The Professional Standards and Training Division encompasses Education & Staff Development, Community Outreach & Customer Service, and Clinical Quality Management. This division is located at the New Britain EMS Academy located at 1 Herald Square in downtown New Britain.
Academy
The backbone of this division is the EMS Academy, which was established in January of 2010. The Academy has quickly grown to be one of the premier EMS and Allied Health training centers in Connecticut. Our Academy staff interacts with over 2000 students annually through our various programming opportunities.
We are designated as an American Heart Association Community Training Center and maintain a robust network of more than 200 affiliated instructors. Some of our Academy clients include the Consolidated School District of New Britain, the New Britain Fire Department, the Hartford Job Corps Academy, Trinity College, CCSU, West Hartford Fire Department, Wallingford Fire Department, Guilford Fire Department and several other private business and industries located within the Greater Hartford area.
The Academy offers EMT programs, American Heart Association classes, the Central Connecticut Paramedic Education Program Consortium, many other classes on request, and rental of our classroom and simulation space.
In the fall of 2017 our Academy moved to its new location specifically designed to meet the needs of its “flipped classroom” environment and its continued growth. Our new building has a state-of-the-art EMS simulation center with five high/medium fidelity manikins, eight simulation rooms, a simulation ambulance, and 4 classrooms.
Staff Development and Credentialing
A primary mission of this division is also the initial credentialing and continuing education of our Operations Division staff. One of our guiding core values is Excellence. As such, we invest heavily in the delivery and oversight of our clinical services.
Part of what makes New Britain EMS unique is our dedication to quality pre-hospital care. All paramedics and EMTs are required to obtain and maintain medical control sponsorship through the Hospital of Central Connecticut.
All new employees go through a 40-hour NEOP (new employee orientation program) which includes H.A.L.O. (high acuity low occurrence) skills training, (RSI) rapid sequence induction intubation training, crew resource management training, and medical incident command training.
Field Training and Evaluation Program
Following NEOP clinical staff must undergo a Field Training and Evaluation Program tailored to experience and clinical rank. The program consists of four phases of training each with individual milestones of mastery. This usually results in 400 hours of field training for paramedics and 240 hours for EMTs.
All of our Field Training Officers go through a selection process consisting of practical evaluation, written exam, and oral board interview. Once selected FTOs take part in a three-day education program on administering the program to new hires, educating the adult learner, and how to evaluate and provide feedback.
Continuous Quality Improvement
Our clinicians maintain their skills both clinically and through continuous training and quality improvement. In addition to the requirements to maintain licensure and certification, our paramedics must complete 36 hours of approved medical education and EMTs 24 hours. Additionally, paramedic and EMTs must undergo annual skills and R.S.I. validation. Employees participate on clinical development teams and a Medical Review Committee is convened monthly to retroactively review cases involving our staff from the previous month. We have closely tied our quality programs to our educational programs to help ensure a constant state of provider education.
Community Outreach
Each year we invest hundreds of uncompensated hours back educating our community on various outreach programs. We are the only organization in New Britain that has certified Car Seat Technicians on staff operating a Child Passenger Safety Seat Inspection/Installation Station. You will find our Outreach Team integrating into various community groups on a regular basis. We are proud members of the New Britain Chamber of Commerce, the New Britain Lions Club, the New Britain Network Group, and the Arch Street NRZ Additionally our Community Outreach Team provides File of Life, The Citizen’s EMS Academy, Stop the Bleed, and Until Help arrives.
