| As you are all aware, back in March the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services implemented a travel restriction for all staff and site reviewers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, all scheduled CAAS site visits were postponed for a 60-day period with a review of the interim restriction after 30 days. At the 30-day review mark it become apparent that social distancing, travel restrictions and quarantine requirements were going to continue for an extended period and would likely impact our ability to conduct our traditional, in-person site reviews for the foreseeable future. At that time CAAS began to look at alternative options for conducting site reviews in a way that would demonstrate agency compliance with the standards while protecting the health and safety of our reviewers and agency personnel. In April CAAS approved a temporary pandemic process policy to allow for remote/virtual on-site inspections in place of the traditional in-person on site reviews. CAAS also developed a standardized Business Associate Agreement (BAA) that will be used for all existing agencies awaiting a site review, as well as for all agencies submitting applications from this point forward. While it is our wish to resume normal operations as soon as safely possible, the overall health and safety of our staff, reviewers and agency personnel is our highest priority. Therefore, the current travel restriction for staff and reviewers has been extended until March 31, 2021. The CAAS Board of Directors is reviewing these restrictions monthly and will modify our policy as conditions warrant. |
