Daniel Tauber, Capital Community College’s Department Chair for Health Careers and Public Safety, has received the 2019 Paul Winfield Smith Award from the Connecticut Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council.

Tauber, MEd, CCEMTP, NRP, NCEE, EMS-I, is professor and program director for CCC’s Paramedic Program. Tauber holds a master’s in education from the University of Hartford. He has been a faculty member since 1994 and became Department Chair in 2018. For the last 14 years Tauber has served as a Paramedic with the Windsor Locks Lions Ambulance Corps. The EMS Council, a statewide organization of emergency medical providers and educators, links the state’s hospitals and ambulance services with current curricula training, accreditation and best practices in conjunction with the Department of Public Health’s Office of Emergency Medical Services.

The annual Award recognizes recipients for their work and commitment to educational excellence and high quality EMS programs. It is named for the late Paul Winfield Smith of Plainville who died in 2013. Smith served as Connecticut’s EMS Training Coordinator and was a founding member of EMS-ED/SEM and the CT Emergency Medical Services Foundation.

Capital Community College’s (CCC) Paramedic Program, the first and oldest program of its kind in Connecticut, marked a milestone last year when its 50th class graduated with over 200 alumni and family members in attendance at Centinel Hill Hall auditorium ceremonies. This month a 51st class of Paramedics graduated.

The Paramedic Program at Capital, established in 1988 in partnership with Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, is nationally accredited and prepares students for careers as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, hospital and public health coordinators and first responders. It is the only college-based program in the state and was the second program in New England to earn national accreditation from The Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions in 1993.