The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
Over 200 Massachusetts EMTs Suspended in Certification Scheme
MATT MURPHY
Lowell Sun
BOSTON - More than 200 emergency medical technicians have been suspended by the state following an investigation that uncovered an elaborate scheme to falsify certification and training records.
Follow the Massachusetts Certification Scandal at JEMS.com
As many as 35 of those suspended EMTs work for Trinity Emergency Medical Services, a Lowell-based private ambulatory company providing emergency-response services to 11 local and New Hampshire communities.
The two men behind the fraudulent certification scheme -- Mark Culleton and Leo Nault -- will have their EMT and teaching licenses permanently revoked for falsifying training documentation and accepting money, in some case, for courses they never taught, according to state officials.
Nault, a state-certified instructor, was fired by Trinity after his involvement in the case came to light. Nault had been collecting workers' compensation for about a year during the time he was involved in the fraud scheme, according to the company.
Culleton is a Lexington firefighter who operated an EMT training certification business, called Life Saving Maneuvers, out of his Billerica home at 17 Wildbrook Road.
Messages left for Culleton at his home, as well as for his attorney, were not immediately returned. Nault could also not be reached for comment.
The results of the DPH investigation have been referred to the state Attorney General's Office for review and possible criminal charges.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley confirmed that the report is under review, but would not comment on the possibility of charges being filed.
Department of Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach said the investigation by his office revealed a "systemic effort to falsify information" that allowed EMTs over a period of 18 months to purchase or get credit for mandatory recertification and training classes they never attended.
The trainers would allow EMTs to sign an attendance roster and give them state certification cards without providing any training. Auerbach said the companies involved had no knowledge of their employees falsifying documents.
"Falsification of these training records is a breach of the public trust," Auerbach said at an afternoon press conference in Boston.
A total of 207 EMTs will have their licenses suspended, most for nine months, though a smaller group will be reinstated after 45 days.
The 23 EMTs who received the lesser punishments knowingly signed up for the fraudulent classes, but did not use those credits toward recertification, officials said.
Four facilitators will lose their EMT certification for two years for their participation in the scheme, including collecting money for classes that were never held.
Despite the seriousness of the offenses, Auerbach said there had been no complaints of inappropriate care provided by those EMTs who failed to obtain their recertifications.
The suspensions will go into effect July 1, giving ambulance operators and communities less than two weeks to find replacements for the suspended EMTs.
The DPH declined to provided a full list of those EMTs suspended as well as the companies or municipalities they work for, though Auerbach said more than 30 communities in the Merrimack Valley and Greater Boston are involved. The 207 suspended EMTs work for 10 private and 14 municipal ambulance services across the state, including some firefighters whose departments double as EMS.
The full investigation report could be available as soon as Monday, officials said.
Public-health officials said they have been working with those companies to ensure enough EMTs can be hired to avoid disruptions in service, and several private EMS providers not involved in the case have volunteered to help.
"Absolutely. We're surprised, disappointed. We're just focused on getting Trinity through this," said Chris Dick, director of marketing for Trinity EMS.
Dick confirmed that about 35 Trinity employees, mostly based in Haverhill and some in Lowell, are among those suspended.
Trinity EMS serves 11 communities, including Lowell, Chelmsford, Haverhill, Groveland and Boxford, as well as the New Hampshire communities of Atkinson, Plaistow, Danville, Hampstead, Sandown and Newton.
Trinity has also signed a contract to begin providing emergency medical services in Tyngsboro starting July 1.
"We're very comfortable with our staffing that there will be no interruption in our 911 services," Dick said.
After learning that dozens of its EMTs had not been properly certified in May, Trinity suspended those employees on its own and had them attend training courses before returning to work.
With the state investigation ongoing, Trinity has hired 17 new paramedics and has six more going through orientation in anticipation of possible repercussions from the probe.
The company has also taken steps to prevent a similar scandal in the future by increasing the number of training courses taught in-house by the company, and compiling a list of eight certified trainers who its EMTs can use to get certified.
The state has also said it will begin random inspections of training courses, and will provide new ethics training to certified EMTs.
Auerbach said some of the EMTs caught up in the probe expressed remorse for their actions, but others "did not quite understand the severity of their actions."
Copyright 2010 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
June 18, 2010
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by lutan1 on
-
The state has also said it will begin random inspections of training courses, and will provide new ethics training to certified EMTs.
For our agency, this has been in place for a little while now. Unannounced, an external auditor will arrive on a training night and after introductions, sit through the session to ensure all relevant safety and related protocols, etc are being taught, along with trainer certifications being in place, etc.
-
-
Haven't we been thru this already? What happened to the previous discussion?
Such a huge waste of time to bother to reply only to see all the responses deleted yet again by someone who can't handle ANY opposing points of view.
God forbid that anyone point out that while EMS requires certification and recertification and continuing education which is mandated by the state (or National Registry), FF's who are so quick to call for the suspension and firing of these personnel in fact are required to do NOTHING, nada, zip to keep the title of "firefighter". Take only one class (or not), and then proceed to claim to be a firefighter for the rest of your natural life.
The post was deleted by the web team due to some conyright issues. Stop being so precious.
-
Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
-
You might have a point there.
-
Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
-
"...re-certification of...firefighters...
You mean, meeting and annually maintaining national (NFPA) standards? Like everyone is on the same page? Heresy!
-
-
The problem arises when you don't have nationally agreed programs in place for firefighter training. Until every department is on the same page with agreed minimum skills, then it will be an uphill battle to introduce any robust sort of system, audits, etc.
We have in place (And have for many years) nationally accredited trainign programs.
Using SCBA as an example, I have attahced to this message a copy of the nationally agreed curriculum.
Under this system, everyone who is trained (Australia wide) to use SCBA in the emergency services, is trained under this curriculum.
Training can be contextualized to suit department specific things like SOP's, processes, set types/brands, etc, but the assessment is the same for everyone.
The advanatge of this system is that everyone is taught to the same level (in theory at least) and if members move between States, Departments, etc, they can take the competency with them. If the new department uses different SCBA for example, then it's a case of doing some in house bridging training or challenge tests, and away you go.
It also makes it easy for audit purposes. If an auditor sees that you're not teaching pre-don checks for example, then they can give you/the department non conformances.
These curriculums are in palce for every single topic likely to be needed by emergency services and are drawn up by national committees of representatives from the various agencies. - Attachments:
-
-
PUAFIR207A Operate SCBA.pdf, 12 KB
-
-
-
Interesting that the only person who responded writes to us from Australia, where evidently they already do all the right things.
No one has said we've got it right Kai. The system we have in palce has issues. But overall, it works OK. Maybe no one else responds because they don't see that it needs fixing or see it as an issue. Maybe I do, becasue as an outsider, I see it differently as I'm not caught up in the system.
I'm curious why you spend so much time on THIS forum here in the U.S.A. when you clearly have your own (better) way of doing things?
Gees, and I thought the emergency services and the job we do, coupled with the discussions on this and other sites, was an international thing. Perhaps a place where international perspectives can be shared and perhaps learnt from? Better? Not sure about that- see comment above.
Thanks again, I'm sure all of us firefighters have much to learn from you, since you're a trainer and all.
Thanks Kali- I AM a trainer. Thanks for pointing that out. I am also someone who has spent many years in various roles within the emergency response field, and the emergency management field, across all levels of Government. I have a passion for this field, and whether it's to my detriment at times or not, I say what's on my mind. I hate close minded attitudes to what we do. I hate the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude that many seem to have (not that that is a general comment, not aimed at you Kali, just in case you misintrepret that one). We can learn from each other, beleive it or not.
And please, if you respond please do so without resorting to name-calling again. We don't do that either here.
Name calling? Where? Sugegsting that in your response, I felt that you were perhaps beign a bit precious, is not name calling. It's not a threat either. How about you share your insigths on how to fix the issue(s) that this story poses instead of your usual wit and sarcasm that so often prevails?
-
Permalink Reply by jl on
-
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/download/2010/0621/23981055.pdf here is the link of names/companies/departments...it's not just private EMS
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
