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AMED hires new medical director

AMED has hired a new medical director.

George Anthony Fidacaro Jr., an Emergency Department physician at UPMC Bedford and UPMC Altoona and associate regional medical director for the Southern Alleghenies EMS Council, replaces Shaun Sheehan, who resigned recently for personal reasons after about a decade and a half in the position, according to AMED Executive Director Gary Watters.

State law requires each ambulance service to have a medical director, according to Watters, who spoke at a board meeting Monday.

A medical director is responsible for ensuring that all medical providers in an ambulance service have the proper accreditations and competencies, Watters said.

A medical director also does an annual competency review and helps with appeals to insurance companies on reimbursements considered inadequate, he said.

Medical directors also review organizational protocols, perform medical audits, provide guidance for stocking medications and support for the training of first responders, according to the Emergency Health Services Foundation, the state EMS Act of 2009 — and the rules and regulations that flow from it — and the U.S. Fire Administration.

AMED’s medical director is also medical director for the AMED Educational Institute. The director oversees content quality and ensures the institute follows educational guidelines, according to Watters. The institute trains emergency medical technicians at the AMED headquarters building in Lakemont.

In connection with Fidacaro’s appointment, the AMED board reworked agreements with five local police departments and the Blair County Sheriff’s Department, so those departments can continue to dispense naloxone under state Act 139, which requires they have not only EMS guidance in developing naloxone policies, but also that they each have a medical director.

The board also approved an agreement for the first time that will allow Greenfield Township police to dispense naloxone.

Fidacaro will work for AMED at the rate of $150 an hour with a maximum of $60,000 a year.

The appointment of Fidacaro will lead to more medical director interaction for AMED employees, Watters predicted.

Starting at $2.99/week.

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