she worked. While waiting for the
helicopter to land, Frazier realized that she
knew nothing about how to enter it safely,
where to sit, how to attach the safety belt,
or how to communicatewith the pilot. She
had never even been in such close contact
to a helicopter before. For someone who
had years of training and experience as a
trauma nurse, Frazer says she suddenly felt
unsure of herself. To compound matters,
the helicopter was such that the patient
stretcher could only be loaded one way,
something not realized until the patient
was loaded the wrong way, which
ultimately led to a process of offloading
and reloading to compound her frus-
tration. The patient arrived safely at the
hospital, and as this marked a first, Frazer
recalls how numerous staff were waving
and cheering fromthewindows.
Frazer wasn’t so cheerful, and she in-
evitably inquired as to whether anyone
had considered the prudence in personnel
knowing something about helicopter
safety. The decision was made that no
more patients would be transported until
staff hadbeenproperly trained.
Through the work of CAMTS, air medical
transport providers, along with their personnel
and the patients for which they provide care,
have performance standards that not only
cover the range of necessary training and
education, but also aspects of management,
medical equipment, insurance compliance,
communication systems, utilization of assets,
andmore.
CAMTS offers a program that allows
providers to undertake a voluntary evaluation
of their compliance with accreditation
standards by demonstrating their ability to
deliver service of a specific quality. That begins
with an application process which allows the
provider to receive a self-study document that
addresses all aspects of requisite performance
standards. Providers can monitor and measure
themselves according to the protocols
outlined, having up to a year to conduct their
own performance reviews of the desired
objectives. Upon submitting documentation
of compliance, CAMTSwill reviewcriteria
May 2014
| BusinessWorld | 51
