Friday, November 8, 2024

Competitive program will address shortage of paramedics in WNY and NYS by training an initial class of 20 students

ERIE COUNTY, NY - In January 2025, Erie County will introduce its Paramedic Academy - a 10-month training program - to increase the number of certified paramedics able to work and volunteer with local ambulance services, including Erie County's Ambulance Service.

"Our County's Ambulance Service was established in 2023 because our county's pre-hospital care system - primarily ambulances - had an acute need for additional resources," said County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. "Our ambulance service has made great inroads to improve transportation gaps. Now, the introduction of our Paramedic Academy will address existing staffing shortages by adding to the base of motivated, qualified, and certified paramedics in our regional workforce."

"A paramedic has the most advanced level of training among all pre-hospital medical care providers," explained Deputy Commissioner of Health Gregory Gill, who leads the Erie County Department of Health's (ECDOH) Division of Emergency Medical Services. "As soon as New York State reviewed and approved our plans for this program, we began notifying local fire departments and ambulance services about this opportunity."

Paramedics are able to perform the same life support services that EMTs can, along with more advanced life-saving procedures. Paramedics are trained to intubate, administer more than 30 types of medications in the field, and insert IVs. They can also monitor patients during hospital transfers, including performing and interpreting EKGs (a non-invasive test to monitor a heart's electrical activity.)

Individuals who are age 18 and older, and who are currently NYS-certified as an Emergency Medical Technician or Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, are invited to apply between Tuesday, November 12 and Friday, November 22 through an online application. Program tuition is $5,000 and includes manuals and textbooks, some certification fees, and testing center fee for the NYS exam. NYS EMS Agency members may be eligible for state funding reimbursement; see the application web site for more details. After successfully completing the Academy in October 2025, students will be eligible to take the NYS Paramedic Certification Exam and the National Registry Paramedic Certification Exam.

The Paramedic Academy class will begin on January 6, 2025, and run for 10 months at the ECDOH location at 500 Commerce Drive in Amherst. Classes will meet twice a week for 7 hours on Mondays and Thursdays, for about 500 hours of class time and 425 hours of clinical time.

"Each class day will consist of lectures, activities, and hands on skills practice using equipment such as the SimMan manikins," said Paramedic Academy Director Donald Turner. "Students will also be expected to complete one clinical shift a week, usually in either an emergency department or on an ambulance."

Students will be able to practice clinical skills at Erie County Medical Center and hospitals in the Kaleida Health and Catholic Health systems. Field experiences will be available with every commercial ambulance service in Western New York. "We are also very glad to offer students clinical shifts in Labor & Delivery departments, ICUs, heart catheterization labs, and many other specialized care departments as part of this intensive training," Turner offered.

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Erie County Paramedic Academy

Erie County Paramedic Academy Application

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Press Release [PDF]

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11/08/2024 - 11:00 am