I am writing to you in support of CoxHealth EMS as a nominee for recognition as Emergency Medical Service of the Year.

As an employee of CoxHealth EMS for more than a decade, I have not witnessed comparable levels of professionalism and community involvement from any other agency I have interacted with through those years.

The training program that CoxHealth EMS requires of its newly hired employees is exemplary, designed to both strengthen competency in clinical fields and personal professionalism to assure those who succeed and move out into the field will be well-rounded providers, capable of managing technical patient care while maintaining a high level of professional conduct.

CoxHealth EMS values compassion, and ethical conduct as highly as clinical competence because they realize that managing clinical care of a patient is only part of patient care. Management of high-stress scenes, informing family members, and maintaining a comfortable, trusting work environment all require communication skills and an ability to control one’s own actions to provide a sense of calm that reaches above and beyond the radio report to a receiving facility. CoxHealth EMS provides a supportive environment for patients, family members, and employees by assuring that those persons working out in the field have not only the technical skills but the professional skills to be successful.

CoxHealth EMS is also highly involved in the community, both in their direct surroundings within the City of Springfield and in outlying communities beyond those directly served by their ambulance network. Community outreach is a large part of the service CoxHealth EMS provides through educational offerings and meeting community needs. CoxHealth EMS Education Committee organizes and provides needed classes to organizations and partner agencies. Some of the offered classes include CPR, a relatively new program called CERTS (CoxHealth Emergency Responder Training Series) which provides remote options for education to first responders and partnering with other agencies to provide mass casualty training. CoxHealth EMS also works with law enforcement to coordinate strategic care in high-intensity, law enforcement-involved situations.

To better meet the needs of the community, CoxHealth EMS assures they can provide instructors for CPR, first responder, EMT, and other certification classes to ensure quality performance and continue to contribute quality provides for the future of the community. CoxHealth EMS also sponsors employees to become technicians and instructors for services that can benefit the community beyond the scope of the medical practice such as Car Seat Technicians, TIMS (Traffic Incident Management System) Instructors, DT4EMS (Defense Tactics 4 Escape Mitigation and Survival) which provides defensive tactic training for School Personnel and Laypersons as well as the medical community, and other such offerings.

CoxHealth EMS is a service dedicated to their Mission Statement, “To improve the health in the communities we serve through quality healthcare, education, and research”. CoxHealth EMS is actively in the process of seeking both CAAS and CAPCE accreditations, exemplifying their continuous efforts to progress education and professionalism within EMS and, as their Vision Statement says, “To be the best for those who need us”.