Inside EMS Podcast: New CAAS Standards for Ambulance Design?

In the latest episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services new ground ambulance standards. CAAS’ public comment period on the proposed standards ended December 1.

Personally, I’m all for safer ambulance design and better structural integrity for ambulances. They’re big trucks, but they get torn apart rather easily in crashes, and paramedics moving around unsecured in the back of a moving ambulance is still the norm, not the exception.

Still, with the proposed CAAS standards, that makes three (possibly competing) standards for ambulance design, joining KKK 1822 and NFPA 1917.

I’ve opined about this before, but here’s the TLDR version: When your department’s tax revenues are dwindling, and the new safety standards for ambulances push the price tag of a new, compliant rig north of $250,000, how likely is your chief to say, “Well, maybe we can milk a few more years out of our current fleet?”

And if so, have those fancy standards actually made you any safer?

Still, we’d like to hear your opinions. Share them with us on this episode.

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