SuperiorCare Ambulance
When Andy Schultz, the chief operating officer of SuperiorCare Ambulance, began searching for continuing education solutions for his 100 employees, he wanted more than certifications.
He wanted training that could help his personnel uphold their reputation for providing superior service and compassionate care. He wanted a simple way to track his personnel’s continuing education and test their field readiness. And he wanted a better certification experience for his providers.
“I set my expectations pretty high,” Schultz explains.
With a national EMS turnover rate of 25% in the United States, Schultz understands the high cost of turnovers for an ambulance service. “When there is a shortage of 12,000 paramedics, I want to keep the ones I have,” he says.
That’s why SuperiorCare Ambulance focuses on creating a superior work environment that matches their level of care. This focus helped the company secure a Top Workplaces award for the San Antonio, Texas, area in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
With the 2019 awards coming up, Schultz wanted to continue the tradition and add a new benefit for his employees: The ability to meet their CE requirements online.
Finding a CE Solution
As Schultz began looking into options for his providers, one company stood out above the rest. “CareerCert was far more responsive in getting me things and communicating with me well,” Schultz says. “I thought, ‘If they are this responsive now, then they are going to be there when I need them.’”
That observation has proven true for SuperiorCare Ambulance. “Every time we have gotten in touch with CareerCert, if we needed anything, it was done. It was fixed immediately, and that’s what we need,” Schultz says. “I don’t need the headache. I need solutions.”
Not only did CareerCert meet all of Schultz’s expectations for certifications, it has also provided SuperiorCare Ambulance with comprehensive training for the entire team.
“The CareerCert platform and the variety of training offerings have made my life easier,” Schultz says. From OSHA training to EMS refreshers, SuperiorCare Ambulance can assign and track all their continuing education in one place. “I would strongly recommend them. CareerCert has made it extremely cost-effective for me to get all the training my team needs.”
Schultz continues, “There is so much there that we have been able to incorporate. It’s helped us streamline our process, stay compliant, and validate our onboarding education and certifications.”
Elevating Service and Care
Schultz noted two ways CareerCert is elevating SuperiorCare Ambulance’s service.
“We can provide EMT, paramedic, and critical care training at no cost to our employees, so that is elevating our service level to our employees,” he says. “It works well for us as a hiring and retention tool.”
The second way CareerCert impacts SuperiorCare Ambulance is by providing national certifications for all of their employees, including shuttle drivers. “It’s elevating our service level to the public based on education and certification,” Schultz says.
In 2019, SuperiorCare Ambulance was once again named one of the Top Workplaces in San Antonio, and the company continues to raise the bar.
“With us utilizing CareerCert’s education and providing that education to our employees, we empower them to know their jobs better,” Shultz says. “That’s how you get a better service, to educate, educate, educate, and CareerCert has made it easy, easy, easy.”
Though Schultz admits he “is not very computer literate,” he notes how easy it is for him to use the CareerCert platform.
“I like CareerCert’s reporting process, the ability to easily see completions,” he says. “CareerCert has a robust platform that is convenient. It gives me the ability to look in and see who is doing what training and how much they have completed.”
Anticipating the Future of EMS Education
At the time SuperiorCare Ambulance began using CareerCert in September 2019, the company had no way of anticipating the way COVID-19 would impact the EMS industry in 2020.
“CareerCert was ahead of the curve,” Schultz notes. While EMS providers across the country are struggling to recertify under modified requirements, SuperiorCare Ambulance has access to quality online education that improves their level of care.
“Everybody is trying to catch up and find online options,” Schultz notes. “For us, CareerCert is super convenient. I am not sending employees out to classes. They can train online any time, no matter what.”
CareerCert has helped SuperiorCare Ambulance transition to virtual training that can easily anticipate and respond to future challenges in the EMS industry. But most importantly, CareerCert has helped SuperiorCare Ambulance improve patient outcomes.
“CareerCert has a really good grasp of what the industry is looking for and needs. It’s there; it’s right at my fingertips,” Schultz says. “CareerCert has always met my expectations, and I set my expectations very high.”
