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GRPS recently announced a partnership with Life EMS Ambulance and Spectrum Health designed to offer an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course to high school seniors beginning this fall at the School of Health, Science and Technology.
Graduates of the two-semester course will be eligible to become fully state licensed EMTs, which is often a springboard to a high-demand paramedic career or other areas of healthcare. The cost of the 270-hour course, which includes student uniforms and textbooks, is being funded by a $30,000 grant from Spectrum Health.
“This is an exciting collaboration that will bolster our health science offerings and our school-to-work pathways of learning,” said Dr. Bernard Taylor, GRPS superintendent. “When the first students graduate from the program in 2012, up to 30 high school seniors will be fully certified EMTs, ready to begin a rewarding career in pre-hospital care. We hope those graduates choose to provide that expert care right here in our community.”
The course will be taught by an instructor from Life EMS Ambulance’s Education Centre, and a GRPS staff. Students will receive instruction in the Health Career lab located within the School of Health, Science and Technology, a new Center of Innovation located on the Central High campus, and will have access to hands-on clinical training with Life EMS Ambulance and area hospitals.
“Any time we can help strengthen the talent base of our community, we heighten the quality of life and development of the region,” said Mark Meijer, president of Life EMS Ambulance. Meijer is a graduate of Creston High School and began exploring a medic career during his senior year of high school working for a local ambulance company. A few years later Meijer founded Life.
The program is modeled after a similar partnership with Grandville High School, an innovative collaboration spanning more than a ten years.
“This is a win-win for students and the community,” said Shawn Ulreich, MSN, RN, chief nursing executive and vice president of patient care services for Spectrum Health Hospital Group. “We believe it’s a wonderful model of community collaboration. EMTs are a vital part of the health care system. We are proud to be part of this important initiative.”
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