AG: Employees involved in fraudulent EMT recertification scheme indicted
Boston, Mass. — A Suffolk County Grand Jury has returned indictments against an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) instructor, two paramedics, and two EMTs, for their alleged roles in creating and submitting training records that falsely showed dozens of emergency personnel attended courses they were required to complete in order to maintain their certification, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.
“We allege that the conduct of these individuals severely undermined the state’s EMT certification process,” AG Coakley said. “The certification process is designed to ensure that emergency medical personnel are properly trained and kept up-to-date with the constantly evolving medical skills necessary for emergency treatment. These acts posed a risk to public safety and public health and our office is continuing our probe into this matter.
This relates to the EMT training scandal that I posted about a few months back. Apparently these five were among the major participants in the scheme. I’m sure that they are not the only ones involved and based on this statement,
The investigation remains active and ongoing. In addition, referrals will be made to employers to determine the appropriate course of remedial and disciplinary action to be taken regarding all EMTs who are currently working without being properly certified.
I’d venture to guess that there are more indictments and probably more terminations to come in the near future.
And of course in a sort of close the barn door after the horses have left move, staff from OEMS and possibly other agencies are doing spot checks on classes at various training institutions to make sure that the participants are actually there and are following the state regulations.
These guys are just the gift that keeps on giving for EMS providers across the state. Thanks guys.
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