Welcome to the Director's Corner.

This page has been designed to communicate news and changes about the NFAA directly to you, the staff members from the 2012 Director, Kathy Steckel.

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2012 Station Captains - Their Duties

12-21-2011

Letter to volunteer staff with info about the Captains Jobs

Greetings,

Here is some information about the Captains jobs and the new structure the Board has recently adopted to carry out the NFAA Mission Statement:

The NFAA is a vital community service providing quality, compassionate basic emergency care so that all people of our service area have access to appropriate medical care.

We are truly an Association of Service to our communities. For the past 40+ years many people have given their time and energy to accomplish the Mission stated above, we just never had it written down. In 1969 a few community members and a doc formed the Association and began running emergency calls. These people served as Board members, Drivers and EMTs, sometimes simultaneously! Between them they performed all the jobs necessary to succeed. And succeed they did.

Fast forward 40+ years to our modern day EMS agency, where accountability is mandated on all levels, from the State government on down through our patients. For example, in addition to directing protocol our Physician Advisor is required by the State to have a working Quality Assessment and Quality Improvement plan in place; EMTs are required to adhere to certain standards for recertification and our NFAA EMTs and Drivers have signed the Minimum Standards Agreement. With the restructuring our Board members have specific tasks, as do the new positions of Captain and Director. The expectation is that everyone in the organization from the volunteer to the Board member is held accountable to a standard that is in written form.

That being said, not a lot will be changing. The goal of the Association remains the same. The work is much the same, we are just bigger now, all grown up (well some of us anyway). With our new structure:

• The Board will not only be guiding the overall vision and the finances, but each member will be volunteering their time to move the Association forward with specific hands-on projects.
• The Board hired Kathy Steckel for a one-year position as Director. My job will be to implement our Recruitment and Retention plan. I will also provide oversight, planning and coordination of the Staff Support, Injury Prevention, Kiddie Train, Promotion and Membership programs. This job is approved for an average of 48 hours per month.
• The Captains have been appointed in each community for the first year, namely:
  • Lawrence Bejarano-Paonia,
  • Bryan Kinser-Hotchkiss, and
  • Adam Clifford-Crawford.
• These Captains are charged with making sure our volunteers have everything they need to do their job as an EMT or Driver.
• The Captains are in place to do a great variety of things.
  • They are there to lead and inspire, to delegate and follow up, to work along side our volunteers to make the day-to-day operation as smooth as possible.
  • They are there to empower our staff to continuously seek new and imaginative methods for accomplishing the mission of the NFAA.
  • They are to be firm, fair and consistent in their actions.
  • To be successful the Captains will spend their time building relationships and communicating with staff, delegating jobs, setting expectations, encouraging continuing education, giving feedback and following through with Association-wide projects.

The Captains are not being paid to “do all the work”, they are being paid to take on the responsibility to see to it that all the work is done. It will still take many hands to continue to fulfill our Mission. We know most of our volunteers go above and beyond what is expected and that is what keeps the NFAA viable. It is our hope our volunteers will continue to go above and beyond so that our Association continues to thrive!

The Captains’ time will be divided into three areas: day-to-day operations, quarterly commitments, and special projects. All three jobs, added together, equal about 110 hours per month. A very part-time job, shared by three, with emphasis on improving patient care and making it easier for our staff to do their jobs. These Captains will be held accountable for their actions by the Chief of Operations and ultimately, the Board. In turn, the Captains will hold the volunteers accountable for their actions and their fulfillment of the NFAA Minimum Standards Agreement.

Captains’ Day-to-day Operations: (The number of hours vary due to the difference in call volume in each community.)

• Paonia-27 hrs per month
• Hotchkiss-15 hrs per month
• Crawford-8 hrs per month

The majority of this time will be spent working with our personnel, as each PCR report will be reviewed by your captain to support Dr. Pruett on our QA/QI program. The Captains will direct proper training, assist in maintaining vehicles, assure adequate supplies, direct general station management and oversee data collection.

Captains’ Quarterly Commitments: 5 hrs for each Captain, per month.

• This includes working on the CE committee, attending regulatory meetings, Board meetings and we are trying something NEW: planning quarterly social events in each community, inviting the other communities, to build camaraderie and above all, HAVE FUN!

Captains’ Special Projects: 15 hrs for each Captain, per month.

• This is a big category! They will be assisting with these special projects: the EMT class, Recruitment & Retention, Orientation, Call review, Staff Appreciation, Equipment, Kiddie Train, Injury Prevention, A/V production, Agency relations and Community Relations.

Our Association runs on Volunteers. We ask all of you to keep an open mind with this new process and during the implementation phase, especially this first year. Will the process be flawless? No, certainly not. But we are all in this together and we believe this is a step in the right direction. We welcome your support.

Thank you for your service!

Kathy Steckel, Director