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Jeff Mercado, Char Dillenbeck, and Tammy Nacho with the Gila River EMS listen to Glen Ruark, CNO paramedic and Jerad Rhodes, CNO Basic, discuss ambulance services.

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Three members of the Gila River Reservation Emergency Medical Services (EMS) recently visited Cherokee Nation to learn more about the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS) process.

"We are seeking accreditation for our EMS program and were told we could get assistance on preparing for this from the Cherokee Nation," said Jeff Mercado, assistant director for the Gila River EMS.

CAAS awarded Cherokee Nation EMS a three-year accreditation with no deficiencies in March of 2005, making them the only tribal ambulance service to receive this accreditation.

"Accreditation signifies that an EMS agency has met the ‘gold standard’ determined by the ambulance industry," said Ginger Glory, quality improvement specialist with the Cherokee Nation. "These standards often exceed those established by state and local regulation."

The Gila River Reservation is located 35 miles south of Phoenix, in Sacaton, Arizona. Their ambulance service is comprised of a total of 59 employees and four stations within a 700 square mile radius of the reservation.

"We cover close to 8,000 calls per year," said Tammy Nacho, paramedic with Gila River EMS and the first female member of the Gila tribe to receive a paramedic’s license. "We hope to achieve the same level of standards that Cherokee Nation now has with their EMS department and implement those standards in our daily jobs."

The process for accreditation includes a comprehensive self-assessment and an independent outside review of the EMS organization.

"With the uniqueness of Cherokee Nation EMS being a tribally run program, such as ours, we were referred to them for education on the importance of accreditation," Mercado said. "We hope to seek this accreditation in the near future."

There are currently 83 Native American EMS programs throughout the United States and Cherokee Nation EMS is the only tribal agency that is CAAS accredited.

Related Cherokee Nation contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org