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AMED will be starting its third emergency medical technician class at its headquarters in Lakemont soon, and the response has been encouraging, given the ongoing industry shortage of workers, according to Executive Director Gary Watters.
The first class in November drew 11 applicants, the second in May drew seven, while the upcoming class next month has drawn 33 already, Watters told the board Monday.
But like other ambulance services, AMED also struggles with finding paramedics -- and the organization is not in a position to supply its own, Watters said.
Unlike EMT training, paramedic training requires an affiliation with a college, and that's not available to AMED locally, Watters said.
The closest paramedic training program is at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, which is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown, and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he said.
There is also a "bridge" program at Penn State Fayette in Lemont Furnace, for employees who are "advanced" EMTs.
A handful of AMED EMTs are interested in becoming paramedics.
But the distance of those programs from Altoona, the time required for the classes and clinical rotations, the length of the courses, the need to maintain workplace equity between employees taking courses and those who are not -- along with workers' family responsibilities -- make it a challenge, Watters said.
"We have to find a way to make it easier," he said.
Getting employees trained as paramedics will require a commitment from both the employees involved and the organization, he said.
While Conemaugh and IUP are about the same distance from Altoona, Conemaugh's classes are two evenings a week, while IUP's are one full day per week -- which could make one or the other easier to manage, depending on workers' schedules, Watters said.
The Fayette campus is farther away than both of those locations, but for employees with advanced EMT certifications, it would save about 240 hours of learning time, Watters said.
AMED management will need to discuss with the union how to maintain equity, according to Watters.
It can come into play when the organization needs someone to work overtime and the scheduled worker has a conflict with a class, he said.
Typically, employees front the cost of the education, and the organization reimburses them.
Basic EMT classes run for about 240 hours and advanced EMT classes for an additional 240 hours; while paramedic classes run for about 1,200 hours beyond the basic EMT course load.
It takes about 1,450 hours over two years to become a paramedic from scratch.
AMED is currently not short of paramedics, Watters said.
But he'd hire five more if he could, to create a comfortable cushion, he said.
He'd also hire 10 EMTs, he said.
The EMT course, which begins Oct. 10, lasts for six weeks.
EMTs provide first aid -- applying splints, controlling bleeding, administering oxygen, according to Shaun Sheehan, AMED's medical director.
Paramedics provide advanced life support: interpreting cardiac monitors, administering cardiac drugs, starting intravenous lines, managing airways, Sheehan said.
Penn State Altoona and the Altoona Hospital ran a paramedic program in the 1980s, Watters said.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.