Armstrong

Armstrong Ambulance Earns Renewed National Accreditation

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Armstrong Ambulance
87 Mystic St.,
Arlington, MA 02474

For Immediate Release

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Armstrong Ambulance Earns Renewed National Accreditation

Armstrong Ambulance has retained its national accreditation through through the summer of 2022. (Courtesy Photo)

ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance Service is pleased to announce that it has earned a new three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services.

Armstrong is one of only four ambulance services in Massachusetts that has earned CAAS accreditation, and is one of 180 nationwide to achieve the accolade. It first earned accreditation in 2013 and is now accredited through 2022.

Obtaining and maintaining accreditation requires adherence to an extensive set of rigorous industry standards, as evaluated by an independent team of experts in emergency medical services. Accreditation solidifies Armstrong’s status as one of the elite EMS providers in Massachusetts and the U.S.

“Our entire team is committed to providing the highest possible quality of patient care and service, and our accreditation is an important reflection of that commitment,” Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond said. “I’m proud of the sustained effort by everyone at Armstrong that made this possible.”

The commission emphasizes high-quality patient care and addresses that core requirement by establishing standards of treatment. It also evaluates an ambulance service’s entire operation, including its relationships with other agencies, the general public, employees and the medical community. CAAS accreditation is considered the “gold standard” for ambulance services.

Armstrong earned re-accreditation following a stringent offsite assessment of polices, processes and protocols as well as a two-day on-site review by members of the CAAS accreditation panel in early June.

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Armstrong Ambulance EMTs Take Part in Water Rescue Training

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Armstrong Ambulance
87 Mystic St.,
Arlington, MA 02474

For Immediate Release

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Armstrong Ambulance EMTs Take Part in Water Rescue Training

Armstrong EMTs Nick Landry and Stephanie Gleason with DCR lifeguards Brandon DeCleene, Aiden Hill, Sophia Leuci, Jackie Leuci, Lexi Bogosian, Erika Glowik, Shannon Daly and Zara Powell. (Courtesy Photo Armstrong Ambulance Service)

ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance Service took part in extensive water rescue training exercises this week.

Along with colleagues from the Saugus and Lynn Fire Departments, Stoneham Police/Fire Dive Team and lifeguards from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Armstrong EMTs took part in a wide-ranging live water rescue training program at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus.

Armstrong EMTs provided land-based EMS support while lifeguards and fellow first responders underwent hands-on training to understand their roles in rescuing a swimmer in distress. The drills included the use of water craft, rescue scuba divers and posted lifeguards, and focused on multiple hazardous conditions on the water.

Various first responders were tasked with identifying a potential victim, locating and rescuing that victim and providing an area for firefighters and divers to attempt a rescue or recovery.

“Our EMTs need to be prepared to support their fellow first responders in a wide variety of emergency scenarios,” Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond said. “I’m glad that we had an opportunity to participate in this highly realistic training exercise so that our EMTs and other participants could have the chance to better understand their roles in water-based situations and further improve their preparedness.”

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Armstrong Ambulance Educator and Clinical Team Member Co-Author Op-ed on Tiered Response vs. All-Advanced Life Support EMS System

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Armstrong Ambulance
87 Mystic St.,
Arlington, MA 02474

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Armstrong Ambulance Educator and Clinical Team Member Co-Author Op-ed on Tiered Response vs. All-Advanced Life Support EMS System

ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance Service Inc. is pleased to announce that two members of its team recently co-authored a piece published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services on emergency medical response.

Armstrong educator and tactical medical provider Stephen Wood co-authored the op-ed, titled “Too many Medics? Debating a Tiered Response vs. All-ALS EMS System” with Armstrong’s Director of Clinical Integration, Benjamin Podsiadlo.

Wood is also a nurse practitioner at Carney Hospital and fellow at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics.

In their op-ed, Wood and Posiadlo examine the debate between the All-Advanced Life Support (paramedic) EMS System and Tiered Response. In a tiered response system, paramedic units serve regional areas, and in the All-ALS EMS System, paramedics are staffed on every ambulance and some fire engines. 

The op-ed also serves as a response to a editorial by Champaign, Ill. Fire Chief Gary Ludwig published this February in “Firehouse Magazine,” which argues that more paramedics staffing ambulances and fire engines would be beneficial. Chief Ludwig argues that although these paramedics may not be getting as much skill maintenance in the field as they did in the tiered response system, they can train in simulations. 

In their analysis, Wood and Posiadlo instead suggest that while it may be beneficial to have more paramedics staffed on emergency vehicles, these professionals need to have access to better training, ongoing education and exposed to a practice environment regularly that will support skill maintenance. The pair also argues that EMS providers need to take a more prominent role in the study and analysis of the tiered response and All-ALS EMS system moving forward, and to focus that research on patient outcomes. 

“This is an incredibly important debate in the field of EMS, and the argument in this op-ed highlights the key issue between these two systems: skill maintenance,” Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond said. “By contributing to the larger conversation about tiered response and the All-ALS EMS system, Stephen and Ben reinforced what truly matters: patient outcomes and the professional skills and development of paramedics.”

To read the op-ed in full, click here.

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Armstrong Ambulance Paramedic Helps Girl Scouts Earn First Aid Badges

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Armstrong Ambulance
87 Mystic St.,
Arlington, MA 02474

For Immediate Release

Friday, May 3, 2019

Contact: Jordan Mayblum
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Armstrong Ambulance Paramedic Helps Girl Scouts Earn First Aid Badges

Armstrong Paramedic Stephanie Crayton (center) met with her neighbor’s Girl Scouts troop in order to help them earn their first aid bages. (Courtesy Photo)

ARLINGTON — An Armstrong Ambulance paramedic recently shared her expertise in emergency medicine in order to help a group of Girl Scouts earn their first aid badge.

Paramedic Stephanie Crayton worked with her neighbor, Dor, and her fellow scouts to share knowledge about the types of injuries and ailments she and her colleagues at Armstrong encounter. In doing so, she helped the girls fulfill one of the core requirements to earn their first aid badges — talking face to face with a first responder.

The scouts are all fourth graders from Cambridge.

Crayton told the girls about her experiences as both a paramedic for Armstrong and as a firefighter with the Cambridge Fire Department, as well as how ambulances and fire departments collaborate to help people in need.

Crayton covered a variety of topics with the scouts, discussing some common types of emergencies and what to do when they arise. They addressed choking, nose bleeds, allergies and anaphylaxis (and the difference between the two), burns, bone fractures and the proper recovery position for someone who is breathing but unconscious.

The scouts also asked Crayton about a wide array of scenarios, including what to do if someone’s house is burning, they’re choking and have a nose bleed all at the same time.

“I was so glad they asked me to help,” Crayton said. “The girls were great listeners and had a lot of fantastic questions about the work we do as paramedics, and I’m proud of the work they put into earning their badges.”

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