NWEMS Compliance Officer Receives National Designation

TOMBALL, Texas - Oct. 13, 2014 - PRLog -- Northwest Rural Emergency Medical Services Association announced today that Chelsea Prange, the organization’s EMS Compliance Officer, is now one of the first Certified Ambulance Compliance Officers (CACO) in the nation. The National Academy of Ambulance Compliance launched the new certification program in early October with a class of eighty-three students.

Prange, who was named as the EMS Compliance Officer earlier this year, is eager to leverage her new training. “Compliance touches everything we do as an organization,” said Prange. “From direct patient care, to computer software, to how we make administrative decisions. Everything creates some degree of exposure.” Going forward, Prange will be assisting the executive team with policy development, compliance training, and investigating compliance concerns.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 laid the groundwork for mandatory compliance programs for organizations receiving reimbursement from federal healthcare programs. According to Northwest EMS Chief Brian Bayani, approximately seventy percent of Northwest EMS patients are covered by federal healthcare plans.

“Healthcare compliance can be difficult to navigate without a qualified professional directly overseeing the program,” explained Bayani, who believes the accomplishment reinforces the organization’s commitment to ethics, integrity, and professionalism.

“Today, there are less than one hundred Certified Ambulance Compliance Officers across the country,” Bayani said. “We are extremely fortunate to have one right here to help us improve the quality and value of service we provide to the community.”

Founded in 1980, Northwest Rural Emergency Medical Services Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation providing emergency and non-emergency ambulance service to the Tomball, Texas area. For more information, visit www.nwems.org.