SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve the Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services Continuing Medical Education Agreement with the City of Clearwater effective October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2017 and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
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SUMMARY:
Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services (PCEMS) and the Fire & Rescue Department have implemented a transition of the EMS training platform. This EMS training platform is called Continuing Medical Education (CME). St. Petersburg College historically provided this service under contract with PCEMS and in collaboration with the Pinellas County Office of the Medical Director.
To improve responsiveness and to increase efficiency, the various stakeholders of PCEMS proposed to have the EMS agencies provide CME. A major shift in the CME program is to have instructors from the Fire Departments and Sunstar. This is part of global collaborative approach by all Pinellas County EMS agencies to increase the quality of the CME training. The end result is a higher level of care provided to the community.
This change in delivery of CME has numerous positive influences on the EMS system as whole. Some examples include allowing members of the EMS system teach others in the system which allows for a cohesive feedback mechanism. At the same time, there is flexibility built into the delivery mechanism to allow adjustments based on call volume to ensure comprehensive operational needs.
Each individual agency receives reimbursement from PCEMS for all associated costs. The agreement provides salary and benefit reimbursement to Clearwater Fire & Rescue for instructors’ class and preparation time. The proposed CME Contract duration is two years with two options to extend it for one year periods.
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