Systemwide Excellence: CentraCare EMS Sets New Standard in Clinical Care

CentraCare Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) has reached a significant milestone: all six base locations — Benson, Long Prairie, Monticello, Paynesville, Redwood Falls, and Willmar — have received the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) Clinical Excellence Awards. This recognition underscores CCEMS's commitment to consistent, high-quality clinical care and documentation across its entire system.

"This achievement shows what's possible when we establish high standards and work together to meet them," said CCEMS Director Brad Hanson.

This statewide recognition is based on performance in key areas of emergency care including stroke, heart attack, trauma and pediatric care.

While in the past, CCEMS locations have received this distinction, this marks the first time all six bases were honored—demonstrating full system-wide alignment and excellence.

The journey toward clinical excellence was shaped by deliberate strategies aimed at enhancing documentation and care reporting practices. A cornerstone of this effort was a comprehensive training initiative that blended instructional videos with hands-on tools to improve the accuracy and clarity of patient care reports.

Implementing a unified training program for over 140 staff members was no small feat.

"One of our challenges was simply coordinating the training across such a large and diverse team," Hanson admitted. "We've worked hard to include all of our team members in the process to ensure everyone is aligned on properly documenting the exceptional care we provide each day."

Special recognition goes to Heather Murphy of the Monticello team, who spearheaded the creation of the report writing video training. Hanson also applauded the EMS Management Team for successfully rolling out the initiative across all six locations.

Commenting on the progress, Hanson remarked, "We are always on the road to improvement. This achievement shows what's possible when we establish high standards and work together to meet them."