(Lawrenceville, Ga., Nov. 30, 2011) - Today Gwinnett officials held a press conference to announce the recent accreditation of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services' paramedic training program. Gwinnett's accreditation came from the Committee on Accreditation for Emergency Medical Service Professions (CoAEMSP), making it the first fire department in Georgia to have an accredited paramedic training program.

In November 2008, the National Registry of EMT's Board of Directors voted to require paramedic students to attend an accredited program before taking the national certification test in order to increase the professionalism in the field of emergency medical services. This requirement must be met by 2013. Gwinnett had to pursue the training program certification in order to continue training emergency medical services personnel. The certification also will reduce training and personnel costs, and firefighters already with the department will have the opportunity to be trained as paramedics.

"Emergency medical calls are a large part of what we do here in Gwinnett, so we want to provide residents with the very best care. Training our own personnel will enhance our response capabilities, allowing us to provide three core services at once: fire protection, emergency medical care and ambulance transport services," said Fire Chief Bill Myers. "Having firefighters on an ambulance reduces lowers Gwinnett County's ISO rating, resulting in lower insurance premiums for homeowners, and having paramedics on our first-responding fire trucks decreases response times. It is a win-win for everyone."

The yearlong process of self-evaluation that Gwinnett began pursuing in 2010 ended with a weeklong evaluation by the CoAEMSP. "The accreditation process was very detailed and time consuming, but after many months of looking at what we do, we noticed Gwinnett was already meeting a majority of the commission's requirements. We simply needed to provide documentation showing we perform these tasks," said Training Battalion Chief Rodney Dawson.

"Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services would like to extend our appreciation to Gwinnett Technical College for their guidance and support though the accreditation process," said Chief Myers. Gwinnett will continue to train personnel to become paramedics, but Gwinnett Technical College soon will offer fire department paramedic graduates credit toward an associate degree in paramedicine.