akflightmedic Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Click link for entire story http://newsminer.com/news/2008/dec/24/tvc-...-accreditation/ TVC paramedic program gains national accreditation By Christi Hang Published Wednesday, December 24, 2008 FAIRBANKS — The paramedic program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Tanana Valley Campus is ahead of the curve when it comes to national guidelines. The program recently achieved national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and is the first in the state to do so. The only other paramedic training program in the state is based in Kenai. Starting Dec. 31, 2012, only graduates from nationally accredited paramedic schools can take a certification exam, according to the National Registry of EMTs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentMedic Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 That is definitely an improvement from this story out of Alaska. http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=9578696 EMT school abruptly closes, leaving students in limbo by Jason Moore Wednesday, December 24, 2008 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A school for emergency medical technicians and paramedics has closed its doors, and now a group of students are wondering if and when they'll get a refund for the hundreds of dollars they spent on tuition. The school was run by Guardian Flight, an air ambulance company operated out of Fairbanks. The move to close the school followed a new owner taking over the company. The Guardian EMS Academy operated out of the old Anchorage School District building. A week before it closed, EMT student Joni Andreasan saw the new owners of Guardian Flight come through the building. "They came by and walked through and we were in class and we all said, ‘Hi,' and they watched us do some training," Andreasan said. Guardian Flight also operates ambulances in Anchorage. Andreasan wanted to work for the company. "I was hoping to get -- after I got my EMT certification -- to try to get on board with Guardian, which our teacher told us they had full-time positions open and they were looking at hiring us straight out of class," she said. But Andreasan and other students wouldn't get their certificate. According to state business records, shortly after a Joseph Hunt purchased the company, the school abruptly closed. "We had class on Thursday and she gave us our work for the next Monday, and then the next day -- our instructors, they seemed to be in the dark about it and were just basically lost their jobs on a Friday afternoon were told that it's all going away," said Alex Sprague, a former student. That was more than a month ago, and despite repeated requests from the company the students have not received refunds -- $850 for the EMT class, much more for paramedic students. It appears they lost the time invested, and may be out the money as well. KTUU made repeated requests with Guardian Flight for a comment, but our calls were not returned. The new owner of the company appears to be the same Joseph Hunt who is based in Utah and owns other air ambulance companies in Hawaii and the Rocky Mountain states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 The school was run by Guardian Flight, an air ambulance company operated out of Fairbanks. The move to close the school followed a new owner taking over the company. Wow. Way to make friends and influence people from the start there, Mr. Dale Carnegie. :roll: Public relations FAIL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted December 27, 2008 Author Share Posted December 27, 2008 Yeh I am aware Vent. I used to fly with Guardian and thought they were top notch however the owner must be tired of his dream as he sold out to Eagle Air Med....VERY DISAPPOINTING!!! Nuff said about EAM for now, do not want to shift focus of the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPINFV Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 That was more than a month ago, and despite repeated requests from the company the students have not received refunds -- $850 for the EMT class, much more for paramedic students. I don't know if I'd be more upset over losing $850 or the fact that I would be paying that much in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Does Alaska now have the highest percentage of accredited Paramedic programs since they are at 50%? I just hope the lobbyist don't win and stop the accreditation process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedoc5 Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 I've got friends in North Pole, AK and they sort of told me of some of the problems with EMS in their immediate area. I don't think they mention the name of the services, but I assume it might be Guardian Flight. At least it sounds familiar. They are civilians but work at an Army base. I guess the Army had to intervene in some flight transfers. I'll have to check with them again to get their take on things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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