VFIS of Texas and Texas Mutual Award $144k in Grant Money to Texas Volunteer Fire Departments2/16/2015 AUSTIN, TX – VFIS of Texas and Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently awarded grants of up to $5,000 to 86 volunteer fire departments across Texas. Funds awarded through the Firefighter Safety, Training & Wellness Grant Program totaled more than $144,000 and will enable these departments to participate in a certification program, attend critical workplace safety training, and/or set up training/wellness programs to prevent firefighter deaths and injuries.
Over $300,000 in grant requests were received. VFIS of Texas and Texas Mutual Insurance Company partnered with the State Firefighters' & Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas (SFFMA) to manage the application process and select the grant recipients. “This award will serve as valuable funding that will enable us to better serve our community,” said Dennis Bailey, Lieutenant & Training Coordinator of Sunset Volunteer Fire Department. “This grant, I can assure you, will allow our members to actively pursue formal certification that will develop them into safer firefighters. Thanks again for your contribution to making our community safer." To see a full list of 2015 Safety, Training & Wellness recipients, CLICK HERE. Grantees will be recognized at the SFFMA Conference June 12-17, 2015 in Galveston, Texas.
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The 2015 First Responder & Legislator Appreciation Day will be held on Wednesday, March 25. The day will start with a kick-off breakfast at 7:30am at the Austin Club sponsored by VFIS of Texas. SFFMA as well as other emergency service groups will speak about their legislative agendas. Space is limited so if you would like to attend the breakfast, please RSVP by CLICKING HERE or by contacting Kash Sarkaria at ksarkaria@vfistx.com or (512) 628-5047 by March 18th.
Following the breakfast, we will head to the Capitol to meet with legislators and their staff to ask for their support on key bills that relate to the fire and emergency services. At 10:00am, the Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service will be held to honor those that have lost their lives protecting our great state as well as the unveiling of the new memorial expansion. After the Memorial Service, a complimentary fish fry luncheon will be served on the Capitol grounds. More time will then be available to again visit with legislators. For more information on the day’s events, contact Chris Barron at cbarron@sffma.org or (512) 454-3473. Click here for the VFIS of Texas breakfast invitation: Click here for the SFFMA invitation for the day’s events: We look forward to seeing you there! The Texas A&M Forest Service has made changes in regards to HB 2604 & TIFMAS Grant Assistance Programs for FY 2015. To see all the changes to each Rural VFD Assistance Grant, click the links below: HB 2604 Changes for FY 2015 TIFMAS Changes for FY 2015 To learn more about HB 2604, CLICK HERE. To learn more about TIFMAS, CLICK HERE. Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is extending the temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new ground ambulance suppliers in the Philadelphia and Houston regions. Both enrollment suspensions are being extended for another six (6) months, effective January 29, 2015. The enrollment moratorium in Houston has been in place for a year and a half, and the ban in Philadelphia has been in place for a year. Both enrollment freezes will now extend into the summer of 2015, unless CMS decides to lift them. They apply to newly enrolling ground ambulance suppliers in these regions. The enrollment freezes do not affect enrollment-related changes that current suppliers need to make regarding practice locations, addresses and ownership, and they do not affect revalidations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) gave CMS the authority to impose a temporary moratorium on the enrollment of new Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP providers and suppliers if CMS determines a moratorium is necessary to combat fraud, waste or abuse. Each time CMS has exercised this authority, it has targeted ground ambulance suppliers. |
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