As a leading provider of pre-hospital services in Pennsylvania, Holy Spirit EMS, formerly known as West Shore Emergency Medical Services, is committed to delivering top-notch assistance to its patients. To meet that goal, close to 200 employees from the agency need effective training. That’s why it turned to TargetSolutions back in 2002.
According to EMS Director Steve Poffenberger, the organization relies on TargetSolutions for three key reasons: Its comprehensive online training library, its password-protected File Center, and its unrivaled certification tracking capabilities.
Online Training: It’s critical that personnel with Holy Spirit EMS not only stay certified but exceptionally well trained to meet the demands of their profession. TargetSolutions’ variety of courses, quality of content and 24/7 system availability have gone a long way toward helping the agency meet its needs, Poffenberger said. Whether its Hazmat, Bloodborne Pathogens or a Human Resources topic such as Sexual Harassment, Holy Spirit EMS relies on TargetSolutions’ online training catalog to save time and money.
“I know for a fact we are saving money by doing it this route. It can be very time consuming and expensive scheduling instructor-led training for our employees. There are instructor costs, overtime costs, venue costs. The more we can push out this way the better.”
Steve Poffenberger, Holy Spirit EMS (Penn.)
TargetSolutions courses not only meet federal, state and local requirements, but they’re outstanding quality, according to the feedback Poffenberger has received. The training is definitely meeting our needs, Poffenberger said. Negative comments from our personnel are few and far between and our risk management, HR, and compliance departments have reviewed the course content and are very satisfied.
File Center: Having a centralized online location for storing files, documents, and videos has been beneficial for Holy Spirit EMS, Poffenberger said. The organization uploads internal resources, including instructional manuals, how-to videos and policies into the database and directs employees there for access.
“Having a place to store material is efficient,” Poffenberger said. “You can send things out by e-mail and that is all well and good, but what happens when you hire someone two weeks from now and they don’t have all that information? We direct our employees to go to the organizational File Center.”
Certification Tracker: There are many benefits to using TargetSolutions, but its powerful certification tracking capabilities might be the most valuable for Holy Spirit EMS. Poffenberger has loaded all of his personnel’s certifications into TargetSolutions and rests easy knowing the system will warn him and the employees when important expirations approach. Rather than tracking critical information with an Excel spreadsheet, Poffenberger relies on TargetSolutions’ automated alert system. Each month he runs a report to find out who has recertified and what further action is required.
“This is a huge time saver,” Poffenberger said. “Having the whole process automated helps a great deal. People often lose track of these types of things, but with TargetSolutions, they’re assured reminders at 90 days, 60 days and 30 days. They know they have to get out and get recertified. This has proven to be huge for us.”
After a decade on the platform, Holy Spirit EMS continues to believe in TargetSolutions. Poffenberger said he occasionally checks into alternatives on the market just to see what is out there, but he’s always reminded TargetSolutions is the industry’s leader.
“I’m often asked, how do you manage all those people?” Poffenberger said. “I just tell them, it’s simple we subscribe to TargetSolutions.”
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About TargetSolutions
TargetSolutions is the leading provider of web-based technology solutions for fire and EMS departments. These solutions enable departments to maintain compliance, reduce losses, deliver training and track all station-level tasks, certifications, and activities.