Tuesday, April 1, 2025
4/1/2025
Emergency Medical Service training for the City & Borough of Yakutat, Alaska. - Project Abstract Name: The SAMHSA EMT Training Project for APEC & CBY Alaska Pre-Hospital Education Consortium (APEC) is partnering with the City and Borough of Yakutat (CBY) to enhance Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in the region. APEC provides EMS training across the entire state of Alaska, mostly in rural areas. They train individuals according to the Alaskan and National standards for Basic EMT, Advanced EMT, and paramedic certification. They have developed a curriculum method that has proved to be very successful. They provide face-to-face and virtual instructor led training, with in-person skills labs held across the state. APEC comes to those who need it most. APEC is women led, rural focused, equity driven, and evidence based. Their mission is to improve the health of all Alaskans by providing high-quality, accessible, and consistent EMS education. The SAMHSA EMT training project, spearheaded by this partnership organization, aims to address substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring disorders (COD), including substance use and mental disorders. The primary objective is to enhance the training certification process for EMS personnel. This project will target service gaps, such as the shortage of trained EMS staff available to respond to emergency calls and overcome barriers like internet connectivity issues and scheduling conflicts. The overarching goals of this project: 1) Train and certify EMS personnel in trauma-informed care and emergency response. The project emphasizes addressing substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring disorders (COD), including substance use and mental disorders, as key priorities. 2) Ensure that all curriculum includes modules on substance use disorders and trauma-informed care. 3) Improve student performance on assessments related to substance use disorder and trauma-informed care. 4) Ensure that 100% of students receive cultural competency training in substance use disorder and trauma-informed care. 5) Develop a formal agreement with CBY’s behavioral health providers to facilitate collaboration and referral pathways. 6) Conduct quarterly assessments and make continuous improvements to the integration of substance use disorder and trauma-informed care education. 7) Increase community awareness and reduce stigma of substance use disorders and mental health issues. 8) Increase the pool of EMS responders, ensuring that at least two trained personnel are available for each emergency call. 9) Reduce response times for emergency calls. 10) Increase community overall satisfaction with EMS services. This SAMHSA EMT training project would provide crucial EMS training for providers who serve 662 residents, along with over 16,000 visitors who converge on the rural community of Yakutat annually due to tourism and fishing during the summer months, and approximately 250 Cruise Ships who visit the Hubbard Glacier near Yakutat. When they need medical care, they often call the Yakutat EMTs to assist.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).