The Emergency Medical Training Program at Greene County Career Technology Center is all about hands on training to confront the countless accidents and disasters that happen in real life—training to do the right thing in precious seconds.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant through the Pa Dept. of Health, realistic scenarios of those accidents are set up and worked through in the EMT classrooms filled with the props, tools and equipment students use to train to save real lives on the job.
“I have to thank Rich Policz (Emergency Management Director of Greene County) because he found this grant and told us about it,” instructor Dan Halliday said. “It was for high school-based instruction for EMT and they only offered three statewide this year. We applied, wrote a budget and submitted. All the equipment we purchased was for an EMT Summer Camp that was part of the grant. The idea is to bring in other GCCTC students to see if EMT is something they would be interested in. The best part is we get to keep the equipment. This will make such a difference in what we can practice doing in real time. And we can do more summer camps next year, especially for middle-schoolers.”
Once the grant was approved this spring, Halliday lost no time putting together orders. This included robotic arms to practice taking accurate blood pressure readings, robotic heads, torsos and full sized bodies of every age to stabilize for wounds, a vehicle simulator with seats, seatbelts and the ability to be positioned at any angle a rescuer might find with a passenger or three trapped inside.
When the grant money was released, it was almost time for camp in August, “but we had our orders in and were ready to go and Amazon got them to us in a couple of days.” Halliday gestured to the auto accident simulator and grinned. “That big piece arrived on Tuesday after we started.”
We’re in the extensive storage area between classrooms, and EMT Camp cadets are putting away equipment as they prepare to leave for the day. It’s been four days of hands-on training, working with paramedics, ambulances and vehicular accidents, then reworking the LifeFlight Allegheny Health Network helicopter landing to fit the weather.
Why become an Emergency Medical Technician? Sophomore Karissa Snyder of Jefferson told me she chose a career path in welding and added EMT camp to her summer schedule because she knows the extra training is important in her chosen field. Helping others is a family affair – her dad Todd Snyder is a volunteer ALS (Advanced Life Saving) EMT with Jefferson and Rices Landing fire departments.
For Trenton Lutes, a Rogersville Fire Department volunteer, “It’s something I need to train for when I turn 18, so I took the camp. I like helping people. I always have. When my mom fell down and fractured her leg. I was there, and I knew what to do.”
Students who do the work and pass the written exam become certified EMTs, sometimes before graduation. “That’s great for me because they become mentors to the younger students. This is a career with room to grow and the wages have become competitive enough to be attractive to a new generation of workers.”
“EMT is the backbone of emergency medicine. An ambulance can’t go into a situation without it.”
Halliday added that EMT students get help with certification fees and other training necessities through partnership with SW Training Services. Adult EMT evening classes are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Saturday for 3.5 months. “Our last class will finish up in late September and they’ll be certified by mid October. Our next class is scheduled for January 13. With 10 students, we break even and have managed to keep the admission costs at $600, which is much lower than other trainings in the area and online.”
What does it take to be an EMT? “You’ve got to be willing to put your fears and worries aside and be able to help others. Then regroup and do it again. That’s where teamwork really matters. To regroup, talk it out, get refocused and be ready to handle the next call. That’s what I teach my students–it’s all about teamwork. And be willing to help.”