in all categories of clinical competency and a higher quality of care system wide, according to a news release.
“This is the second time in recent years that Okaloosa County EMS has earned this recognition, also doing so in 2013,” Okaloosa County Commission Chairman Nathan Boyles said. “They continually meet and exceed expectations in service to our citizens and for that, our county is safer.”
The association's Annual Conference and Exposition is July 10–13 in Mecklenburg County, N.C.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County EMS earns national achievement award