Contact information: 413/775-1628
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Contact: Deborah Clapp
Phone: 413/775-1628
E-mail: clapp@gcc.mass.edu

Media contact: Liz Carroll
Marketing & Publications
413/775-1420 | carroll@gcc.mass.edu

Release date: May 5, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GCC among first in state to offer accredited EMT courses

Greenfield Community College is one of only ten institutions in the state to earn accreditation for its Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic (EMT-P) training courses in the first wave of mandatory accreditation by the Massachusetts Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS), announced Judi Singley, Associate Dean for Health Occupations at GCC. "The entire Emergency Medical Services (EMS) faculty and support staff have worked very hard over the past several years to achieve this status and recognition,” says Singley. "We truly appreciate their dedication to raising the bar of professionalism for the EMS field.”

This makes GCC, at the present time, the only accredited provider of EMS training courses in Franklin, Hampshire, and Berkshire counties. Hampden County has only two accredited EMS training institutions. Starting July 1st, any organization offering initial Basic or Paramedic training must be accredited by the state.

"This designation would not have been possible,” states OEMS in their letter of notification, "without the hard work and professionalism demonstrated by your organization throughout the rigorous accreditation approval process.”

"Students who come here can be assured that our EMS program meets rigorous standards,” says Deborah Clapp, Program Director for the EMS Department, "including the advantages of all College student support services such as research, financial aid, and individual counseling. This ensures a significant opportunity for success for these students.”

As part of the year-long process of accreditation, GCC had to document every aspect of its curriculum, equipment, and staff, culminating in an on-site visit in April by the OEMS accrediting team. The end result, according to Clapp, "is to ensure a higher level of care for patients.”

Since offering its first "for credit” EMS training courses in 1998, the department's growing reputation has attracted students from across the state as well as southern Vermont and New Hampshire. GCC students have established a 90% pass rate on their first attempt for the practical (hands-on) and written state certification exam. This is well above the state-wide average, which is in the low 70s. "Our students know that when they come here, there's a very high likelihood that they will be successful and very employable,” says Clapp.

In the spring of 2003, GCC became the first in Massachusetts to offer online Emergency Medical Services refresher courses, a move that put it in the forefront for innovation in EMS training.

Throughout its history, EMS training at GCC has exceeded mandatory requirements. "Our Paramedic students are required to take a separate anatomy and physiology course,” says Clapp. "That's not the way that many Paramedic programs in Massachusetts are run, but we do that because the national curriculum recommends it, and that's going to help students lay a foundation for their future work. We incorporate a significant amount of pathophysiology of the disease processes in our program. Again, that's not a requirement, but that allows our Paramedic students to gain a very significant understanding of what happens when people have certain diseases and how that affects them.”

The rigorous standards for EMS training at GCC are prompted by anticipated changes in the field. "We see significant changes nationally on the horizon,” says Clapp. "One example would be a move now to create a higher level of Paramedic specifically for critical care applications,” says Clapp. "There's also a trend over the next five or ten years to use Paramedics in other areas as a method of helping control and contain health care costs. For example, Paramedics might one day treat patients in their homes, under the direction of a physician, without having to transport them (to a hospital emergency room).”

The goal is better patient outcomes. "We know that early intervention in an emergency situation can shorten a patient's hospital stay and improve their quality of life after their release,” says Clapp. "Any time we can use Paramedics to prevent the evolution of a heart attack, for example, or the evolution of a stroke, it saves lives. Not only does it save lives, but it saves health care costs because patients are not going to be in hospitals for as long, and they don't have to have as much rehabilitation. They can return to a better quality of life afterwards. Those are the kinds of things you can't put a price tag on.”

GCC graduates between 25 and 30 students each semester in its EMT-Basic course. Successful course participants qualify to take state and national examinations in order to become certified emergency medical technicians. The 18-month Paramedic program that starts in September accepts a maximum of 18 students who must meet specific admission requirements. Last year, the extensive waiting list enabled the college to offer a second Paramedic program that started in January. Clapp foresees a continuing demand for EMS training. "Similar to the nursing shortage, we see that there is a shortage of EMS providers, particularly at the advanced life support level,” says Clapp. "That's the original reason that this program was started in 1998.”

For more information, please call Deborah Clapp at (413) 775-1628 or Judi Singley at 775-1627.