Special to 1808Delaware
Delaware County’s Emergency Medical Services Department has been named the Dick Ferneau National EMS System of the Year for 2022. The honor is bestowed jointly by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and EMS World magazine. Previous winners have included the San Antonio (Texas) Fire Department EMS and Onslow County EMS in North Carolina.
“To be selected the National EMS System of the Year for 2022 after being named the EMS System of the Year for the state of Ohio in 2020 is a most humbling experience for the Delaware County EMS Department,” said DCEMS Chief Jeff Fishel. “I couldn’t be more proud of the team and their efforts, day in and day out, to serve our residents and visitors.”
Commissioner Barb Lewis, president of this year’s Board of Commissioners, lauded the department’s efforts and awards: “It is deeply gratifying that our Delaware County EMS has been nationally recognized for their excellent pre-hospital, emergency medical care. We salute the women and men of the DCEMS on this outstanding achievement.”
DCEMS, which is celebrating 50 years of existence in 2022, also has been awarded the Safety in EMS Award, another national award from the NAEMT and the American College of Emergency Physicians. The award recognizes excellence in advancing EMS practitioner and patient safety. Both NAEMT awards are a first for any EMS agency in Ohio.
Fishel also notified the Commissioners that DCEMS recently learned it has earned another three years of accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), an independent accrediting agency for the industry. Fishel told the Commissioners that DCEMS’s two-day site review by CAAS yielded a perfect score with zero deficiencies, despite being assessed on 109 factors. DCEMS is the only CAAS-accredited agency in Central Ohio and one of just five to be accredited statewide.
For more information about Delaware County EMS, visit their website at: https://ems.co.delaware.oh.us/.
