Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point Paramedic Program Receives National Accreditation

CAAHEP-LogoFranciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point’s Emergency Medical Services Academy paramedic program recently received five-year national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

The designation followed a more than year-long evaluation process that resulted in a recommendation by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Profession. The National Registry of Paramedics requires such programs receive accreditation by 2013.

That means that prospective paramedics are receiving top-quality training at our academy that has been approved by national standards,” said Rob Dowling, academy director, who has taught there for more than five years.

The academy, which has been in place since 1992 and has 20 instructors, trains a large percentage of the emergency medical technicians and paramedics in south Lake County.

The purpose of accreditation is to continuously evaluate and improve the program, based on guidelines set forth by the Allied health programs,” Dowling said, adding, “One of these guidelines calls for student-led evaluations of the program after each class session. This provides instructors feedback on how the students view the curriculum. Instructors then can modify their styles to fit students’ needs."

Our program no longer is just about the hospital, the academy or instructors, it is about the students and what the hospital, academy and instructors can do to make them successful,” Dowling said.

Dowling added the program also is affiliated with Purdue University, which allows paramedic students to receive credit toward an associate’s degree in paramedic medicine.