WilCo EMS Gains Re-Accreditation

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Williamson County EMS on Tuesday announced its re-accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS).

"Williamson County EMS continues to be a part of an elite group of only 11 out of 739 Texas EMS systems, and 188 out of 21,283 EMS systems in the United States to be granted this accreditation," noted in making the announcement.

The accreditation process requires the completion of a comprehensive application and on-site review by national experts in Emergency Medical Services officials explained. "CAAS extended the re-accreditation to Williamson County EMS for outstanding achievement in compliance with national standards for best practices in the Emergency Medical Services industry," officials added.

Mike Knipstein, director of Williamson County EMS, expounded on the significance of the move: “Maintaining such a prestigious accreditation demonstrates that we are truly leaders in the EMS industry,” he said in a prepared statement. “CAAS accreditation represents our commitment to our patients and to our community. We view accreditation as a key step in achieving our vision of being the national leader in people-centered, pre-hospital medicine.”

The primary focus of the commission’s standards is clinical and operational excellence, officials said, with standards exceeding state and local licensing requirements. CAAS is a not-for-profit commission established by the EMS industry to promote and encourage quality in the ambulance industry. CAAS accreditation signifies that an ambulance service provider has met the Gold Standard of Care deemed by the industry to be essential in the delivery of a modern EMS system. Accreditation increases clinical, operational and safety performance while decreasing risk and liability to the organization.

“Our team members have been key to the successful completion of this re-accreditation,” Knipstein said. “I’m honored and blessed to work with such excellent team members, and I know they are just as proud to be part of this CAAS-accredited organization as I am.”