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| Designation is five years in the making |
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Sunday, June 28, 2009
By GINNY WRAY - Bulletin Staff Writer
Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC) has received full accreditation from the state to conduct paramedic training.
PHCC was notified Friday it has been accredited through 2013, which allows the college to offer paramedic training, the highest level of emergency medical services (EMS) taught in the United States, according to Matt Tatum, EMS coordinator for Henry County Department of Public Safety, which worked with the college on the accreditation.
“It’s a major accomplishment,” Tatum said. “The only way the state will allow advanced personnel to be trained is through an accredited institution.”
That became the law in 2003, and PHCC and public safety began working to become accredited in 2004, he said.
Paramedics can start IVs (intravenous treatment); give 30 to 40 medications, including cardiac drugs and narcotics; insert chest tubes; do airway management and other advanced services, Tatum said.
The other level of care is basic life support (BLS), which includes stabilizing and transporting a patient and administering limited medications, he said.
Patrick Henry had been teaching the paramedic training for two years under conditional accreditation while it worked toward full accreditation, Tatum said. That process involved developing a plan of how the program would be taught, with such things as clinical agreements with a hospital, doctor and others, he said.
“It’s a very comprehensive study,” he said, adding that the local plan covers 400 to 500 pages.
Jeffrey Reynolds, program director for the EMS education program at PHCC, said it also involved a self-study, visits by state officials and fully meeting state standards.
The two-year paramedic program begins with an intermediate level. The full program takes about four semesters and 1,000 hours of classroom instruction plus field time, Reynolds said. Students attend classes three nights a week, from 6 p.m. to 9:50 or 10:30 p.m., plus they average 10-12 hours a week doing hospital and/or field internships.
Reynolds said most students are adults, but he is seeing more come to the program directly out of high school or within a year of graduating.
Although students can stop at the certificate level, he said they are strongly encouraged to study for an associate degree which may mean career advancement and higher pay.
Numerous community colleges are seeking accreditation, but PHCC is the first in this area to receive it, Tatum said.
Previously, the closest place to receive the paramedic training was at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke. Tatum said at that private college, the program cost an estimated $25,000, compared with $5,500 to $6,000 at the state-supported PHCC.
Six students graduated from the paramedic program in 2008 and 2009, Reynolds said. Of the 12, nine are certified at the paramedic level, he said.
“While the sample is small, we have some of the highest pass rates on the National Registry of EMT examinations in the state,” he said.
Reynolds said he expects 15 to 18 freshmen to enroll for the intermediate program in the fall. The entire program can handle a maximum of 24 students because of the need for clinical and field resources, space at the college and the high student-teacher ratio.
“Now there is no waiting list” but as the program grows, that may change, Tatum said. “If growth continues, next year ... we may not be able to accept everyone.”
Those who complete the program can volunteer with area rescue squads. But Tatum said some take paying jobs with the Martinsville Fire and EMS Department, Franklin County, Stone Ambulance Service, Memorial Hospital and other places.
“Most who go to this extent had aspirations of making it a career,” he said.
Paramedics can earn starting salaries ranging from the upper $20,000 to $60,000, depending on the location, Tatum said, adding the pay is equivalent to that of a police officer. |
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