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MUSC medical transport service receives accreditation by Chris West Public Relations MUSC’s medical transport service, MEDUCARE, has met the strict standards required for accreditation and joined the ranks of 77 other accredited transport programs across the nation. “The Commission for Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) sets the standards of medical transport based on personnel, safety and patient care protocols,” said Karen Driggers, MEDUCARE program director. “We put ourselves against those standards and met them.” The accreditation was granted on April 17. CAMTS is comprised of 16 member organizations that meet three times a year. They distribute a program information form to applying programs, which is filled out extensively for submission for accreditation.  This is the beginning of the process. Two site surveyors visit the program to check the facilities of the applicant and to verify the evidence within the program information form. “They serve as the eyes and ears of the board,” said Driggers, a site surveyor herself. The MEDUCARE team is comprised of one American Eurocopter BK-117 helicopter, nine ambulances and 74 employees that include flight nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists.  “What is unique about our program is that we have two dedicated teams, one adult team and the other is neonatal/pediatric,” Driggers said. The fixed-wing portion of the team is contracted with MedCenter Air; out of Charlotte that supplies the aircraft, which is either a KingAir or a Citation jet, and  MEDUCARE supplies the medical crew. MEDUCARE began serving MUSC in 1987 and has provided the state with care on a 24-hour-a-day basis.  The MEDUCARE team is devoted to this program only and ready to respond at all hours of the day. Where the average day may begin with briefing, talk about weather and safety procedures, the team is kept quite busy. “The helicopter sees about 60 patients a month, the critical care ground team receives 40 calls per month and the ALS/BLS ground team tops out at 500 calls per month,” Driggers said. The accreditation brings worthy praise to an already acclaimed program, but it also benefits the university as a whole in regards to its credentials. “Not all who apply for accreditation receive it,” Driggers said. “This is important because it not only helps in the areas of recognition by federal, state and local regulatory bodies, reimbursement and marketing, but it also adds to MUSC in the area of its credibility.”