GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18 — Georgetown-Scott County EMS honored its Inaugural Paramedic Class Wednesday with a pinning ceremony.
The event took place just eight days after Kentucky's Board of Emergency Medical Services Chair announced alarming numbers tied to Kentucky EMS Staffing. GSCEMS is celebrating four new paramedics, and the overall class of nine passed the paramedic certification on the first try.
"I think we're probably on the better end of the deal than most services," Chris Runyon, GSCEMS Chief said.
With Kentucky facing severe staffing shortages among Paramedics and EMTs, GSCEMS took a proactive approach, putting the pieces in place for this program two and a half years ago.
"It's amazing just to be able to offer this to our individuals, and if you're an employee for us, it costs you nothing...it pays for your books and your tuition," Runyon added.
Lead instructor Jon Oesterman explained his goal for the program and how it addresses high turnover among Paramedics and EMTs. "We want them to be part of our team essentially and invest in that...moreover employers are going to have to think about ways to do that with their staff as well," Oesterman said.
Austin Tarter, who graduated from the GSCEMS Paramedic Class, moved from Somerset to Lexington to be in the area to travel to Georgetown to participate.
"It's certainly up to us to keep the profession alive and keep the profession professional. To keep it what it's supposed to be, a medical practice," Tarter said.
Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services Chair John Holder said the need for services is on the rise, referencing 31,006 more requests for ambulance transport annually than five years previously.
Also, in the report to the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services, 21% is the attrition rate for Kentucky EMTs, and 40% of those EMTs actually work for an EMS service.
Runyon is working on a solution.
"One of the big ones is getting more paramedic programs out across the state. Unfortunately, if you live in a rural community, it's kind of hard to have access without having to commute a long way. There's expense and time away from family, time away from job, so they've talked about a mobile class that maybe moves around the state. Every year maybe it has a different location, maybe relaxing the standards associated with it, so it doesn't have to be accredited through a college and you could hold these classes in the communities with a paramedics instructor. So there's just a lot of proposals, nothing is finalized at this point," Runyon said.
In the meantime, the collaboration between GSCEMS, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, and the Scott County Judge Executive's Office continues. GSCEMS will host another Paramedic Class later this month.
