Paramedic Program Earns National Accreditation

UH Parma Medical Center educates about 60 new paramedics every year.

The paramedic education program that has trained more than 1,700 of the region’s paramedics over the past 32 years is now nationally accredited.

Already accredited by the state, UH Parma Medical Center’s paramedic program has been awarded national accreditation by The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs. National accreditation requires students to spend more time in class and 466 clinical hours providing care to patients of all ages, from newborns to the elderly. For example, to complete the program, a paramedic student must participate in a minimum of 50 squad runs, with 15 of those as the team lead. They must perform at least 50 assessments in the emergency room, interpret 30 EKGs, perform three endotracheal intubations and initiate 50 IVs.

Over the past three decades, UH Parma Medical Center has doubled the number of cities under its medical control and, consequently, the number of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel it trains. The program’s 15 nationally registered instructors, who also work in the field themselves, now conduct monthly training for 400 EMS personnel. In addition to graduating 50-60 paramedics annually, UH Parma Medical Center has expanded its class offerings for basic emergency medical technicians (EMTs), graduating approximately 60 EMTs each year, many of whom go on to become paramedics.

“I am proud that our program has graduated excellent entry-level paramedics for the past 32 years,” said Joseph Toth, MBA, NRP, EMSI, Manager of UH’s EMS Training & Disaster Preparedness Institute, who graduated from the program himself in 1988. “The additional requirements set by The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs will benefit the students as they are challenged to become critical thinkers.  Our program is one of the best in Ohio because of our dedicated instructor team and support staff.” 

CJ Sheppard

Senior Communications Strategist, University Hospitals Parma Medical Center

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Volume 8, Issue 3, Posted 9:56 PM, 03.08.2016