Friday, February 17, 2006
The EMT students attended the course for free and got paid for their time.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's taken about 16 years, but Patricia Baker said she's finally on her way to fulfilling her high school dream.
Baker, 34, of Pearl Street, wanted to be a paramedic coming out of high school but because of various circumstances, she didn't get a chance to purse that dream -- until now.
Baker, wife of Charles and mother of Ashlyn, Christopher and Asia, is among the first 12 graduates from Rural/Metro Medical Services' new Emergency Medical Technician Academy.
The program is a joint effort between Rural/Metro, Youngstown State University and YSU's Metropolitan College.
Rural/Metro decided several months ago that it was facing a shortage of trained first responders to emergency scenes, said Tina Hull, general manager of the company's northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania division.
The company approached YSU, which has an EMT certificate program, and asked for help setting up a combined effort to get more EMTs on the street as soon as possible.
The ball gets rolling
Joseph Mistovich, YSU professor and chairman of health professions, said the university had to go to the state to get permission to extend its accreditation to the Rural/Metro training center at the company's offices at 3121 Market St. The university provided the curriculum for Rural/Metro to follow, he said.
It is hoped that some will go on to paramedic training, he said.
Having the time and money to pursue EMT training is a drawback for most people, Hull said, explaining that Rural/Metro got around that issue by deciding to pick up the tuition and fee costs for all those accepted into the program.
Plus, they were paid a special "student wage" while undergoing that training.
In exchange, the students had to agree to work as EMTs for Rural/Metro for two years.
Grants obtained
The cost was about $3,000 per student, and YSU's Metropolitan College was able to help with the expense, securing about 45 percent of the program financing with Workforce Development grant money through the Ohio Board of Regents
The program initially drew 360 applications, which were gradually narrowed to 14 students. A dozen completed the course and took the National Registry test for EMT certification and all are now working full time for Rural/Metro, Hull said.
Most EMT programs run between 12 and 15 weeks, with classes meeting one or two days each week.
This program was intensive, requiring students to be in class eight hours a day, five days a week.
They completed the course in five weeks, Hull said.
It was very stressful, but it gave her the chance to fulfill her dream, Baker said, adding that pursuing a career in the field wouldn't have been possible for her without the program.
Studied together
It also helped her get closer to her 11-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, a pupil in the gifted program at Kirkmere Elementary School. Baker said she and Ashlyn spent many nights studying together at the main library, often staying until closing.
This project has a number of success stories, said Mayor Jay Williams, who attended the graduation announcement at Rural/Metro on Thursday.
It shows the company's commitment to serving the city, a successful partnership between Rural/Metro and YSU and a success for those who made a personal commitment and completed the program, he said.
Hull said plans are being drafted to run another class, perhaps as soon as May.
gwin@vindy.com