Table of Contents

White House Tour for 2006 AAA Stars of Life

Select and Register your AAA 2006 Stars of Life

ASM 2006 Summer Session

Condition Codes Go Into Effect

Pictures From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Needed

Only Nine Days Remain in the FY2006 Fire Grant Application Period
Forwarded from the Department of Homeland Security

White House Tour for
2006 AAA Stars of Life

Patton Boggs, the advocacy firm for the AAA, was able to secure a White House Tour for this year’s Stars of Life.  The tour is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, at 11:00 a.m.  Buses will transport the Stars of Life to the White House from the Reflecting Pool in front of the U.S. Capitol where the group and individual photos will be taken and then back to the U.S. Capitol or to the Omni Shoreham Hotel.  The tour of the White House should last approximately 45 minutes.  Please therefore do not schedule any congressional appointments for your Star(s) of Life until after 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9.  Please send the details of the congressional appointments for your Star(s) of Life to Stacy Bromley, AAA Manager of Member Services and Public Affairs.  Stacy can be reached at sbromley@the-aaa.org or 1-800-523-4447.

ASM 2006 SOLD OUT!

Now accepting enrollment for a special 2006 summer session of the Ambulance Service Manager (ASM) Program.  Reserve your place today!

2006 Ambulance Service Manager (ASM)
The ASM Program is sponsored by the American Ambulance Association (AAA) and is for aspiring, new, and experienced managers who wish to develop their leadership competencies and sharpen essential management skills.  The program provides a broad foundational curriculum matching cutting edge management theory with real-life practical applications.

The ASM Program is a certification course designed to immerse participants in an engaging learning cohort.  A small group of 40 participants moves together through two weeks of face-to-face instruction and experiential learning led by industry leading faculty bridged by several weeks of online discussion and group project work.

ASM Graduates will:

• Develop 41 competencies essential to contemporary leaders managing sustainable EMS Organizations.
• Build problem solving skills through real life case studies, group work, and an industry specific team research project.
• Appreciate principles of system design, operational efficiency, and performance management.
• Demystify the complexities of finance, budgeting, and the ever evolving reimbursement landscape.
• Learn cutting edge practices and theories including appreciative inquiry, emotional intelligence, and other human relations innovations.
• Engage industry leaders as they present current trends in EMS including system design, technology, best practices, and what the future holds.

Dates for the 2006 program are:

• Online begins June 21, 2006
• Onsite week 1: July 20-25, 2006
• Onsite week 2: September 7-12, 2006

Questions?  Call Sharon Conroy at (816) 431-2600.

Go to http://www.fitchassoc.com/Services/conferences.htm to download the brochure and registration materials. http://www.fitchassoc.com/

Condition Codes Go Into Effect

As of Monday, March 27, Medicare carriers and fiscal intermediaries may officially accept condition codes on claim forms.  The use of condition codes is voluntary on the part of ambulance service providers and suppliers but the AAA continues to make clear with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that carriers must be required to accept the codes.  If your carrier or fiscal intermediary is accepting the condition codes at this time, please send an e-mail to Tristan North, AAA Vice President of Government Affairs, with the name of your carrier or fiscal intermediary.  Tristan can be reached at tnorth@the-aaa.org.

Condition Code FAQs

Also, if you have not visited recently the Meetings and Educational Programs portion of the AAA website, you can now access the condition code FAQs.  Simply go to the AAA website at www.the-aaa.org and click on “Meetings and Educational Programs” and scroll down to “Audio Conference Materials”.  You will then be directed to a page on the condition code audio conference material including the frequently asked questions on condition codes.

Pictures From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Needed

As we are looking forward to the Stars of Life Event in Washington, DC, we remember the work that members did to assist in affected areas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The AAA would like you to send pictures or videos of your crews in action that we may with use at the Stars of Life Banquet.

We need all photos by COB Monday, April 24, 2006. Please send any images you may have to: edavis@the-aaa.org

Only Nine Days Remain in the FY2006 Fire Grant Application Period
Forwarded from the Department of Homeland Security

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program office is reminding fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical organizations that nine days now remain in the FY2006 fire grant application period.  The application period for AFG began March 6, 2005, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and ends 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 7, 2006.  If you have started an application, please be sure to COMPLETE IT AND SUBMIT IT before the deadline.  All applications must be submitted (hit the submit button in the online application) to be considered for a grant award.  Once an application is submitted electronically, an automatic notification via e-mail is sent that we have received it.

Through the morning of March 27 a total of 1,313 applications have been submitted.  This compares to 2,045 submitted to this point in last year’s (2005) application period.  AFG makes available competitive grants for equipment, training, firefighter and first responder safety and response vehicles.  AFG applications are automated and accessible via the AFG web site: www.firegrantsupport.com. The web site contains important information on the AFG, including the FY2006 funding priorities and program guidance, a web based tutorial on the application process, a listing of frequently asked questions, and other materials.  Fire departments that have questions regarding this grant opportunity should contact the Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 or at firegrants@dhs.gov.

The AFG is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training (G&T) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.  The AFG program assists rural, urban and suburban fire departments throughout the United States.  In addition the AFG accepts applications from nonaffiliated EMS organizations for the activities (equipment, training, vehicles, etc.) for which fire departments are also eligible to apply.

The AFG program office offers three grant opportunities in each year.  AFG “fire grant” funds are used by the nation’s firefighters and first responders to increase the effectiveness of firefighting and emergency response operations.  The application period for SAFER grants is scheduled for June of 2006.  SAFER grants provide funding for the hiring of firefighting personnel and incentives for volunteer recruitment and retention.  The third grant opportunity will be in September 2006 when the AFG program office opens an application period for Fire Prevention and Safety grants.  These grants support not only fire departments, but also other organizations experienced in fire prevention and in firefighter safety research.  Through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2006, Congress provided $648 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants, with $108 million of the funding specified for SAFER grants and a minimum of $27 million for the Fire Prevention and Safety grants.

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