Project assistance completion report : emergency medical services manpower training, grantee -- People to People Health Foundation (Project HOPE)

Project Hope implemented the project. Training outputs far exceed initial estimations, the caveat being that some of those trained to be emergency medical technicians are not utilizing their skills, but performing administrative duties instead. Also, the Scope of Practice for paramedics was never approved by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and as a result paramedics cannot perform as they do in the United States. Management of the training program has been fairly well institutionalized and is now financed with in-kind support from the University of Costa Rica, the national Social Security Agency, the Red Cross, and the National Insurance Institute, and with cash from the National Emergency Commission. The project's system development objectives were too ambitious for the project's time-frame, but progress was made in establishing clearer roles and guidelines among the multiple entities that intervene in emergency situations. The project served to highlight both the need and the possibilities of greater and more effective coordination. A.I.D. should not undertake another project of this magnitude without more analysis as to feasibility. The systems development component of this project required a capacity and resources that Project Hope did not have.