SCC teams up with Franklin High School to train new EMTs
Franklin High School students who will soon complete their Emergency Medical Technician classes include, front row (from left): Alyssa Staples, Emma Worley, Hannah Montney, Lillian Whitesides, Britney Cross and Adrian McKinley. Back row: Eric Hester (SCC’s EMS Program Director), Trenton Kirchman, Josh Mason, Chris Tejki, Zach Styles, Maggie Collins and Sarah Rondel. SCC photo
At a time when emergency services agencies across the country are facing a dire staffing shortage, here in Western North Carolina, Southwestern Community College has revamped an innovative program that can take a bite out of the problem here at home.
That program allows seniors at Franklin High School in Macon County to take classes during their regular high school hours that put them on a path to earn their EMT certification. In a press release sent out by SCC, student Sarah Rondel said she had a close-up view of life as an EMT by watching her father, Paul, who served with the Macon County EMS for more than 20 years before passing away in 2022 after a grueling bout with liver cancer.
“I was around him all the time, and he always came home in that paramedic uniform,” she said. “The family they had at that base as a team of paramedics was always awesome. I always thought that was something special. They treated me like I was one of their own as well. It was always heartfelt for him, saving lives and making a difference. People come up to me all the time and say, ‘Your dad saved my life.’”
“My mom (Tammy Nichols) is also in the medical field as an RN, so I thought about following in my parents’ footsteps and making a difference in the world if I can somehow,” she added. “Saving lives really gives me that heartfelt fulfillment.”
Rondel talked about how thrilled she was once she learned SCC would offer an EMT pathway right there at her school in Franklin.
“I was like a little kid in a candy store, excited,” she recalled. “It was offered not too long after my father died. I was like, ‘Wow, this is really awesome, an opportunity to follow in his footsteps.’ I was just ready to get started. I was excited for clinicals and what the class had to offer.”
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Another student, Lillian Whitesides, said she had long wanted an opportunity to get into the medical field.
“We’ve learned a lot,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed being in clinicals and feeling like I’m making a difference.”
Along with 10 of their schoolmates, Rondel and Whitesides spent third and fourth periods on Mondays through Fridays studying about emergency medicine at Franklin High throughout the fall semester. To enroll in the EMT program, students need to turn 17 by the last day of class and also possess a reading comprehension score of at least the 11th grade level.
Students receive a minimum of 192 hours of didactic training and 48 hours of clinical training, and they’re eligible to sit for the North Carolina Office of EMS EMT Certification exam.
“It’s been a pretty cool experience, honestly,” Rondel said. “I love the learning, the teamwork, the efforts we get to put in. Being able to have this as a senior in high school is awesome because it gives you a step forward in order to come to college and continue your courses. It also gives you a good foundation if you want to be a firefighter or go into a different public safety field.”
The class is primarily taught by Diana Cabe. Overseeing and organizing the class has been Eric Hester, Emergency Medical Services Program director at SCC. Hester has been in that role for 23 years and has 36 years of experience in the field. He said there was a similar program about 20 years ago that was successful, and with the lack of new EMTs, they decided to start it back up. He said the Franklin High students he taught over the last few months have been ready to learn.
“I’ve been extremely pleased with these students’ enthusiasm,” Hester said. “A lot of these young men and women will one day soon be riding in ambulances and saving lives in the communities we serve. I’m very proud of all of them, and I hope we can expand this program into some of the other public schools in Jackson, Macon, Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary.”
Perhaps the greatest advantage for students is the fact that they are able to pursue their certification at no out-of-pocket expense. For a 17- or 18-year-old to move into a career with no debt is a tremendous opportunity.
“It’s basically free for them since they’re in high school,” Hester said. “The state pays for them to participate.”
Because Macon County EMS was involved in some of the classes, they had the opportunity to assess who may be ready to crew up an ambulance upon graduation.
“Several of them are already getting hired with Macon County EMS and are interviewing before they even have their certification,” Hester said.
This is important amid a well-documented nationwide shortage of EMTs.
“I don’t know of a service out there that is not begging for emergency services personnel,” Hester said, adding that the EMT program at SCC is also a pipeline for people to pursue their advanced EMT and paramedic certifications.
Chandler Ellenburg with Macon County EMS said in a written statement that EMS has had trouble finding “passionate people who care about serving their community.”
“I strongly believe offering this program in our high schools and letting these kids do field internships at our local EMS agencies and local emergency rooms will be a huge deciding factor for their career path,” he said. “Throughout the semester, I watched these students find a love and passion for Emergency Medical Services, and that’s what it takes. Several of the students had conversations with me about getting a job working on the ambulance as an EMT to gain field experience, while also going to college to further their education in Emergency Medical Science and obtaining their Paramedic. That’s exactly the mindset and growth we want to see.”
While younger high school students weren’t eligible to participate in the program, Hester said there should be plenty of opportunities in the future for them to land a spot.
“It went so well this time that this is going to be an annual event,” he said.
