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INSTRUCTORS' PAGE

LINKS New DOH Policies
Title, Number, Link, Brief Summary
Course Vouchers, from DOH
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Instructor Update 2009 (PDF file)
Regional Agency Codes
DOH Education Forms
Student Reference guide
Course curricula (scroll down)
2009 Exam Schedule
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Certification for Individuals with Criminal Convictions
No. 09-05
Date: August 5, 2009
This policy describes the process for the review of applicants seeking EMS certification with a history of criminal convictions. This policy also describes the responsibilities for the applicant, the Certified Instructor Coordinator (CIC) and the Department of Health.

Course Funding – Course Sponsors and EMS Agencies
No. 09 - 06
Date: May 29, 2009
This policy statement addresses emergency medical services (EMS) educational reimbursement for course sponsors and EMS agencies. This policy replaces policies 95-02, 95-05, 98-07, 99-05, 00-05 and 02-10. Please note the section on Student Eligibility.
Archives
DOH Procedural Changes, 12/08
Security and Safety of EMS Response Vehicles
No. 09 - 07
Date: June 17, 2009
Each year there are approximately 3 million EMS responses in New York State. Occasionally, across the country EMS vehicles are stolen and damaged. A study titled, "Ambulance Snatching: How Vulnerable Are We" identifies a sampling of 151 ambulance arrivals observed at emergency departments in several states. The average time present at the Emergency Department was 21.5 minutes, 23.2% of the vehicles were left with the engine running, 26.5% were left with doors or compartments open, 90.1% were left unattended and 84.1% were left unlocked.
  Reporting Incidents, Injuries and Crashes
No. 09 - 08
Date: July 8, 2009
The provision of prehospital emergency medical services inherently involves risk to the safety and health of providers, patients and the general public. All too frequently an EMS crew is involved in a "near miss" event or sustains actual injury. Because EMS providers are the most valuable part of the EMS system, the New York State Emergency Medical Services Council (SEMSCO), the State Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (SEMAC) and the Department's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (BEMS) have undertaken an examination of the practice of EMS response and prehospital care. This ongoing project is intended to promote a safe working environment and a "culture of safety".
  Fentanyl for Prehospital EMS Services
No. 09 - 09
Date: August 5, 2009
This Policy updates Policy Statement 07-02 regarding fentanyl for prehospital Emergency Medical Services agencies.
Course Voucher Information, from DOH
The following is an excerpt from a discussion on the NYS Course Sponsor Discussion Group
Andy Johnson: As most of you know by now, we are in the testing phase of a new computer system that will oversee all of our payments for courses. As we go through this testing phase we find things we need to tweak. One of the main reasons for this new system is so we can better track where our money is going and to assure that we are paying for those students who are qualified to receive reimbursement.

With that in mind, we have been finding that there are a large number of vouchers that we have been paying where not all of the students were eligible for funding. The main way we check this is to have the system look at the student's course application to determine if they are a member of an agency and that the agency is eligible to get funding. If a student does not put an agency code on their student application then we will not be paying for that student. If the student does not belong to an agency at the time the course starts they of course can't put an agency code on their application.

You need to make sure that your CIC reviews every student application for completeness, including agency numbers, to assure that nothing gets over looked. You can also review the current funding policy statement on our web site for further details.
Q: What happens to students who become members of agencies during the course? are you saying they will no longer be eligible for funding, based on their not being agency members in the first week of class?
Andy Johnson: We don't want to discourage people from taking a course, but there is a problem state-wide with people taking EMS courses who are not part of the "system". The funding was always designated for paying for those people who are currently in the system and not to pay for those who may be in the system during the course or later and never designed to pay for someone to begin a career on. Sponsors state-wide have been dealing with the problem of students coming in with absolutely no idea what an EMT does or what will be expected of them when they become certified. That is what the agencies are supposed to do. Bring the people in to their organizations, mentor them a bit, and help them decide whether or not they should become an EMT. We shouldn't just be throwing as many people in to EMT courses as we can in hopes of keeping a few.