A three-year commitment to Gloucester County EMS is one of the requirements of the new program
The Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders is putting a new program in place that will allow aspiring emergency medical technicians to attend a tuition-free training program in exchange for a three-year paid service agreement with the Gloucester County EMS.
The program, called the Gloucester County EMS EMT Training Academy, will have its inaugural course in September.
In a press release issued by the Gloucester County Board of Freeholders, Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said, “The model we are using for this training academy is the first of its kind. Graduates will come out of the program with the clinical, affective and psychomotor skills and knowledge necessary in order to successfully begin the career pre-employment process at GCEMS. Gloucester County’s EMS is an award-winning program and its professional staff provides high quality services to our residents and visitors.”
Freeholder Deputy Director Giuseppe Chila added, “This program will allow GCEMS to provide their outstanding education and practices to those accepted into the program, without the $1,500 price tag it would cost to be privately trained.”
The course will consist of 649 hours of education followed by a 144-hour residency ride-along program. The classroom sessions will be every Friday from September to June. The clinical assignment requirements are 12 hours per week once week 15 hits. It will also include an Emergency Department observation, Advance Life Support observation and internship at Gloucester County EMS. The residency program requires 12 hours of ride-along time at GCEMS per week.
The press release specified that applicants would be required to sign a three-year service agreement with GCEMS. GCEMS is not guaranteeing those who complete the program employment — the intention is to hire them as part-time/per-diem EMTs.
Debra Sellitto, a representative from Gloucester County discussed the inspiration of the new program.
“The idea behind the program is the need for EMS trainees,” Sellitto said. “The program would give people who are seriously interested in being an EMT professional training by GCEMS.”
Sellitto said that sometimes when EMTs go through other forms of training to get certified they might need their previous training tweaked to meet the requirements of the GCEMS.
Andy Lovell, Chief of GCEMS, added to Sellitto’s statements. “We started as an agency that serviced 10 municipalities, we now serve 20. I wanted to make sure we were ready in case more municipalities came on board.”
Lovell agreed that a common issue with taking on EMTs from other towns is that they need to retrain them to bring them up to GCEMS standards. “We’re taking folks that are green and training them in our methodology of EMS so that when they’re done they’re ready to become our employees.”
Lovell likened the new training program to that of a town’s police department offering an academy.
The application period was a booming success for the GCEMS, as they cut off the application process and will select their inaugural class of 20 students. Lovell said that the program will be one year in length and that they plan on hosting a second class in September 2019.
For those interested in getting their name on the waiting list, the requirements are as follows: a high school diploma (or equivalent), at least 18 years old at the time of application submission, successfully pass an American Heart Association basic life support for the healthcare provider course, pass a background check and drug screening, submit to a purified protein derivative testing (for tuberculosis) and N95 fit testing. A fit test will test the seal between a respirator facepiece and one’s face. The N95 is a half-mask respirator that will cover one’s mouth and nose.
In addition, one would need to attend every class session, attend every clinical assignment and complete all course work, assignments, exams, skill assessments, projects, etc.
For more information, call (856) 307–7120.
