Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) renewed its ambulance license with the Office of Emergency Medical Services of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health last week, according to Director of Emergency Management Geoffrey Bartlett.
The inspection entailed a thorough checkup of TEMS' response vehicle, equipment, record−keeping system, office space and training records, Director of Public and Environmental Safety Kevin Maguire said.
"The state comes to determine whether the organization has administrative and record−keeping procedures that are appropriate, and all of the personnel that provide care are trained and have proper documentation of having been trained," Bartlett said.
TEMS' current license, which it received in 2009, expires at the end the month, Bartlett noted.
The student−run organization must apply to renew its license every two years, according to Maguire.
The application for a renewed license took about two weeks to complete, according to TEMS Executive Director Kevin McKay, a senior. The process, which includes a one−time inspection, costs about $600, Maguire said.
All aspects of TEMS' services must pass the inspection, according to Maguire.
"It requires us to take apart our whole organization and put it back together," McKay said.
TEMS passed its test on first inspection, according to Bartlett — a feat that is uncommon for most emergency medical service organizations, Maguire said.
"The fact that we passed on first inspection is a testament to the professionalism of the student organization that runs TEMS," Maguire said.
TEMS employees were responsible for preparing for the inspection and answering the inspector's questions while he was on campus, Bartlett said.
TEMS Technical Director Robert Kaufman, a junior, and Director of Operations Natalie Sullivan, a senior, helped lead the effort for a renewed license, McKay said.
TEMS regularly inspects its vehicle throughout the academic year, according to McKay.
"We maintain all of the aspects of TEMS so it is ready for inspection at any time," Maguire said.
An independent inspector from the state department who was unaffiliated with Tufts and TEMS conducted the inspection, Maguire said.
TEMS, which was created in 1985, was not always governed by the state's standards of emergency care, according to Bartlett.
"We used to be a simple volunteer service," McKay said.
Ambulance services in Massachusetts, as well as other states, operated without ambulance licenses for many years, Maguire noted.
"Most, if not all states, probably back in the mid−1980s or early 1990s, realized that ambulance services needed to be licensed and be able to meet certain standards to provide competent, compassionate, and confidential services," Maguire said.
TEMS earned its first state−issued ambulance license in 2008, enabling it to offer a wider variety of services to the community, McKay noted.
