Click here to see the 2006 Symposium Award winners.

The Emergency Care Symposium culminates each year with the Awards Banquet. Following dinner, awards are presented to those EMS professionals who have distinguished themselves during the previous year. The highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the 2008 South Carolina Paramedic Champions. The deadline for nominations for the 2007 Awards is March 14, 2008. Nominations are solicited for the following categories:

• Basic EMT of the Year
• Intermediate EMT of the Year
• Paramedic of the Year
• EMS Director of the Year
• Small EMS System of the Year
• Large EMS System of the Year
• Emergency Nurse of the Year
• Medical Control Physician of the Year
• Curtis P. Artz, MD, Memorial Award
• Warren D. McBride Memorial Award
• Telecommunicator of the Year
• Donald G. Gregg, MD Award for Excellence in EMS
• Jack S. Niles, MD, Award for Excellence in EMS Education
• PIER Award for Public Information and Education in EMS

AWARD DESCRIPTIONS AND SPECIFIC CRITERIA

EMT OF THE YEAR AWARD

Criteria: Presented to an EMT who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state and/or national level. This award is not for heroic acts.
Eligibility: Any EMT
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects the Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

EMT-I OF THE YEAR AWARD

Criteria: EMT-I who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state or national level. This award is not for heroic acts.
Eligibility: EMT-I only. Open only to those individuals whose primary responsibility is providing direct patient care.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects the Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

PARAMEDIC OF THE YEAR AWARD

Criteria: EMT-Paramedic who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state or national level. This award is not for heroic acts.
Eligibility: EMT-Paramedics only. Open only to those individuals whose primary responsibility is providing direct patient care.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects the Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

SYSTEM OF THE YEAR AWARD (Category I – Small)

Criteria: Ambulance service which exemplifies outstanding professionalism and service to its community. Examples of these contributions might include any of the following.
1. Exceptional programs/results in training of personnel.
2. Significant awareness by the community of importance of your local EMS system and/or professionalism of system of employees from:
a. Letters from patients
b. Local government support
c. Local media
d. Award received, etc.
3. Significant contribution to citizen awareness for injury prevention, EMS access, and EMS career opportunities through:
a. School programs
b. Business support
c. Health fairs, etc.
Eligibility: Any ambulance service that made less than 2,000 calls during the previous year.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

SYSTEM OF THE YEAR AWARD (Category II – Large)

Criteria: Ambulance service which exemplifies outstanding professionalism and service to its community. Examples of these contributions might include any of the following.
1. Exceptional programs/results in training of personnel.
2. Significant awareness by the community of importance of your local EMS system and/or professionalism of system of employees from:
e. Letters from patients
f. Local government support
g. Local media
h. Award received, etc.
3. Significant contribution to citizen awareness for injury prevention, EMS access, and EMS career opportunities through:
i. School programs
j. Business support
k. Health fairs, etc.
Eligibility: Any ambulance service that made more than 2,000 calls during the previous year.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Criteria: EMS/RS Director who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state, or national level.
Eligibility: Open to any director of a licensed ambulance service – paid or volunteer.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

EMERGENCY NURSE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Criteria: EMS nurse who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state, or national level.
Eligibility: Open to any nurse involved with EMS.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

MEDICAL CONTROL PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR

Criteria: Medical control physician who has contributed most significantly to EMS at the community, state, or national level.
Eligibility: Open to any medical control physician.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

EMS EDUCATORS AWARD/JACK NILES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Criteria: Presented to that individual who has demonstrated outstanding contribution to the improvement of EMS through education and training of the community and/or EMS providers.
Eligibility: Any individual involved in improvement of EMS through educational goals. Must be certified as an EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate or EMT-Paramedic Instructor.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

CURTIS P. ARTZ AWARD

Criteria:
1. Does the situation or incident being cited deal with a person’s or group of peoples’ primary performance as an emergency medical care professional?
2. Do the actions of the nominee(s) exceed the normal expectations of others holding equivalent certifications and faced with a similar situation?
3. Did the nominee(s) subject himself/herself to unusual risks in an effort to render urgently needed medical care to the patient(s)?
4. Was the risk, if any, necessary in terms of the severity of the situation? In other words, did the nominee(s) assess the overall situation and then knowingly accept the risk for the sake of caring for the patient?
5. Is the supporting documentation adequate to confirm and substantiate the reason for nomination?

Eligibility: Any prehospital provider, EMT (all levels), dispatcher, first responder, registered nurses or physician in a prehospital setting.
Nominated By: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Lowcountry EMS Board
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

The Curtis P. Artz Memorial Award is presented only if there is a nominee who meets the specific criteria listed above.

*Note: The award is not given based on the degree of blind risk taken by someone, but on a well thought out response to a medical emergency in the field where the situation at hand required extraordinary performance in order to save life, limb and/or eyesight and where an option not to act could have been exercised.

WARREN D. McBRIDE AWARD

Criteria: Presented to that individual who has demonstrated outstanding contribution to the improvement of EMS through a continuing long-term commitment to the citizens of South Carolina.
Eligibility: Any individual involved in improvement of EMS. Normally administrative and not required to be a direct patient care provider.
Who Selects Recipient: EMS Association
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

EMS TELECOMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR

Criteria: Presented to that individual who has contributed most effectively to the dispatch operation of an EMS provider. Not to be used for heroic actions.
Eligibility: Must work or volunteer to dispatch EMS among other duties.
Who Selects Recipient: Awards committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

DONALD G. GREGG, MD AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN EMS

Criteria: Any EMT-B, I,P who satisfies the following:
1. Either through his/her clinical activities, voluntary activities, or non-clinical humanitarian assistance, is a shining example of the altruistic ideal in emergency medical services, and/or
2. By example, has enhanced the image of emergency medical services, and/or
3. Has increased the activity level of EMS within the state.
Eligibility: Any EMT_B, I, P
Nominated: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: SC CEP Board of Directors
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet

PIER AWARD FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION IN EMS

Criteria: The candidates will submit examples of their work over the past 12 months as follows:
4. Public Relations
a. The presentation should be on what your service did to make known EMS in the community.
b. Documentation of Public Relations Events you had for the current year.
c. Pictures of related events.
d. How did you let the public know about your service?
5. Education:
a. What type of events did you do to teach the public about safety, drug use, drinking or driving, car seat safety and other injury prevention programs?
b. Participation in 3D Week, EMS Week, or other related educational activities.
6. Public Information / Other:
a. Present/list any other items, events activities showing your participation in PIER activities.
b. Active Public Information Officer on staff or dedicated to the service and/or organization.
c. Documentation of public information classes or training as conducted for staff or other public safety agencies.
Eligibility: Any EMS service.
Nominated: Anyone
Who Selects Recipient: Awards Committee
Award Given: Plaque
When Given: Annual Awards Banquet